Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducer AFI Board of Trustees
Actor
Northwestern University
American Film Institute
Director/Producer
University of California, Santa Cruz
AFI Board of Trustees
The Los Angeles Times
TV Guide
Critic/Journalist
University of Southern California
Actor/Director/Producer
Syracuse University
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducer AFI Board of Trustees
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
American Film Institute
The Boston Globe
Historian
The Washington Post
Historian
Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Actor/Producer
University of Southern California
Historian
NPR
Rolling Stone
Actor/Producer
Syracuse University
Vanity Fair
Critic/Journalist
TV Guide
The Los Angeles Times
AFI Board of Trustees
University of California, Santa Cruz
Director/Cinematographer
American Film Institute
Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Director/Producer
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Actor/Producer
Rolling Stone
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
NPR
Historian
University of Southern California
The Denver Post
The Washington Post
Historian
American Film Institute
Actor/Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion Pictures ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Syracuse University
University of Texas, Austin
Variety
TV Guide
The Los Angeles Times
BET Networks AFI Board of Trustees
University of California, Santa Cruz
Director
American Film Institute
SAG-AFTRAAFI Board of Trustees
NPR
Director/Producer
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Rolling Stone
NPR
Historian
The Denver Post
The Washington Post
American Film Institute
Actor/Director/Producer
Editor
Actor/ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducer AFI Board of Trustees
Director/Screenwriter/Producer
Syracuse University
Variety
TV Guide
The Los Angeles Times
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
BET NetworksAFI Board of Trustees
Screenwriter/Producer
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of California, Los Angeles
Actor/Director/Producer
American Film Institute
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Rolling Stone
Director
MTV News
Cinematographer
Historian
University of Southern California
The Denver Post
Historian
American Film Institute
Director/Screenwriter
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Actor/Director/Producer
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
DreamWorks StudiosAFI Board of Trustees
Screenwriter/Producer
Syracuse University
Director/ProducerUniversity of California, Los Angeles
University of Southern California
Variety
TV Guide
The Los Angeles Times
Director/Producer
American Film Institute
Harvard University
Screenwriter/ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Rolling Stone
Producer
Director/Screenwriter
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Director
Historian
The Denver Post
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Historian
Historian
American Film Institute
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Michael WrightAFI Board of Trustees
Syracuse University
ICM PartnersAFI Board of Trustees
University of Southern California
The Huffington Post
TV Guide
Actor
TIME
University of California, Santa Cruz
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
American Film Institute
Producer
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Rolling Stone Magazine
USA Today
Historian
University of Southern California
Cinematographer
Director/Actor
Denver Post
Director/Screenwriter
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Historian
American Film Institute
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Producer/Actor
Syracuse University
ICM PartnersAFI Board of Trustees
University of Southern California
The Huffington Post
TV Guide Magazine
AFI Board of Trustees
Princeton University
Entertainment Weekly
American Film Institute
ScreenwriterSenior Lecturer, AFI Conservatory
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Rolling Stone Magazine
USA Today
University of Southern California
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Historian
The Denver Post
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Entertainment Weekly
American Film Institute
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Editor
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Syracuse University
University of Texas at Austin
International Creative ManagementAFI Board of Trustees
The Huffington Post
TV Guide Magazine
Time Magazine
Los Angeles Times
University of California, Los Angeles
Producer/Screenwriter
American Film Institute
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Rolling Stone Magazine
Actor
USA Today
University of Southern California
"Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide"
The Denver Post
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Entertainment Weekly
American Film Institute
Director/Screenwriter
Actor
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Entertainment Weekly
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
International Creative ManagementAFI Board of Trustees
TV Guide Magazine
Time Magazine
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Georgia Institute of Technology
