Jeffrey Katzenberg will be the first recipient of the Sid Grauman award, a new honor to be handed out by the American Cinematheque at its annual benefit on Oct. 30 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel.
The DreamWorks Animation CEO will be honored for his achievements in the motion picture industry. The award is named after Sid Grauman, the founder of Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre, which has been owned and operated by the Cinematheque since 1998. It will be presented by Hill Valley, a product placement and promotion agency based in Paris and Los Angeles that represents luxury brands and also is involved in motion picture development, production, product placement and promotion.
The Cinematheque board of directors said it created the award to honor an individual who has made a significant contribution to the Hollywood film industry in the continuing advancement of theatrical exhibition, citing as an example DreamWorks Animation’s distribution of Prince of Egypt in 1988, which included an exclusive showing at the Egyptian Theatre when it first reopened following an extensive restoration.
American Cinematheque chairman Rick Nicita said, “Jeffrey Katzenberg is the ideal inaugural recipient of the American Cinematheque’s Sid Grauman award. Both Grauman and Katzenberg advanced the successful exhibition of motion pictures around the world: Sid Grauman with his movie palaces that included the Egyptian and Chinese theatres and Jeffrey Katzenberg with his dynamic leadership as a business and creative force at the top of several major iconic movie companies.”
At the benefit, the American Cinematheque also will honor Reese Witherspoon with its main award for her career achievements.
