HOLLYWOOD, CA, October 1, 2008 -- The 12th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards, co-chaired by Paul Haggis and presented by Starz, announced today that Academy Award-winning director and producer Clint Eastwood will receive the "Hollywood Director of the Year Award" at the festival's Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony on October 27, 2008 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

"Clint Eastwood is truly an American film icon, and his impressive body of work exemplifies his extraordinary ability, craftsmanship and determination as an actor, director and producer," said Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival. "He continues to wow audiences with his creative vision as a filmmaker, and we are thrilled to honor him at the Hollywood Awards."

"Just when you think Clint Eastwood is about to take a breath, he shoots two films in a year and starts prepping a third, and barely thinks any of that is worth mentioning. He brings dignity, grace, humility, humor, quiet confidence and a sense of ease to a profession that is in sore need of all of those virtues," said screenwriter, director and Awards co-chair Paul Haggis.

Marc Forster, Ron Howard, Michael Mann, Sam Mendes, Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone are among the past honorees of the "Hollywood Director of the Year Award."

Previously announced honorees for this year's Hollywood Awards include: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven and Emma Thomas for the "Producers Award"; James Franco for the "Breakthrough Actor Award"; Sally Hawkins for the "Breakthrough Actress Award"; John Patrick Shanley for both the "Screenwriter Award," and the "Breakthrough Director Award"; Dustin Lance Black for the "Breakthrough Screenwriter Award"; Disney/Pixar's "Wall-E" and director Andrew Stanton for the "Hollywood Animation Award"; Paramount Pictures' "Iron Man" and visual effects supervisors John Nelson and Ben Snow for the "Hollywood Visual Effects Award"; Danny Elfman for "Film Composer Award"; Mandy Walker for "Cinematographer Award"; Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill for "Editor Award"; Sarah Greenwood for "Production Designer Award"; and Deborah Hopper for "Costume Designer Award."

ABOUT CLINT EASTWOOD
In the coming months, two films directed and produced by Clint Eastwood will hit theaters. The provocative drama "Changeling," starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, is due for release from Universal on October 24. Based on the actual incident that rocked California's legal system, the film tells the shocking tale of a mother's quest to find her son, and those who won't stop until they silence her. The drama "Gran Torino," in which Eastwood also stars, is scheduled for release from Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures in December. Marking his first film role since his Oscar-winning "Million Dollar Baby," Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, an iron-willed veteran living in a changing world, who is forced by his immigrant neighbors to confront his own long-held prejudices.

In 2007, Eastwood garnered a Golden Globe and Critics' Choice Award for Best Foreign Language Film for his World War II drama "Letters from Iwo Jima," as well as dual Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Picture, and Best Picture honors from numerous film critics organizations. 2005 marked Academy Award wins for Best Picture and Best Director, and a Best Director Golden Globe for "Million Dollar Baby." In 2003, Eastwood's critically acclaimed drama "Mystic River" debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, and went on to win two Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, out of six nominations, and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director. Eastwood's foreboding, revisionist Western, "Unforgiven," received four Oscars out of nine Academy Award nominations, as well as a Best Director Golden Globe in 2003.

Eastwood has been honored with numerous lifetime career achievement awards, including the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award (1988), the California Governor's Award for the Arts (1992), the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award (1995), and a Kennedy Center Honor (2000), amongst other accolades from several cinematic guilds and societies.

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM FESTIVAL & HOLLYWOOD AWARDS
The 12th Annual Hollywood Film Festival®, presented by Starz, will mark its return on October 22, 2008, to the state-of-the-art ArcLight Theatres in Hollywood for a weeklong series of screenings, seminars, competitions, awards and a special presentation of "Genre Cinema." Newly added to the festival line-up is the Hollywood Horror, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Film Festival in conjunction with Film Threat.

The Hollywood Film Festival® and Hollywood Awards® were created to bridge the gap between Hollywood and the global creative community, while at the same time honoring established Hollywood professionals. The festival is recognized as one of Hollywood's most prestigious celebrations of the motion picture art form, and includes screenings, world premieres and the star-studded Hollywood Awards. The Hollywood Awards were created to honor excellence in the art of filmmaking, as well as creative talent within the global creative community. Past honorees and presenters include Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore, Annette Bening, Halle Berry, Russell Crowe, Penelope Cruz, Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr., Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hanks, Goldie Hawn, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie, Diane Keaton, Nicole Kidman, George Lucas, Demi Moore, Ellen Page, Michelle Pfeiffer, Brad Pitt, Susan Sarandon, Will Smith, Steven Spielberg, John Travolta, Naomi Watts and Robin Williams, among others.

The festival and awards presenter is Starz Entertainment, LLC, a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz® and Encore® brands with approximately 17 million and 31.3 million subscribers, respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Entertainment Group (NASDAQ: LMDIA), a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.

For more information please go to http://www.hollywoodfestival.com

Festival Contact: 1.310.288.1882
Hollywood Film Festival®
433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 600
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

info@hollywoodnetwork.com