Cast of ARGO to be Honored at Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony

The 16th Annual Hollywood Film Awards, presented by the Los Angeles Times, is pleased to announce that the feature ARGO, directed by Ben Affleck, will receive the "Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award."

"We are very proud to recognize the Ensemble Cast of ARGO for their dramatic and outstanding performances," said Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Awards.

The 2012 Hollywood Film Awards has also announced that it will honor director David O. Russell with the "Hollywood Director Award"; Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro with the "Hollywood Supporting Actor Award"; Academy Award-winning actress Marion Cotillard with the "Hollywood Actress Award"; three-time Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams with the "Hollywood Supporting Actress Award"; producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner with the "Hollywood Producers Award"; writer/director Judd Apatow with the "Hollywood Comedy Award"; actor John Hawkes with the "Hollywood Breakout Performance Award" for THE SESSIONS; and Quvenzhane Wallis with the "New Hollywood Award" for BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. Other honorees include cinematographer Wally Pfister, editor Dylan Tichenor, production designer Sarah Greenwood, and visual effects supervisors Janek Sirrs and Jeff White. In addition, director Peter Ramsey's RISE OF THE GUARDIANS will be honored with the "Hollywood Animation Award," along with additional honorees to be announced in the coming weeks.

The Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on October 22, 2012. The event honors cherished stars and up-and-coming talent, and traditionally kicks off the film awards season with the biggest stars and top industry executives in attendance.

"We are very gratified to be the first stop of the awards season. In the last nine years, a total of 85 Oscar nominations and 32 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Film Awards," said de Abreu.

Last year's awards show reached a total TV audience of more than 41 million media impressions, in addition to more than 300 million online and print readers' impressions.

In addition to celebrating accomplishments on screen, the Hollywood Film Awards established the "Hollywood Gives Back" program to expand and continue highlighting and assisting important local and national charities to raise funds. Over the years, the Hollywood Film Awards has contributed to such charities as The Art of Elysium, Artists For Human Rights, Artists for Peace and Justice, MatchingDonors.com, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, the Enough Project, and Variety The Children's Charity of So. CA, among others.

Further, the Hollywood Film Awards selects individuals to be recipients of their "Hollywood Humanitarian Awards," in recognition of their contribution to the betterment of their communities or society at large. Prior recipients include Nobel Peace Prize winner and ex-President of East Timor, Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta; Nobel Laureate Jody Williams; Father Rick Frechette; and actor and activist Sean Penn.

About ARGO:
ARGO is a dramatic thriller based on true events. Ben Affleck leads an Ensemble Cast that also includes Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, and Kerry Bishe.

On November 4, 1979, as the Iranian revolution reaches its boiling point, militants storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage. But, in the midst of the chaos, six Americans manage to slip away and find refuge in the home of Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor. Knowing it is only a matter of time before the six are found out and likely killed, the Canadian and American governments ask the CIA to intervene. The CIA turns to their top "exfiltration" specialist, Tony Mendez, to come up with a plan to get the six Americans safely out of the country. A plan so incredible, it could only happen in the movies.

About Ben Affleck:
Ben Affleck, directed, produced and stars as Tony Mendez in ARGO, has been recognized for his work as an actor, writer, director, and producer.

Affleck made his directorial debut in 2007 with the feature GONE BABY GONE, for which he won several critics groups' awards, including theBest Directorial Debut Award from the National Board of Review. He also won the Breakthrough Director of the Year Award at the 2007 Hollywood Film Festival. Ben also co-wrote the screenplay for the film, adapted from the Dennis Lehane novel.

In 2010, he directed and starred in THE TOWN, in addition to co-writing the screenplay. The film was named a Movie of the Year by the American Film Institute (AFI), and the cast won the National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble. In addition, Affleck earned a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for THE TOWN, which also brought Oscar®, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award® nominations to Jeremy Renner. Also in 2010, Affleck starred alongside Tommy Lee Jones in John Wells' drama THE COMPANY MEN.

