RON HOWARD TO BE HONORED BY AFF

AUSTIN, TX--- July 14, 2009 --- Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Ron Howard will be presented with the Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking Award at the 16th Annual Austin Film Festival & Conference, October 22-29, 2009. Ron Howard will be presented with the Award during the Awards Luncheon on Saturday, October 24th, at the Austin Club. In addition, Howard will be a featured speaker during the Festival’s four-day Conference, October 22-25, 2009.

Producer, director and actor Ron Howard is one of this generation’s most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 to the hit comedies Parenthood and Splash, he has created some of Hollywood’s most memorable films. Howard directed and produced Cinderella Man starring Oscar® winner Russell Crowe, with whom he previously collaborated with on A Beautiful Mind, for which Howard earned an Oscar® for Best Director and which also won awards for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress. The film garnered four Golden Globes as well, including the award for Best Motion Picture Drama. Additionally, Howard won Best Director of the Year from the Directors Guild of America (DGA). Howard and producer Brian Grazer received the first annual Awareness Award from the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign for their work on the film.

Howard’s skill as a director has long been recognized, starting in 1978 with his directorial debut of the comedy Grand Theft Auto. In 1995, he received his first Best Director of the Year award from the DGA for Apollo 13. The true-life drama also garnered nine Academy Award® nominations, winning Oscars® for Best Film Editing and Best Sound. It also received Best Ensemble Cast and Best Supporting Actor Awards from the Screen Actor’s Guild. Many of Howard’s past films have received nods from the Academy, including the popular hits Backdraft, Parenthood and Cocoon, the last of which took home two Oscars®. Howard was honored by the Museum of Moving Images in December 2005, and by the American Cinema Editors in February 2006. On January 24th, Howard, along with his partner Brian Grazer, was honored with the Milestone Award by the Producers Guild of America (PGA).