The American Film Institute and TV Land Announce AFI Benefit Committee for 'TV Land Presents: The AFI Life Achievement Award Honoring Mike Nichols' Gala

LOS ANGELES, April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Top artists from the entertainment community will come together on June 10, 2010 as AFI presents the 38th AFI Life Achievement Award -- the highest honor for a career in film -- to acclaimed director Mike Nichols.  The 25 artists from film, television and the stage who have confirmed their participation on the AFI Benefit Committee in support of the event are: Amy Adams, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Candice Bergen, Cher, Nora Ephron, Harrison Ford, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Shirley MacLaine, Steve Martin, Elaine May, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Mary-Louise Parker, Natalie Portman, Robert Redford, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Elizabeth Taylor, Emma Thompson, Sigourney Weaver and Robin Williams. "TV Land Presents: The AFI Life Achievement Award Honoring Mike Nichols" will air on TV Land on Sunday, June 27, 2010 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.  

The black-tie event will take place within the historic walls of Stage 15 at Sony Pictures Studios, which will be transformed into a spectacular ballroom to honor the career of Mike Nichols. Proceeds from the AFI Life Achievement Award directly support the institute's national educational programs and the preservation of American film history.  

"A master across mediums, Mike Nichols came to America at the age of seven and has contributed to this nation's cultural heritage throughout his life in ways both landmark and legendary," said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO.  "Over the years, Mike has collaborated with American film's finest and the artists represented on the AFI Benefit Committee are but one sign of the enormous affection the community has for him and his extraordinary gifts to us all."

"The fact that so many of Hollywood's best and brightest stars are lining up to pay tribute to their friend and colleague is a testament to Mike Nichols' brilliance," states Larry W. Jones, president, TV Land.  "We're thrilled that we are able to give our audience a front-row seat when the arts and entertainment community honors this amazing and acclaimed director."

HP and AT&T are the gala evening's sponsors and American Airlines returns as the official airline of the American Film Institute.

Press Credential Information:

Press credential registration will open on Monday, April 26, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. PT via TV Land's press website, http://www.tvlandpress.com.

About Mike Nichols

Born in Berlin in 1931, Mike Nichols fled Nazi Germany at age eight.  He was certified a genius at 12, became half of the hit comedy act "Nichols and May" in his twenties, was an acclaimed director of stage and screen in his thirties, conquered television and now, in his late seventies, remains a force equally at ease in all mediums.  He is one of the few artists to have received the Oscar, the Emmy, the Tony and the Grammy.

After spending his adolescence in New York, Nichols attended the University of Chicago where he met Elaine May. The two writers developed the premier comedy act of the late 50s, performing in clubs, on TV and eventually on Broadway, where their show, "An Evening with Nichols and May" (1960) led to a Grammy-winning recording.

After they split, Nichols found a new collaborator in playwright Neil Simon, directing four hit Broadway shows "Barefoot in the Park," "The Odd Couple," "Plaza Suite" and "The Prisoner of Second Avenue," all Tony Award winners.  

Having honed his craft on stage, Nichols moved to the big screen in 1966, when Elizabeth Taylor handpicked him to direct "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Despite studio objections, Nichols shot the film in stark black and white, occasionally using handheld shots to intensify the dramatic tension.  "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" was both a box-office and critical success, earning 13 Academy Award nominations, including one for each of the four actors as well as for Best Director.

Nichols' second film, "The Graduate" (1967), won him the Best Directing Oscar.  He went on to direct an adaptation of Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" (1970), "Carnal Knowledge" (1971), "The Day of the Dolphins" (1973) and the period comedy "The Fortune" (1975). He returned to Broadway in 1977, staging two very different hits: the musical "Annie" and the drama "The Gin Game" with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.

In 1983, Nichols returned to features films with the biopic "Silkwood."  Reuniting with both Streep and Nicholson in 1986, he helmed "Heartburn," an adaptation of Nora Ephron's best-selling novel, followed by "Working Girl" (1988), an adaptation of Carrie Fisher's semi-autobiographical "Postcards from the Edge" (1990), "The Birdcage" (1996) and "Primary Colors" (1998).

In 2001, Nichols returned to television directing Emma Thompson in an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Wit" for HBO, earning Emmy Awards for directing and producing.  He followed up in 2003, producing and directing the six-part miniseries adaptation of Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" for HBO, which received 11 Emmy Awards.  Then, in his triumphant return to Broadway in 2005, he won his sixth Tony as Best Director for the musical "Spamalot," based on the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1975).  And in 2007, well into his seventies, Nichols returned to features to direct "Charlie Wilson's War".

About the American Film Institute

AFI is America's promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work, and to educates the next generation of storytellers.  As a national, public-supported educational and cultural organization, AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is the only non-profit organization dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts.

AFI preserves the legacy of America's film heritage through the AFI Catalog of Feature Films, an authoritative and scholarly record of American films made from 1896 to the present, and the AFI Archives, which contains rare and previously unseen footage from AFI's 40-plus year history.

AFI honors the artists and their work through a variety of programs and special events during the year, including the annual AFI Life Achievement Award and AFI Awards.  For 37 years, the AFI Life Achievement Award has remained the highest honor for a career in film while AFI Awards, the institute's almanac for the 21st century, honors the most outstanding motion pictures and television programs of the year.  AFI's 100 Years/100 Movies...series and definitive movie reference lists, as well as AFI Night at the Movies, have introduced and reintroduced classic American movies to millions of film lovers.

And as the largest nonprofit exhibitor in the United States, AFI offers film enthusiasts a variety of events throughout the year, including AFI Fest presented by Audi, the longest running international film festival in Los Angeles; AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs, the largest documentary festival in the US; and year-round programming at the AFI Silver Theatre in the Washington D.C. area.

AFI educates the next generation of storytellers at its world-renowned AFI Conservatory, offering a two-year Master of Fine Arts degree in six filmmaking disciplines -- Cinematography, Directing, Editing, Producing, Production Design and Screenwriting.  AFI also explores new digital technologies through AFI Conservatory curriculum and workshops and at AFI DigiFest, and showcases the work of young storytellers through AFI ScreenNation and emerging filmmakers through AFI Project: 20/20.

Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com.

About the AFI Life Achievement Award

The highest honor given for a career in film, the AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the AFI Board of Trustees on February 26, 1973.  It is presented to a single honoree each year based on the following criteria as mandated through a resolution passed by the AFI Board of Trustees: "The recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time."

2010 AFI Life Achievement Award honoree Mike Nichols joins an esteemed group of individuals who have been chosen for this distinguished honor since its inception in 1973:  John Ford (1973), James Cagney (1974), Orson Welles (1975), William Wyler (1976), Bette Davis (1977), Henry Fonda (1978), Alfred Hitchcock (1979), James Stewart (1980), Fred Astaire (1981), Frank Capra (1982), John Huston (1983), Lillian Gish (1984), Gene Kelly (1985), Billy Wilder (1986), Barbara Stanwyck (1987), Jack Lemmon (1988), Gregory Peck (1989), Sir David Lean (1990), Kirk Douglas (1991), Sidney Poitier (1992), Elizabeth Taylor (1993), Jack Nicholson (1994), Steven Spielberg (1995), Clint Eastwood (1996), Martin Scorsese (1997), Robert Wise (1998), Dustin Hoffman (1999), Harrison Ford (2000), Barbra Streisand (2001), Tom Hanks (2002), Robert De Niro (2003), Meryl Streep (2004), George Lucas (2005), Sean Connery (2006), Al Pacino (2007), Warren Beatty (2008) and Michael Douglas (2009).

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