The Shock of the Century

Spielberg to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award
By Hollywood.com Staff Wednesday, May 10, 2006

HOLLYWOOD – Filmmaker Steven Spielberg will be honored at the 42nd Chicago International Film Festival’s annual Summer Gala. Spielberg will receive the Gold Hugo Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his outstanding 33 year career in the film industry.

The Festival, which runs October 5 through 19, will pay tribute to the multi-Oscar winner, who has brought moviegoers some the most beloved films of all-time, including Saving Private Ryan, Jaws,Schindler’s List, E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and the Indiana Jones series, on July 15.

“Steven’s artistry elevates all of his projects to a higher level, be it a thriller such as Jurassic Park, or the moving and sensitive The Color Purple. His unique collaboration with Stanley Kubrick on A.I. Artificial Intelligence stands as one of the most wondrous stories and cinematic accomplishments. Michael Kutza, Founder and Artistic Director of the Festival, said in a statement.

“His most recent achievement was his nomination for 5 Academy Awards for Munich which included best picture and best director. We are honored to have this master storyteller with us in Chicago.”

Past honorees include Shirley MacLaine, Richard Attenborough, Francois Truffaut, Jodie Foster, Robin Williams and Clint Eastwood. The event, hosted by TV journalist Bill Kurtis, will be held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers and will include a celebration of Spielberg’s career with film highlights and comments from his colleagues and friends.

Proceeds from the Summer Gala benefit the year-round programs of Cinema/Chicago, a not-for-profit cultural and educational organization dedicated to fostering better communication between people of diverse cultures through the art of the moving image.

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If you didn’t see this coming, then you live under a rock.

Expect Spielberg to receive many lifetime achievement awards within the next 10 years.