"Before Midnight" Screenwriters to be Honored at Hollywood Film Awards

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Sept. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The 17th Annual Hollywood Film Awards announced today that it will be honoring Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater, with the "Hollywood Screenwriters Award," for their screenplay for Sony Pictures Classics' Before Midnight.

The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, founder and executive producer of the Hollywood Film Awards. He said: "It is a privilege to honor such multi-talented screenwriters."

The award will be bestowed at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony on Monday evening, October 21, 2013 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

This is the third film in the series, preceded by Before Sunset in 2004, also written by the trio, and Before Sunrise in 1995, written by Linklater and Kim Krizan. In the latest film, we meet Celine and Jesse nine years after their last rendezvous. Almost two decades have passed since their first encounter on a train bound for Vienna, and we now find them in their early forties in Greece. Before the clock strikes midnight, we will again become part of their story.  

The Hollywood Film Awards honors cherished stars, filmmakers 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 proud to be the first stop of the awards season. In the last ten years, a total of 96 Oscar® nominations and 34 Oscars® were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Film Awards," said de Abreu.

Last year's awards show received more than 41 million media impressions, in addition to more than 300 million online and print readers' impressions.

ABOUT JULIE DELPY
After graduating from NYU's Tisch Film School, Delpy's film Blah Blah Blah debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995. That year she also starred in Richard Linklater's film Before Sunrise, with Ethan Hawke. The film received glowing reviews, and lead to a follow-up with the characters nine years later with Before Sunset in 2004. Delpy co-wrote the script with Hawke and Linklater, and it earned them an Academy Award nomination for Adapted Screenplay. Delpy has also been recognized for her work by the Cesar Awards, having been nominated three times, and is well-known for an additional film series she has written, directed, edited and co-produced; 2 Days in Paris and 2 Days in New York.

ABOUT ETHAN HAWKE
Ethan Hawke is an Academy Award nominated actor and screenwriter who has starred in over 40 films that have spanned three decades. In 2013, he reunited with Richard Linklater and Julie Delpy to co-write Before Midnight, the third film in the "Before" series, in which he also stars. Hawke, Linklater and Delpy were nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 for "Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay" for their collaboration on Before Sunset. He is a film and stage director, and has published two novels, "The Hottest State" and "Ash Wednesday." A Tony nominated actor, Hawke returns to the stage in November in the Lincoln Center Theatre's production of "Macbeth" directed by Jack O'Brien who also directed him in "The Coast of Utopia."

ABOUT RICHARD LINKLATER
As a director, screenwriter, producer and actor, Richard Linklater has brought us films like Slacker, Dazed and Confused, and School of Rock. Linklater founded the Austin Film Society in 1985 and is credited with shining a spotlight on Austin's independent filmmakers. In 1993 Linklater wrote and directed Dazed and Confused, based on his high school experiences. Two years later, Linklater won a Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival for Before Sunrise. After garnering success with comedies like School of Rock and Bad News Bears, Linklater was also nominated in 2005 with Hawke and Delpy for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards. Linklater is known for his narrative in his films, all happening over one day.

ABOUT DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS
Founded in 1957, dick clark productions, Inc (DCP) is a leading independent producer of television programming. DCP produces perennial hits such as the "American Music Awards," "Golden Globe Awards," "Academy of Country Music Awards," and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest." DCP also produces popular weekly television programming, including "So You Think You Can Dance," and owns and maintains one of the world's most unique and extensive entertainment libraries, which includes more than 30 years of "American Bandstand" footage. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com .

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM AWARDS®
The Hollywood Film Awards® founded in 1997 were created to celebrate Hollywood and launch the awards season. The recipients of the awards are selected for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released during the calendar year. In the last ten years, a total of 96 Oscar® nominations and 34 Oscars® were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Film Awards. For additional information, visit: www.hollywoodawards.com.

SOURCE Hollywood Film Awards