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Mandy Walker is Hollywood DOP of the Year

[Release by Hollywood Film Festival]

Australian cinematographer Mandy Walker, ACS will be one of the honourees at the 12th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards. Walker will receive the "Hollywood Cinematographer of the Year Award" during a gala ceremony on October 27 in Beverly Hills.

The awards, co-chaired by Paul Haggis and presented by Starz, were created to honour excellence in the art of filmmaking, as well as creative talent within the global creative community.

Other recipients include film composer Danny Elfman who will receive the "Hollywood Composer of the Year Award," editors Daniel P. Hanley, ACE and Mike Hill, ACE as "Hollywood Editor of the Year Award," production designer Sarah Greenwood, ADG as "Hollywood Production Designer of the Year Award" and costume designer Deborah Hopper, CDG for "Hollywood Costume Designer of the Year Award."

"We are excited to have these exceptionally talented artists honored for their outstanding work and creative vision at this year’s festival," said Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival. "Each of these artists has made a significant contribution to cinema in their respective professions, and are sure to impress film audiences with the latest additions to their bodies of work this year."

Previous Hollywood Awards honorees and presenters have included Nicole Kidman, Geoffrey Rush,Eric Bana, Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts, Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Will Smith, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, and Robin Williams, among others.

ABOUT THE HONOREES
Cinematographer Mandy Walker’s most recent project is Twentieth Century-Fox’s romantic drama Australia. Directed by Baz Luhrman and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, the film is due for release in November. Walker’s other films include Shattered Glass, Australian Rules, Lantana, Walk the Talk, The Well, Love Serenade, and Return Home. Walker was recognized with awards from the Australian Cinematographers Society for her work on the feature Lantana and the short Parklands.

Composer Danny Elfman received Oscar nominations for his scores for Men in Black, Good Will Hunting and Big Fish. Most recently he composed the score for Universal’s Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Timur Bekmambetov’s Wanted starring James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie for Universal, and Gus Van Sant’s upcoming biographical drama Milk, starring Sean Penn and Josh Brolin, which is scheduled for release in November from Focus Features. Elfman’s other credits include The Simpsons Movie, Spider-Man, Charlotte’s Web, Nacho Libre, The Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chicago, Planet of the Apes, Mission Impossible, Dead Presidents, Edward Scissorhands, Dick Tracy, Batman and Beetle Juice.

Editors Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill, longtime collaborators with director Ron Howard, won Oscars for their work on Apollo 13 and received Academy Award nominations for A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man. Their latest film is Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon for Universal Pictures. Starring Frank Langella as Richard Nixon and Michael Sheen as David Frost, the film is due for release in October. Next, Hanley and Hill will edit Ron Howard’s Angels and Demons, which is based on the Dan Brown novel. Other films they have edited include The Da Vinci Code, The Missing, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, EdTV, Ransom, The Paper, Far and Away, Backdraft, Parenthood, Pet Sematary, Willow, Armed and Dangerous, Cocoon, Splash and Night Shift, among others.

Production designer Sarah Greenwood received Academy Award nominations for her work on Joe Wright’s Atonement and Pride & Prejudice. She also won the BAFTA Award for "Atonement." Her most recent film is DreamWorks’ The Soloist" also directed by Joe Wright. The Soloist is scheduled for release in November and stars Jamie Foxx, Robert Downey Jr. and Catherine Keener. Greenwood’s other feature film credits include Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Starter for 10, The Abduction Club, Born Romantic and The Governess. Greenwood’s career also includes production design for numerous TV movies and series.

Costume designer Deborah Hopper, who has worked on many of director Clint Eastwood’s films, most recently served as costume designer on Eastwood’s The Changeling, which stars Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, and is due for release from Universal in October, as well as Eastwood’s Gran Torino, scheduled for release in December from Warner Bros. Hopper’s film credits include Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, Blood Work, Space Cowboys and Dear God, among others.

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL & HOLLYWOOD AWARDS
The 12th Annual Hollywood Film Festival, presented by Starz, will mark its return on October 22, 2008, to the state-of-the-art ArcLight Theatres in Hollywood for a weeklong series of screenings, seminars, competitions, awards and a special presentation of "Genre Cinema." Newly added to the festival line-up is the Hollywood Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Film Festival in conjunction with Film Threat.

The Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards were created to bridge the gap between Hollywood and the global creative community, while at the same time honoring established Hollywood professionals. The festival is recognized as one of Hollywood’s most prestigious celebrations of the motion picture art form, and includes screenings, world premieres and the star-studded Hollywood Awards. The Hollywood Awards were created to honor excellence in the art of filmmaking, as well as creative talent within the global creative community. The "World," "Film," "Breakthrough," "Star," "Movie of the Year," "New," and "Trailer" awards will be bestowed during the Gala Ceremony on October 27, 2008 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

For more information please go to www.hollywoodfestival.com