Producer/Screenwriter
University of California, Los Angeles
The Hollywood Reporter
American Film Institute
University of California, Santa Barbara
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Rolling Stone Magazine
Producer
USA Today
Producer/Screenwriter
"Leonard Maltln's Movie Guide"
University of Southern California
Jim Hosney
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Entertainment Weekly
Actor
American Film Institute
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Board of Trustees
Tom PollockProducerChair, AFI Jury for Motion Pictures
University of Texas at Austin
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesProduction DesignerAFI Board of Trustees
AOL
TV Guide Magazine
Time Magazine
Los Angeles Times
New York University
Henry Jenkins
Producer/Actor
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
American Film Institute
Producer/Screenwriter
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Princeton University
Entertainment Weekly
USA Today
THE TREATMENT
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT"Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide"
University of Southern California
American Film Institute
Columbia University
Producer/Director
Producer/Screenwriter
Editor
Wesleyan University
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Syracuse University
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
University of Southern California
Chicago Tribune
TV Guide Magazine
Actor
University of California, Santa Barbara
Producer/Screenwriter
Variety
University of California, Santa Cruz
Arizona State University
Producer
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionProducer/Screenwriter
Entertainment Weekly
Historian/Author/Documentary Filmmaker
USA Today
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
University of California, Los Angeles
THE TREATMENT
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Producer/Director
Entertainment Weekly/New York MagazineAuthor
University of Southern California
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Actor
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducer/Director
Producer/Director
University of Arizona
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
University of Southern California
TV Guide
AFI Conservatory Screenwriter
Time Magazine
Actor
Los Angeles Times
AFI President Emerita
University of California, Los Angeles
Producer/Screenwriter
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionAFI Trustee Emeritus
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Variety
AFI Trustee EmeritaUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Time Magazine
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
THE TREATMENT
University of Southern California
American Film Institute
Entertainment WeeklyAuthor
University of California, Los Angeles
Wesleyan University
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionAFI Board of Trustees
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesAFI Board of Trustees
Producer/Screenwriter
University of California, Santa Barbara
The New Yorker
The Hollywood Reporter
Producer/Director/ActorAFI Trustee Emerita
University of Georgia
AFI ConservatoryScreenwriter
TV Guide
Chicago Tribune
Syracuse University
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Hosftra University
Producer/Director
Time Magazine
AFI Board of Trustees
ProducerAFI Trustee Emeritus
Producer/Screenwriter/Novelist
University of Southern California
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Trustee Emeritus
University of California, Los Angeles
AFI ConservatoryDirector/Editor
Newsweek
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesAFI ConservatoryDirector/Screenwriter
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesAFI Board of Trustees
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionAFI Board of Trustees
Producer/Screenwriter
Producer/Director
Los Angeles Times
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
The Hollywood Reporter
University of Michigan
Variety
University of Southern California
TV Guide
University of California, Los AngelesAFI Board of Trustees
Columbia University
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Directors Guild of AmericaProducer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Spyglass EntertainmentAFI Board of Trustees
University of Southern California
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
University of California, Los Angeles
Duke University
National Public Radio
Producer/Screenwriter
ProducerAFI Trustee Emeritus
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
The Hollywood Reporter
Los Angeles Times
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionChair, AFI Jury for TelevisionAFI Board of Trustees
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesTribune Entertainment CompanyAFI Board of Trustees
Producer/Screenwriter
University of California, Los Angeles
Producer
Producer
Seattle Post Intelligencer
University of Southern California
Producer
Time Magazine
AFI Conservatory
TV Guide
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion Pictures Producer AFI Board of Trustees
Director
The New Yorker
University of California, Santa Barbara
Producer/Director
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Producer/Director
