Iconic writer, director and producer Roger Corman is set to accept Los Angeles Press Club’s Distinguished Storyteller Award for filmmaking. The ceremony will take place at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards Gala on Dec. 3 at the historic Biltmore Hotel, downtown Los Angeles.
The Distinguished Storyteller Award honors storytellers outside of journalism whose dazzling skills bring fiction to vivid life. Always a trendsetter, Corman made the first “biker” movie with WILD ANGELS. Starring Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra, the film opened the 1966 Venice Film Festival to great acclaim. Corman also launched the late ’60s “psychedelic” film craze in 1967 with THE TRIP, written by and starring Jack Nicholson.
“Roger Corman is a Hollywood innovator who has entertained audiences through hundreds of films,” said LA Press Club President Lisa Richwine. “He also influenced much of modern-day cinema by mentoring many of today’s top filmmakers.”
Noted for his keen ability to spot young talents, his most lasting legacy will undoubtedly be the legion of producers, directors, writers, and actors he has fostered, among them: Jack Nicholson, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Diane Ladd, Talia Shire, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert DeNiro, Martin Scorsese, Sally Kirkland, Ron Howard, Charles Bronson, Joe Dante, Jonathan Demme, Gale Ann Hurd, and James Cameron.
Full bio of Roger Corman here.
On the same evening, Barbara Eden will be honored with the Legend Award. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., host/producer/writer of PBS’ “Finding Your Roots” will receive the Luminary Award for Career Achievement. Legendary actor and educator LeVar Burton will be honored with the second Distinguished Storyteller Award for his Literacy Impact and director/writer/producer Ava DuVernay will accept the Visionary Award for Humanitarian Work.
This year’s National A&E Journalism Awards Gala is dedicated to the memory of Bob Barker, the very first Legend Awardee and a cherished friend of the LA Press Club.
The NAEJ awards gala is a fundraiser for the LA Press Club, a 501c3 charitable organization. For tickets, advertising and sponsorship opportunities go to www.LAPressClub.org or contact NAEJ producer Diana Ljungaeus at Diana-AT-lapressclub.org.
