Multi-hyphenate Jon Favreau will receive the Cinema Audio Society Filmmaker Award at the 53rd Annual CAS Awards on February 18. 2017, at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza in downtown Los Angeles.
Mark Ulano, president of CAS, has worked with Favreau on multiple projects. He said of his collaborative colleague, “Jon has been a steadfast presence humanizing his storytelling with intelligence and skill. His light touch continues to produce engaging classics, from Elf to The Jungle Book. As a director, actor, producer, his ubiquitous creativity continues to entertain millions and makes him a wonderful choice for the CAS Filmmaker Award.
Favreau began his career in the industry as an actor in the inspiring sports film Rudy. He went on to establish himself as a writer with the acclaimed hipster comedy Swingers. Since then, he has continued to work on both sides of the camera as an actor, writer, director and producer.
Most recently, Favreau directed and produced Disney’s live-action adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s epic adventure The Jungle Book, a film that has received universal acclaim and is currently the fourth highest grossing film of the year. Calling it “a sweet and scary triumph of modern moviemaking,” the Los Angeles Times wrote, “Touching all the bases…is second nature to Favreau’s film and it’s impressive to see how effortless he makes it seem.”
An integral part of the formation and the expansion of the Marvel Universe, Favreau had his director hat firmly planted when making the blockbuster hits Iron Man and Iron Man 2, which grossed a combined $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office. He also served as executive producer on Marvel’s The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron, which grossed a combined $2.9 billion worldwide, becoming the fifth and seventh highest-grossing films of all time.
In a change of pace from the big blockbuster, 2014 saw Favreau writing, directing, producing and starring in the indie hit Chef, a well-received comedy that also starred Sofia Vergara, Scarlett Johansson, and Robert Downey Jr.
Favreau’s directing credits also include: Cowboys and Aliens starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, Zathura: A Space Adventure starring Tim Robbins, the holiday smash hit Elf starring Will Ferrell. Favreau made his feature-film directorial debut with Made, a script he wrote and starred in opposite Vince Vaughn and Sean Combs.
Favreau’s acting credits include Wolf of Wall Street, Identity Theft, People Like Us, Couples Retreat, I Love You Man, Four Christmases, The Break-Up, Wimbledon, Something’s Gotta Give, Daredevil, Love and Sex, The Replacements, Very Bad Things and Deep Impact. He also portrayed the legendary heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano in the MGM biopic Rocky Marciano.
Favreau’s television credits include a recurring role on Friends and a special appearance on HBO’s The Sopranos, playing himself. Favreau also added the title of show runner to his multi-hyphenate list of credits as the creator, producer and host of the critically acclaimed and Emmy®-nominated IFC series Dinner for Five. He also executive produced the TV Series Revolution. Presently, Favreau is an executive producer on the TV series The Shannara Chronicles, which was recently renewed for a second season.
Favreau will be the 12th CAS Filmmaker Honoree. Past honorees have been: Jay Roach, Richard Linklater, Edward Zwick, Jonathan Demme, Rob Marshall, Taylor Hackford, Henry Selick, Paul Mazursky, Bill Condon, Gil Cates and Quentin Tarantino.
Also being honored on the evening of Feb. 18 with the CAS Career Achievement Award is previously announced recipient John Pritchett, CAS. During the awards ceremony the CAS will also present the CAS Student Recognition Award to one of five student finalists.
The 53rd CAS Awards will honor Outstanding Achievements in Sound Mixing in seven categories: Motion Pictures, Animated Motion Pictures, Documentary Motion Pictures, Television Movies and Mini-Series, Television Series-One Hour, Television Series-Half Hour and Television-Non-Fiction, Variety, Music Series or Specials.
