Movie industry executives and distributors, theatre owners and managers, and equipment and concessions manufacturers came together for CinemaCon 2014, the official convention of NATO (National Association of Theatre Owners), which took place Monday, March 24 through Thursday, March 27 at Caesars Palace.
Along with sneak peak presentations of major studios’ upcoming slate for 2014 and beyond, a slew of A list movie stars were on hand to promote their films and several actors and filmmakers were honored with awards for their achievement in film during the 2014 CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards ceremony in the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace on Thursday, March 27th. Cohosts for the evening’s event were Billy Bush and Kit Hoover of Access Hollywood.
Kit Hoover and Billy Bush
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
The event began by recognizing the six finalists from the 2014 Sprite Films competition that were selected from students from all over the country to create and helm a short film from script-to-screen. New to the program in 2014 was Sprite Films ambassador and mentor, actor Michael B. Jordan, who met the students and offered advice based on his first-hand experience working in Hollywood.
Sprite Film Award Winners
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
The finalists and their short films were:
Columbia College Chicago
“Thirsty Enough”
Director/Writer: Robert Forney
Producer: Mark Winters
University of North Carolina, School of the Arts
“Because We Have To”
Director/Writer: Lucian Murphree
Producer: Char-Lay Douglas
The School of Visual Arts
“Wall of Inspiration”
Director/Writer: Angel Cardenas
Producer: Henrik Hanson
The Art Institute of Charlotte
“Fresh”
Director/Writer: John Kofonow
Producer: Bertrum Williams
University of California, Los Angeles
“What We Need”
Director/Writer: Merlin Camozzi
Producer: Rick Perry
Savannah College of Art and Design
“See Your Dreams”
Director/Writer: Olivia Riley Day
Producer: Akmyrat Tuyliyev
The major awards kicked off with the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to director Ivan Reitman. Reitman is best known for classics such as “Animal House”, “Stripes”, “Ghostbusters”, “Dave”, “Private Parts”, “I Love You Man” and “Up In The Air” among many others. His new film “Draft Day” starring Kevin Costner, was given a special advance screening at this year’s CinemaCon.
Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Ivan Reitman
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Other award recipients were:
Shailene Woodley
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Ms. Woodley was honored for her performance in “The Descendants” opposite George Clooney, and stars in the just released “Divergent”. She will be seen starring in the upcoming release of 20th Century Fox’s “The Fault In Our Stars”.
Chadwick Boseman
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Boseman won critical acclaim for his performance as Jackie Robinson in last year's “42”. He has upcoming roles in “Draft Day” with Kevin Costner, as singer James Brown in “Get On Up” and as Thoth, the god of wisdom in “Gods Of Egypt”.
Andy Serkis
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Serkis was honored for his pioneering work in the art of motion capture performance. Best known for creating such memorable characters as “King Kong”, as Gollum in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” series, and Caesar in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and the upcoming “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, when it comes to 'performance capture' he has no equal and has pioneered an art form that has changed the world of acting. In October 2012, Serkis announced the acquisition of two projects that will be produced by his London based performance capture studio, The Imaginarium: “The Bone Season,” and “Animal Farm,” which Serkis will direct.
Jack Reynor and Nicola Peltz
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Reynor was honored for his outstanding work in “What Richard Did” and opposite Vince Vaughn in “Delivery Man”. He can be seen in this summer’s “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, and in the upcoming “Glassland” and “Macbeth”.
Ms. Peltz made her big screen debut opposite Danny DeVito, Matthew Broderick and Kristen Chenowith in the 2006 film “Deck the Halls”. She went on to star in “The Last Airbender” and “Eye of the Hurricane”. Peltz can be seen in the upcoming “Transformers: Age of Extinction”.
Leslie Mann
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Leslie Mann (wife of producer/director Judd Apetow) is known for her work in “This is 40”, “Knocked Up” with co-star and CinemaCon honoree Seth Rogen, “The Cable Guy”, “The Change Up”, “The Bling Ring”, “I Love You Phillip Morris”, “17 Again”, “Big Daddy”, “Little Birds”, “George of the Jungle”, “Timecode”, “Drillbit Taylor”, “Funny People and “The 40 Year Old Virgin”. She can be heard in the recent “Mr. Peabody & Sherman”, “Paranorman” and seen in the upcoming Fox release of “The Other Woman” with co-stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton.
Chris Pratt
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Pratt (married to actress Ana Faris) was honored for his work in “The Lego Movie”, “Delivery Man”, “Five Year Engagement”, “Moneyball”,, “Her” and “Zero Dark Thirty”. later this year he can be seen as Peter Quill in the upcoming Marvel release of “Guardians of the Galaxy”.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
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As writers, producers and directors, long time friends, Rogen and & Goldman were recognized for their work on “Superbad”, “Pineapple Express”, “The Guilt Trip”, and “The Green Hornet” and last year’s “This is the End”. Their latest collaborative efforts, screened at this year’s CinemaCon, is the upcoming Universal Picture’s comedy “Neighbors” starring Seth Rogen along with Rose Byrne and Zac Efron.
Kevin Costner
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Kevin Costner was honored for his roles in front of, and behind the camera, with such iconic films as “Dances with Wolves”, “The Untouchables”, “Bull Durham”, “Field of Dreams”, “Open Range”, “Man of Steel”, “No Way Out”, “The Postman, “Tin Cup”, “McFarland”, “Black & White”, “JFK”, “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves”, “The Bodyguard” and can be seen starring in the upcoming “Draft Day” along with CinemaCon honoree Chadwick Boseman.
Actor, writer and producer Adam Sandler (Happy Madison Productions) has had audiences laughing time and again with films such as “The Wedding Singer”, “Happy Gilmore”, “The Waterboy” “Big Daddy”, “50 First Dates”, “Just Go With It”, “Grown Ups 2”, “Funny People”, “That;s My Boy”, “Jack and Jill”, “The Longest Yard”, “Click”, “Anger Management”, “Punch Drunk Love”, “Little Nicky”, “Billy Madison”, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, “Zookeeper”, “The Animal”, “Grandma’s Boy”, “Joe Dirt”, “Master of Disguise”, “The Hot Chick” “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo”, “Hotel Transylvania”, “Hotel Transylvania 2” and just complete filming on “The Cobbler” and “Pale Blue Dot”. He can be seen in the upcoming “Blended” with costar and CinemaCon honoree Drew Barrymore.
Barrymore (Flower Films) made her acting debut in the movie “Altered States” but caught the attention of movie going audiences as the adorable 7 year old pig-tailed child in Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial”. She has gone on to star in such notable films as “Irreconcilable Difference”, “Cat’s Eye”, “Far From Home”, “Boys on the side”, “Scream”, “The Wedding Singer”, “Home Fries”, “Never Been Kissed”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “Riding in Cars with Boys”, “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”, “50 First Dates”, “He’s Just Not That Into You”, “Everybody’s Fine” and “Going the Distance”. She has lent her voice to “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” and “Curious George” and has gone on to direct “Whip It!” and “Our Deal”. She can be seen in the upcoming comedy “Blended” with co star and CinemaCon honoree Adam Sandler.
Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn
Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” received the Fandango Fan Choice for Favorite Movie of 2013, voted by the users of Fandango.com.