Oscar Show Producers Craig Zadan, Neil Meron to Be Honored by Outfest

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who are producing the 85th Academy Awards, will be honored by Outfest, the Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to preserving and showcasing LGBT films, at the eighth annual Legacy Awards.

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The producing partners, who credits range from the movies Chicago and Hairspray to the TV series Smash, will receive the group’s Visionary Award in recognition of their contribution to LGBT arts and media visibility.

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Glee star Darren Criss, who starred in Zadan and Meron’s Broadway production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, will present them with the award at ceremonies at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on Oct. 13.

The Legacy Awards serve as a fundraiser for the Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation, which is a collaboration between Outfest and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, and the only program in the world devoted to saving and preserving LGBT moving images.

“Thanks to Craig and Neil's exceptional work in movies, television and on stage, they have given a loud and clear voice to LGBT characters that reaches the widest possible audience,” said Kirsten Schaffer, executive director of Outfest.

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As previously announced, Bruce Cohen (Milk), Nina Jacobson (The Hunger Games) and Bryan Singer (Usual Suspects, X-Men) will co-chair the event.

The centerpiece screening at the 2012 awards will feature a special sneak preview screening of the Legacy Project’s newest restoration, the 1919 German silent film Different from Others (Anders als die andern), directed by Richard Oswald and co-written by Magnus Hirschfeld.