Entertainment Weekly
University of California, Los AngelesAFI Board of Trustees
Film Historian
Los Angeles Times
San Francisco State University
Laura Ziskin
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionThe FirmAFI Board of Trustees
Academy of Television Arts & SciencesTribune Entertainment Company AFI Board of Trustees
Producer/Screenwriter
The Daily News
Television Week
Producer/Screenwriter
University of California, Los Angeles
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
University of Southern California
Georgia Institute of TechnologyAFI Board of Trustees
University of GeorgiaGeorge Foster Peabody Awards
Producer
TV Guide
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesChicago Sun-TimesEBERT & ROEPER
Newsweek
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Trustee Emerita
University of Southern California
Actor
Producer/Screenwriter
Director/Screenwriter
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Time MagazineProducer/Director/Screenwriter
Entertainment Weekly
Princeton University
Producer
Newsday
Former President & CEO, UPN
Director
TV Guide
Producer
University of GeorgiaGeorge Foster Peabody Awards
Variety
University of Southern California
Producer
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Richmond
Chair, AFI Jury for TelevisionIntegrated Entertainment PartnersAFI Board of Trustees
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Editor
University of California, Los AngelesAFI Board of Trustees
AFI ConservatoryDirector/Screenwriter
Time MagazineProducer/Director/Screenwriter
Middlebury CollegeAFI Trustee Emeritus
University of Southern California
Premiere Magazine
The Hollywood Reporter
Orlando Sentinel
Wesleyan UniversityAFI Trustee Emerita
Director
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
Chair, AFI Jury for Television
Director
Producer
Producer/Director
The Seattle Times
University of GeorgiaGeorge Foster Peabody AwardsAFI Trustee Emeritus
Producer/Director/ScreenwriteAFI Board of Trustees
Writers Guild of AmericaScreenwriter
TV Guide
Syracuse University
Former President, ABC EntertainmentMedia Arts Group, Inc.AFI Trustee Emeritus
Entertainment Weekly
DirectorAFI Trustee Emeritus
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Newsweek
Chair, AFI Jury for Motion PicturesWesleyan UniversityAFI Trustee Emerita
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Producer
ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT
ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Film Historian/Scholar
Middlebury CollegeAFI Trustee Emeritus
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
The Philadelphia Inquirer
University of Texas, Austin
Producer
Loeks-Star Theatres
Actor
Los Angeles Times
Director
Actor
Director
Variety
The Seattle Times
Salon.com
Digital Effects Artist
University of California, Los Angeles
California Institute of the Arts
Middlebury College
Producer/Production Designer
N.C. School of the Arts
The Wall Street Journal
New York Magazine
Digital Effects Artist
Cinematographer
Los Angeles Times
Composer
Actor
People Magazine
Actor
Producer
Entertainment Weekly
Production Designer
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
New York University
American Cinematheque
Director
Producer/Director/ScreenwriterAFI Board of Trustees
Actor
Philadelphia Inquirer
Producer/Screenwriter/Editor
Premiere Magazine
Production Designer
Syracuse University
Producer
Los Angeles TimesCinematographer
Cinematographer
Director
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Chicago Tribune
Producer
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Production Designer
Baltimore Sun
Composer
Producer
Producer/Director/ActorAFI Board of Trustees
Editor
Newsweek
Director/Screenwriter
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Director
Producer/Screenwriter
Director/Screenwriter
Production Designer
Producer
Production Designer
Independent Features Project
NYU's Tisch School
Producer
Editor
Time Magazine
Production Designer
Digital Effects Artist
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Movieline
Director
Screenwriter
Director
Composer
Producer/Screenwriter
San Francisco Examiner
National Assoc. of Theatre Owners
Director/Screenwriter/Actor
Producer/Director/Screenwriter
Producer
Scholar/Historian
Editor
Producer/Screenwriter
The Hollywood Reporter
Independent Feature Project West
Producer/Director
Columbia University
Producer
Actor
Director/Actor
Producer/Director
Cinematographer
Preservationist
The Washington Post
ProducerAFI Board of Trustees
Screenwriter
AFI Board of Trustees
Producer
Producer
Actor
Chair, AFI 2000 JuryAFI Board of Trustees
Film Journalist/Critic
Film Scholar
AFI Board of Trustees
Film Preservationist/Historian
Film Journalist/Critic
AFI Board of Trustees
Film Scholar
AFI Board of Trustees
Film Journalist/Critic
Filmmaker
Filmmaker
The American Film Institute (AFI) launched a new chapter in the esteemed organization’s national mandate when it presented its first annual AFI Awards at the historic Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The three-hour program was broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and honored the collaborative teams and individuals who created the year’s most outstanding achievements in film and television.