This summer, Affleck shot a starring role in RUNNER, RUNNER directed by Brad Furman and slated for release next year. He is next set to direct a film about notorious Boston mobster Whitey Bulger, in which he and Matt Damon will star. The film will be produced by their Production Company, Pearl Street Films.

Affleck first came to prominence in 1997 with the acclaimed GOOD WILL HUNTING, which he starred in and co-wrote with Matt Damon. For their work, they won an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay, as well as a Golden Globe Award and Humanitas Prize. The following year, Affleck starred in John Madden's Academy Award®-winning SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, winning a SAG Award® as part of the Ensemble Cast.

His subsequent film credits include ARMAGEDDON and PEARL HARBOR, both directed by Michael Bay; FORCES OF NATURE; Ben Younger's BOILER ROOM; Roger Michell's CHANING LANES: THE SUMER OF ALL FEARS; the screen adaptation of Marvel Comics' DAREDEVIL; Kevin Smith's JERSEY GIRL; and Kevin Macdonald's STATE OF PLAY.

In 2006, Affleck earned widespread praise for his portrayal of ill-fated actor George Reeves in the noir drama HOLLYWOODLAND. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Affleck won the coveted Volpi Award for Best Actor. He also received Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award nominations for Best Actor, as well as the Best Actor Award at the Hollywood Film Festival. Affleck appeared in the Ensemble Casts of EXTRACT and HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU and starred in Kevin Macdonald's crime thriller STATE OF PLAY, alongside Russell Crowe, Helen Mirren and Rachel McAdams.

In 2000, Affleck partnered with Matt Damon, Chris Moore and Sean Bailey to form LivePlanet, Inc. Their first endeavor, PROJECT GREENLIGHT, aired on HBO and drew critical, audience and industry attention for its behind-the-scenes look at the challenges faced by a first-time filmmaker. The second season of PROJECT GREENLIGHT aired on HBO at the beginning of 2003, with a third season on Bravo. All three series were nominated for Emmy Awards.

In addition to his successful film career, Affleck is also a passionate advocate and philanthropist. In March 2010, he founded the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), an advocacy and grant-making initiative with the mission of helping the Congolese people support local community-based approaches that create a sustainable and successful society in the long-troubled region. ECI is the first U.S.-based advocacy and grant-making initiative wholly focused on working with and for the people of eastern Congo. Affleck is also a longtime political activist and strong supporter of many charitable organizations, such as Feeding America, Paralyzed Veterans of America, A-T Children's Project and The Jimmy Fund.

About the Hollywood Film Awards:
The Hollywood Film Awards were created to honor excellence in the art of filmmaking, both in front of and behind the camera, and launch the awards season. The criteria are: recipients are selected to be honored for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released between January 1 and December 31 by an advisory team. In addition, for the recipients of our "film awards craft categories" (aside from evaluating their body of work), our Advisory team takes into consideration the recommendation of their guilds/societies. Last year alone, our recipients received 12 nominations and 5 Oscars. In the last 9 years, a total of 85 Oscar nominations and 32 Oscars were given to our honorees.

The Hollywood Film Awards are presented in conjunction with Presenting Sponsor the Los Angeles Times, Premier sponsors ArcLight Cinemas and Hollywoodnews.com, exclusive Regional Print Media sponsor Los Angeles Confidential and trade Media sponsors the Hollywood Reporter and Variety. Special support is provided by American Cinema Editors A.C.E., American Society of Cinematographers - A.S.C., The Art Directors Guild - A.D.G., Celebrity Services, The Casting Society of America - CSA, Costume Designers Guild - CDG, Columbia Pictures, Creative Artists Agency, DreamWorks SKG, Entertainment Tonight, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, ICM, ILM, Motion Picture Editors Guild, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., The Weinstein Company, WME. Getty Image is the Official Photography Agency.

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