Ridley Scott will receive the Directors Guild of America’s top honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Achievement in Motion Picture Direction.
“Masterful in any genre, Ridley’s groundbreaking methods and peerless directing instincts have brought to life some of the most memorable films of our time, capturing the resilience of the human spirit and captivating the hearts and minds of audiences around the world,” said Paris Barclay, president of the DGA. “Stunning visuals, immersive worlds and powerful performances underpin his diverse body of work which ranges from Alien, Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise to Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and, most recently, The Martian. Over the course of four decades, his trailblazing career has demonstrated the impact and importance of the director’s singular vision. For these reasons, and so many more, we are honored to present the Lifetime Achievement Award in feature film to Ridley Scott.”
The Award will be presented at the 69th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.
The DGA Lifetime Achievement Award is selected by the present and past presidents of the Guild. In the Guild’s 80-year history, just 34 directors have been recognized with this honor including: Cecil B. DeMille (1953), Frank Capra (1959), Alfred Hitchcock (1968), Orson Welles (1984), Billy Wilder (1985), Steven Spielberg (2000), Martin Scorsese (2003), and most recently Miloš Forman (2013).
Scott is a world-renowned director whose films have earned countless accolades. He was honored with DGA and Academy Award Best Director nominations for his work on Black Hawk Down (2001), Gladiator (2000) and Thelma & Louise (1991)–as well as a DGA Award nomination for his most recent film, The Martian (2015). His films have also garnered numerous Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA awards and nominations across multiple categories.
In 1977 Scott made his feature-film directorial debut with The Duellists, for which he won the Best First Film Award at the Cannes Film Festival. He followed with the blockbuster science-fiction thriller Alien. In 1982 Scott directed the landmark film Blade Runner. Considered a sci-fi classic, the futuristic thriller was added to the U.S. Library of Congress’ National Film Registry in 1993 and a director’s cut was released to renewed acclaim in 1993 and again in 2007.
Additional film credits as director include: Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Counselor, Prometheus, Legend, Someone to Watch Over Me, Black Rain, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, White Squall, G.I. Jane, Hannibal, Body of Lies, A Good Year, Kingdom of Heaven, Matchstick Men, and Robin Hood – which marked his fifth collaboration with star Russell Crowe.
Scott is currently in postproduction on Alien: Covenant, the sequel to Prometheus and will next helm Wraiths of the Broken Land.
A powerful force in film and television for many years, Scott began his directing career in advertising, and has directed numerous well-known spots including Apple’s famous “1984” commercial. He and his late brother Tony formed the commercial production company RSA in 1967, which today has an established reputation for creating innovative and groundbreaking commercials for some of the world’s most recognized corporate brands.
In 1995 the Scott brothers formed the film and television production company Scott Free. With offices in Los Angeles and London, the Scotts produced such films as In Her Shoes, The A-Team, Cyrus, The Grey and the Academy Award-nominated drama The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. On television, Scott executive produced the Emmy, Peabody and Golden Globe-winning hit The Good Wife for CBS and the critically acclaimed series adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s classic The Man in the High Castle for Amazon.
Scott has also been an executive producer on the company’s long-form projects, including the Starz miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, the A&E miniseries The Andromeda Strain, the TNT miniseries The Company, the award-winning HBO movies RKO 281, The Gathering Storm, and Into the Storm and the hit National Geographic Channels’ telefilms Killing Lincoln, Killing Kennedy, and Killing Jesus.
In 2003 Scott was awarded a knighthood from the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of his contributions to the arts. He received the 30th American Cinematheque Award at the organization’s annual gala in 2016.
Scott will join the following past recipients of the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award:
Miloš Forman (2013)
Norman Jewison (2010)
Clint Eastwood (2006)
Mike Nichols (2004)
Martin Scorsese (2003)
Steven Spielberg (2000)
Francis Ford Coppola (1998)
Stanley Kubrick (1997)
Woody Allen (1996)
James Ivory (1995)
Robert Altman (1994)
Sidney Lumet (1993)
Akira Kurosawa (1992)
Ingmar Bergman (1990)
Robert E. Wise (1988)
Elia Kazan (1987)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz (1986)
Billy Wilder (1985)
Orson Welles (1984)
John Huston (1983)
Rouben Mamoulian (1982)
George Cukor (1981)
William A. Wellman (1973)
David Lean (1973)
Fred Zinnemann (1970)
Alfred Hitchcock (1968)
William Wyler (1966)
Frank Borzage (1961)
George Stevens (1960)
Frank Capra (1959)
King Vidor (1957)
Henry King (1956)
John Ford (1954)
Cecil B. DeMille (1953)
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More