The Film Society of Lincoln Center has announced that Rob Reiner, acclaimed director of some of the most popular and influential motion pictures of the past few decades, will be honored at the 41st Annual Chaplin Award Gala held at Lincoln Center Monday, April 28, 2014. The event will celebrate the range of Reiner’s work from the pure comedy of This Is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride to the intense drama of Stand By Me; the romantic comedy of When Harry Met Sally…, as well as his extensive on-screen work highlighted with the role of Michael “Meathead” Stivic in the landmark television series All in the Family. The event will be attended by a host of notable guests honoring the director, producer, actor, and political activist’s career and will include movie and interview clips culminating in the presentation of The Chaplin Award.
"The Board is very excited to have Rob Reiner as the next recipient of The Chaplin Award," said Ann Tenenbaum, The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Board Chairman. “He has brought some of the most enduring and entertaining films of recent history to the screen, from iconic cult-classic comedies to powerful dramas that together illustrate an amazing range and body of work. As a director, writer, actor, and producer, we welcome him to the list of other master multi-hyphenates who have been prior recipients of the Chaplin Award Tribute."
Born in the Bronx in 1947, Reiner is the son of television comedy legend Carl Reiner (Your Show of Shows, The Dick Van Dyke Show) and actress Estelle Reiner. After spending much time on the sets of his father’s shows and with their writers, he went on to become a writer himself for shows like The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour before achieving fame as an actor, winning two Emmys for All in the Family.
In 1984, Reiner made his feature film directorial debut with THIS IS SPINAL TAP, a mock rockumentary that quickly achieved cult status. The next year, he followed with THE SURE THING (1985), starring John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga. The following two years brought the back-to-back successes of STAND BY ME (1986) and THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987). STAND BY ME, an adaptation of a Stephen King story, earned Reiner his first Golden Globe and Directors Guild of America nominations for Best Director. THE PRINCESS BRIDE was widely received as “an instant classic” and two years ago enjoyed a 25th anniversary reunion screening at the 2012 New York Film Festival.
Reiner then made the hit romantic comedy hit, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY… (1989), starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, and for which he earned his second Golden Globe and DGA nominations for Best Director; his second Stephen King adaptation, MISERY (1990), starring Kathy Bates and James Caan, for which Bates won an Academy Award® for Best Actress; and the taut courtroom drama A FEW GOOD MEN (1992), starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore. The film earned Reiner his third Golden Globe and DGA nominations, as well as his first Academy Award® nomination for Best Picture.
Additional directorial highlights include THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT (1995), starring Michael Douglas; GHOSTS OF THE MISSISSIPPI (1996), starring Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg; RUMOR HAS IT… (2005), starring Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner; and THE BUSKET LIST (2007), starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.
More recently, Reiner directed FLIPPED (2010), based on Wendelin Van Draanen’s celebrated novel; THE MAGIC OF BELLE ISLE (2012), which re-teamed Reiner with Morgan Freeman; and the upcoming AND SO IT GOES, which marks his second outing with Michael Douglas. Additionally, Reiner made an impressive return to the big screen in front of the camera last year with his performance as Max Belfort in Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award® nominated THE WOLF OF WALL STREET.
Beyond his work in film, Reiner has also made a significant contribution to the public discourse, supporting political causes and candidates, and was instrumental in establishing the California Children & Families Commission, which he chaired for seven years. Recently, he and his wife Michele joined with the American Foundation for Equal Rights to bring the landmark federal court challenge to California’s Prop 8, the ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples.
The Film Society’s Annual Gala began in 1972 and honored Charlie Chaplin, who returned to the U.S. from exile to accept the commendation. Since then, the award has been renamed for Chaplin, and has honored many of the film industry’s most notable talents, including Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Laurence Olivier, Federico Fellini, Elizabeth Taylor, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Michael Douglas, Sidney Poitier, Catherine Deneuve, and, last year, Barbra Streisand.
For ticketing and additional information, go to www.filmlinc.com/gala.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center works to recognize established and emerging filmmakers, support important new work, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility, and understanding of the moving image. The Film Society produces the renowned New York Film Festival, a curated selection of the year's most significant new film work, and presents or collaborates on other annual New York City festivals, including Dance on Camera, Film Comment Selects, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, LatinBeat, New Directors/New Films, NewFest, New York African Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival, Open Roads: New Italian Cinema and Rendez-vous with French Cinema. In addition to publishing the award-winning Film Comment magazine, The Film Society recognizes an artist's unique achievement in film with the prestigious Chaplin Award. The Film Society's state-of-the-art Walter Reade Theater and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, located at Lincoln Center, provide a home for year-round programs and the New York City film community.
The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from Royal Bank of Canada, Jaeger-LeCoultre, American Airlines, The New York Times, Stella Artois, the Kobal Collection, Trump International Hotel and Tower, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts.
For more information, visit www.filmlinc.com.
