John Goodman, Stan Lee Among Honorees at 15th Annual Savannah Film Festival

Goodman, Lee, Lindsay-Abaire and Gatins join previously announced honorees including Academy Award-nominated actors Matt Dillon ("Crash") and Diane Lane ("Unfaithful"), actress Michelle Monaghan ("Gone Baby Gone") and Academy Award-winning writer and director Geoffrey Fletcher ("Precious").

Other special guests taking part in this year's film festival include Nigel Barker, James Gandolfini, Christy Turlington Burns, Adam Shankman, Bob Shaye, Gabourey Sidibe, Norman Reedus, Julian Jarrold, Zach Gilford and Miles Teller.

The Savannah Film Festival has also added Nigel Barker's "Dreams Are Not Forgotten" documentary as a special gala screening, which will be free and open to the public. A question-and-answer session with Barker will follow the screening. Special gala screenings include, David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook;" Dreamworks Animation's "Rise of the Guardians" directed by Peter Ramsey in 3-D; Robert Zemeckis' "Flight" with festival honoree John Goodman; Dustin Hoffman's "Quartet;" Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone;" Wayne Blair's "The Sapphires;" Michael Haneke's "Amour;" Walter Salles' "On the Road;" and festival honoree Geoffrey Fletcher's "Violet & Daisy."

Other special screenings include, Ry Russo-Young's "Nobody Walks;" Matt Ross's "28 Hotel Rooms;" David Jacobson's "Tomorrow You're Gone;" Bedabrata Pain's "Chittagong;" Brian Savelson's "In Our Nature;" Ramona Diaz's "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey" documentary; Julian Jarrold's HBO film "The Girl;" Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush's "A Place at the Table" documentary; Matt Dillon's "City of Ghosts;" and George Roy Hill's "A Little Romance" starring festival honoree Diane Lane.

In addition to the special screenings, the festival features more than 30 competition films, selected from more than 1,000 entries in the categories of feature, short, animation, documentary and student competition that are submitted from around the world. The jurors for this year's competition films include film critic Claudia Puig (USA Today), executive Chuck Lormis (Starz Entertainment), Alex McArthur ("Conspiracy Theory") Marc Frydman ("The Jacket") and Linda O. Olszewski (Shorts International).

The Savannah Film Festival is one of the largest entertainment events in the Southeast. During the festival, professional workshops and lectures for the community and area high school and college students address topics such as acting, directing, producing, animation and filmmaking, among others. SCAD students are also given the opportunity to network with filmmakers, directors, studio executives, producers and others to gain further understanding of their chosen career.

For more information on the festival and a complete schedule of events, which is subject to change, visit scad.edu/filmfest. Follow the Savannah Film Festival on Facebook and on Twitter at @savfilmfest.

SCAD: The University for Creative Careers

The Savannah College of Art and Design is a private, nonprofit, accredited institution conferring bachelor's and master's degrees to prepare talented students for professional careers. As the most comprehensive art and design university in the world, SCAD offers more than 40 majors and more than 50 minors at distinctive locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia; in Hong Kong; in Lacoste, France; and online through SCAD eLearning.

SCAD has more than 20,000 alumni and offers an exceptional education and unparalleled career preparation. The diverse student body, consisting of more than 10,000 students, comes from all 50 United States and nearly 100 countries worldwide. Each student is nurtured and motivated by a faculty of more than 700 professors with extraordinary academic credentials and valuable professional experience. These professors emphasize learning through individual attention in an inspiring university environment. SCAD's innovative curriculum is enhanced by advanced, professional-level technology, equipment and learning resources and has garnered acclaim from respected organizations and publications, including 3D World, American Institute of Architects, BusinessWeek, DesignIntelligence, U.S. News & World Report and the Los Angeles Times.

For more information, visit scad.edu.

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