HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Oct. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The 15th annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, presented by Starz Entertainment, have announced that director Bennett Miller will be honored with the "Hollywood Director Award" for his outstanding direction on "Moneyball."

Miller will be recognized at the festival's Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, which will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on October 24, 2011.

"With 'Moneyball,' Bennett Miller has given us a beautiful film, from what many called an 'unfilmable' book, and we're thrilled to honor him as our Hollywood Director," said Carlos de Abreu, Hollywood Film Festival Founder and Executive Director. "Bennett found the heart in this story of baseball statistics and guided the remarkable performances of Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman. 'Capote' was a masterful debut, and 'Moneyball' further proves that Miller has a real gift for breathing life into complex material."

"Moneyball" is the critically acclaimed story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Pitt), who gambled on an unorthodox and revolutionary method building the ideal baseball team, based on their unique ability to score runs and win games. It has proven to be a box-office hit for Sony and is earning tremendous raves for Mr. Miller's direction and the performances of Mr. Pitt, Mr. Hill and Mr. Hoffman.

Miller earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Director for the 2005 drama, "Capote," starring Philip Seymour Hoffman in his Oscar® winning performance as Truman Capote during the research of his groundbreaking true crime novel, "In Cold Blood."  For "Capote," Miller also earned a nomination for BAFTA's David Lean Award for Direction, and a Directors Guild of America nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement.

Miller made the acclaimed 1998 documentary-portrait "The Cruise" about New York City tour guide Timothy 'Speed' Levitch. The film garnered considerable critical praise and notable awards, including the top prize of the International Forum at the Berlin Film Festival. The film was released theatrically by Artisan Entertainment and was released on DVD by Lions Gate Films.

The Hollywood Awards Gala launches the awards season. In the past eight years a total of 73 Oscar nominations and 27 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Awards.

The 2011 Hollywood Film Festival has also announced that they will honor five-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close with the "Hollywood Career Achievement Award," Oscar winner George Clooney with the "Hollywood Actor Award," Academy Award-nominated actress Michelle Williams with the "Hollywood Actress Award" for "My Week with Marilyn," Academy Award-nominated actor Christopher Plummer with the "Hollywood Supporting Actor Award" for "Beginners," Academy Award-nominated actress Carey Mulligan with the "Hollywood Supporting Actress Award" for "Shame," actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt with the "Hollywood Breakthrough Actor Award" for "50/50," and actress Felicity Jones with the "New Hollywood Award" for "Like Crazy." Other honorees include the cast of "The Help" (Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O'Reilly, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Cicely Tyson, and Mike Vogel). Also, Berenice Bejo, Jean Dujardin, Elle Fanning, Amber Heard, Andrea Riseborough, Shailene Woodley and Anton Yelchin will receive the "Hollywood Spotlight Awards," alongside Breakthrough Director Michel Hazanavicius, Producer Letty Aronson, Screenwriter Diablo Cody, Film Composer Alberto Iglesias, Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, Editor Stephen Mirrione, Production Designer James Murakami, and Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar will be honored at their annual Awards Gala. In addition, Gore Verbinski's "Rango" will be recognized at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony.

About Starz Entertainment, LLC:

The festival and awards presenter is Starz Entertainment, LLC, a premium movie and original programming entertainment service provider operating in the United States. The company offers 17 premium channels including the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® brands with approximately 19 million and 32.9 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs in total more than 1,000 movies and original series every month across its pay TV channels. Starz Entertainment is recognized as a pay TV leader in providing HD, On Demand, HD On Demand and online advanced services for its STARZ, ENCORE and MOVIEPLEX brands. Starz Entertainment ( www.starz.com ) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation and is attributed to the Liberty Starz tracking stock group (NASDAQ: LSTZA).

For more information please go to www.HollywoodFestival.com.

SOURCE Hollywood Film Festival

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