Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks will be honored at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for his two most recent roles, event promoters announced Monday.
Hanks will be feted at the 25th annual festival's Jan. 4 gala at the Palm Springs Convention Center, where he will accept the Chairman's Award for
his work in "Captain Phillips" and "Saving Mr. Banks."
Actors Sandra Bullock ("Gravity"), Julia Roberts ("August, Osage County"), Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave"), Matthew McConaughey ("Dallas Buyers Club"), and Bruce Dern ("Nebraska") will also be honored, along with composer Thomas Newman ("Saving Mr. Banks"), director Steve McQueen ("12 Years a Slave") and the cast of "American Hustle."
Past recipients of the Chairman's Award include Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Richard Gere, Dustin Hoffman and Nicole Kidman.
Festival Chairman Harold Matzner called Hanks "one of the greatest actors of his generation."
"This year he portrayed two real-life characters, each a powerhouse
performance in its own right," Matzner said. "In the film 'Captain Phillips,' he plays Richard Phillips, the captain of a ship hijacked by pirates, while in 'Saving Mr. Banks' he plays Walt Disney trying to turn the book 'Mary Poppins' into a film - two roles that couldn't be more divergent."
"Captain Phillips" depicts the hijacking of U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates in 2009. In "Saving Mr. Banks," Hanks stars with fellow Oscar winner Emma Thompson.
Hanks won back-to-back Best Actor Oscars - first in 1993 as an AIDS-stricken lawyer in Philadelphia and the next year for "Forrest Gump." He also received Oscar nominations for "Big," "Castaway" and "Saving Private
Ryan."
For more info about the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which runs from Jan. 3-14, call (760) 322-2930 or visit www.psfilmfest.org.
Reported by City News Service
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