Charlize Theron To Receive American Cinematheque Award

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron will receive the 33rd American Cinematheque Award Friday evening for her contributions to the film industry.

Theron will receive the award at the nonprofit American Cinematheque's annual fundraising gala at the Beverly Hilton hotel.

Since 1986, the organization has "annually honored an extraordinary filmmaker in the entertainment industry, who is fully engaged in his or her work and is committed to making a significant contribution to the art of the motion picture."

Cinematheque Chairman Rick Nicita said Theron was the unanimous choice of the Board of Directors' selection committee, saying the 44-year-old performer/producer "is making a significant contribution to the art of motion pictures while breaking through outmoded limitations on what an actress and producer can do."

Nicita said Theron "won the Academy Award for transforming herself unrecognizably into a serial killer in `Monster' and she earned another Oscar nomination for `North Country.' She showed her fierce physicality in acclaimed action films like `Mad Max: Fury Road' and `Atomic Blonde.' She gave us portraits of troubled women in Golden Globe-nominated performances in `Young Adult' and `Tully.' She made an immediate and strong impression from the beginning in acclaimed movies such as `The Cider House Rules.'

"This fall, audiences will get to see her on and off-screen talent at play again in her next film -- a behind-the-scenes look at the women of Fox News, which she produced and also stars in," he said. "It is obvious from her career that her immense talent cannot be categorized or confined."

In addition to acting and running her own production company, the South African native serves as a United Nations Messenger of Peace and founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project, which works to help keep African youth safe from HIV through support of community-engaged organizations.

Previous recipients of the award are Eddie Murphy (1986); Bette Midler (1987); Robin Williams (1988); Steven Spielberg (1989); Ron Howard (1990); Martin Scorsese (1991); Sean Connery (1992); Michael Douglas (1993); Rob Reiner (1994); Mel Gibson (1995); Tom Cruise (1996); John Travolta (1997); Arnold Schwarzenegger (1998); Jodie Foster (1999); Bruce Willis (2000); Nicolas Cage (2001); Denzel Washington (2002); Nicole Kidman (2003); Steve Martin (2004); Al Pacino (2005) George Clooney (2006), Julia Roberts (2007); Samuel L. Jackson (2008); Matt Damon (2010); Robert Downey Jr. (2011), Ben Stiller (2012), Jerry Bruckheimer (2013), Matthew McConaughey (2014), Reese Witherspoon (2015), Ridley Scott (2016), Amy Adams (2017) and Bradley Cooper (2018).

Funds raised at the annual award gala, previously known as the Moving Picture Ball, benefit Cinematheque's year-round programming and operation of the historic landmark Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, as well as the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica on Montana Avenue.

City News Service