The recipients of these first AFI Awards are:
AFI Movie of the Year
Producers: Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Tim Sanders, New Line
Denzel Washington…as Alonzo Harris in TRAINING DAY
Sissy Spacek…as Ruth Fowler in IN THE BEDROOM
Gene Hackman…as Royal Tenenbaum in THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS
Jennifer Connelly…as Alicia Nash in A BEAUTIFUL MIND
Robert Altman – GOSFORD PARK
Christopher Nolan – MEMENTO
Roger Deakins – THE MAN WHO WASN’T THERE
Jill Bilcock – MOULIN ROUGE!
Grant Major – THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
Jim Rygiel – THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
Craig Armstrong – MOULIN ROUGE!
THE SOPRANOS (HBO)
CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)
BAND OF BROTHERS (HBO)
James Gandolfini…as Tony Soprano in THE SOPRANOS (HBO)
Edie Falco…as Carmela Soprano in THE SOPRANOS (HBO)
Jeffrey Wright…as Martin Luther King, Jr. in BOYCOTT (HBO)
Judy Davis…as Judy Garland in LIFE WITH JUDY GARLAND: ME AND MY SHADOWS (ABC)
…is one of the few films ever to suggest that the life of the mind can be as exciting and intriguing as any thriller. Based on the story of Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash, the film’s subtle, but masterful cinematic technique puts audiences inside the mind of a troubled genius when he begins to question reality. Read the AFI Catalog entry
…is an unrelenting combat experience. Leaving behind the traditional rules of the genre, the film immerses its audience in the cold reality of war. It arrives in theaters at a moment in American history which could not be more timely. Read the AFI Catalog entry
…is a rich, subtle examination of the American family. It’s a movie in which the characters talk to one another, but never really say what’s on their minds or in their hearts. The filmmakers trust the audience to watch, listen and understand the truth revealed by the film’s outstanding performances. Read the AFI Catalog entry
…taps the magical forces of American film to bring life to J.R.R. Tolkien’s rich literary legacy. Never losing sight of the “human” elements of this first book in his trilogy, the scope of the film sets the standard by which future motion picture epics should be judged. Read the AFI Catalog entry
…uses stunning black-and-white cinematography to evoke the memory of classic American film noir, but presents its story with a modern sensibility. By mixing dark humor with stark violence, the movie lays out a series of events where a man nobody notices changes the lives of everyone around him. Read the AFI Catalog entry
… turns the traditional rules of movie narrative upside down, backwards, forwards and sideways. The film is like a complex jigsaw puzzle, but after all the pieces are assembled, it turns out not to be the picture on the box. Read the AFI Catalog entry
… is a love story that resists the usual tradition of movie romances. When a white prison correction officer and a black single mother are drawn together by a series of tragic events, the result is an unsentimental, complex mixture of sex, race and family that provides no easy answers. Read the AFI Catalog entry
… is a kaleidoscope of melodrama, soap opera and opera, which updates the traditional American musical genre. The film tells the story of a passionate but doomed love affair in dynamic images that explode with color, energy and humor. Read the AFI Catalog entry
… is a classic example of the poetry of personal cinema. The film takes the audience to an erotic world — a dreamlike Los Angeles landscape where things are not always what they seem, but where the images never lose their beauty and power. Read the AFI Catalog entry
… is an animated film that takes an eraser to traditional fairy tale characters and situations. Moving at a fast pace with wit and intelligence, SHREK delivers solid family entertainment that is sheer pleasure for young and old. Read the AFI Catalog entry
Hans Proppe
(ABC)
Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks
(HBO)
Norman Twain, Shelby Stone
(HBO)
Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon
(UPN)
Frank Pierson, Peter Zinner, David M. Thompson, Frank Doelger
(HBO)
Larry David
(HBO)
Philip Rosenthal
(CBS)
Linwood Boomer
(FOX)
Darren Star, Michael Patrick King
(HBO)
Alan Ball
(HBO)
David Chase
(HBO)
Aaron Sorkin
(NBC)
The sale of DVDs surpassed VHS sales for the first time in 2002. In addition to signaling the desire by consumers for quality picture and sound, the enormous success of DVD inspires filmmakers and studios to invest time, effort and money in presenting additional materials for films old and new. The access to these materials represents a significant step in film education for both the general public and scholars.
