Hollywood, California, August 20, 2008 -- Variety, the authoritative entertainment industry publication, will present its annual "10 Actors to Watch" lineup of exciting new talents onstage at the Hollywood Awards® Gala Ceremony.

The 10 actors, selected by a team of Variety's critics, editors and reporters, will be recognized at the prestigious Hollywood Awards® at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on October 27.

"We are very proud and honored to join Variety in presenting Variety's '10 Actors to Watch' at the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony. Together, we will be able to recognize acting talents that are on their road to discovery and stardom," Festival founder Carlos de Abreu said.

The "10 Actors to Watch" event is part of Variety's well-known "10 to Watch" program, spotlighting emerging talents in the fields of acting, directing, screenwriting and cinematography, among others. The honorees' accomplishments and future projects will be covered in Variety's Hollywood Awards feature section and will be included in a special webcast series focusing on the "10 Actors to Watch" at Variety.com.

Last year's 10 Actors to Watch list included Amy Ryan, an Oscar and Golden Globe nominee and winner of the National Board of Review for her work in "Gone Baby Gone"; SAG Award nominee Ben Foster as a rogue cowboy in "3:10 to Yuma"; Chris Messina, currently starring in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"; and Teng Wei, who received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her role in Ang Lee's "Lust Caution."

The "10 to Watch" program is supervised by Steven Gaydos, Variety's executive editor of features, and Stuart Levine, assistant managing editor, features. Said Levine: "With forward-thinking selections such as Amy Ryan and Chris Messina, our 10 Actors to Watch list is giving the industry a sneak peak at actors who are awards season contenders and whose careers are achieving heightened excitement and recognition."

The 12th Annual Hollywood Film Festival® and Hollywood Awards® will take place from Oct. 22-27. The Festival's screenings take place at ArcLight Theatres in Hollywood. Its Hollywood Awards® Gala Ceremony will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Monday, Oct. 27.

According to "The New York Times" the festival and awards are "the first mandatory stop in the awards season." In the last four years, a total of 54 Oscar® nominations and 16 Oscars® were given to films the festival showcased and to the nominees and honorees of the Hollywood Film Festival® and Hollywood Awards®."

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 16.3 million and 30.7 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, Starz On Demand and Vongo®. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital Group.

For more festival and awards information go to http://www.hollywoodfestival.com

Festival Contact:
Hollywood Awards®
Hollywood Film Festival®
1.310.288.1882
awards@hollywoodnawards.com
http://www.hollywoodawards.com