Originally developed by Nia Vardalos as a one-woman stage show, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING became a word-of-mouth phenomena and went on to become both the highest-grossing independent film of all time and, more significantly, the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time. Miss Vardalos adapted the screenplay from her play and starred in the film. Without the benefit of a major marketing and advertising campaign, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING provides a reminder that the public is the ultimate arbiter of what makes good entertainment.
As television news has become a larger profit center for network and cable channels, an intensely competitive environment has increased the tendency to blur the line between news/commentary, news/entertainment and news/advocacy on all channels. AFI hopes that television will find a solution that will better serve the public interest, but in the interim, reminds audiences that the responsibility to seek an objective opinion is more difficult to find on a single channel.
Fox’s AMERICAN IDOL brought an old-fashioned concept into the new century when young amateurs from around the nation competed for the title of “American Idol.” Founded in a television concept that can be traced back to Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, which ran on CBS from 1948 to 1958, the slickly packaged summer series swept the nation with the notion that the American dream is still alive for young, talented performers.
When Martha Coolidge became the first female president of the Directors Guild of America on March 10, 2002, all of the major guilds were led by women for the first time. Victoria Riskin has served as president of the Writers Guild since September 21, 2001. Kathleen Kennedy served as co-president of the Producers Guild in 2001 and was elected president on May 20, 2002. Melissa Gilbert was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild on March 9, 2002.
THE OSBOURNES is the happy accident of 2002, garnering a legion of fans by presenting the day-to-day tribulations of their strange, but loving family in a hybrid of reality television, situation comedy and melodrama. Where 1973’s television experiment THE AMERICAN FAMILY shattered the image of a “normal” family, THE OSBOURNES have shattered the image of an “abnormal” family by reminding America that each family is unique in its own, often bizarre, way.
Five of Hollywood’s biggest studios (Paramount, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal, Warner Bros.) launched a video-on-demand service that will allow consumers to access the studios’ libraries of films via a broadband Internet connection. The joint venture is one of the biggest distribution advances since Hollywood’s earliest days, when studios distributed their films to a network of studio-owned theaters.
The Sci Fi Channel’s ambitious presentation of the 20-hour epic mini-series TAKEN has resurrected the potential for long-form storytelling on commercial television. Scheduled over ten consecutive weeknights, this landmark achievement and the vast creative ensemble who collaborated to bring it to television — including 10 different directors and a single writer — will hopefully spawn others who take risks at this level.
As further evidence of the digital revolution continuum, TIVO and other “personal recording devices” have penetrated the national consciousness to a degree that they have begun to affect how television is not only watched, but produced and presented.
On March 27, legendary writer/director/producer Billy Wilder died at the age of 95. Recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1986 and winner of five Academy Awards, Wilder gave the world several of America’s greatest film achievements, including SUNSET BLVD., DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE APARTMENT, THE LOST WEEKEND and SOME LIKE IT HOT.
AFI AWARDS was created in 2000 to recognize the films and television programs which contribute to our collective cultural legacy. When placed in an historical context, these stories provide a complex, rich, visual record of our modern world. Since then, AFI AWARDS has honored 10 outstanding films and 10 outstanding TV programs deemed culturally and artistically representative of the year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image.
Collectively celebrating the most outstanding film and television programs of the year, AFI AWARDS 2020 honorees will be announced in January 2021, with an event to follow on Friday, February 26, 2021.
Unique in its celebration of the art form’s collaborative nature, AFI AWARDS is the only national program that honors creative teams as a whole – recognizing those in front of and behind the camera.
Honorees are selected based on works which:
AFI AWARDS selections are made through AFI’s unique jury process – in which scholars, artists, critics and AFI Trustees determine the most outstanding achievements of the year.
For additional information about AFI AWARDS, contact Josh Kushins at jkushins@AFI.com.
