Morgan Freeman to Receive ASC’s Board of Governors Award

On February 27th, 2010 at the 24th Annual ASC Awards, Morgan Freeman will become the 21st recipient of The American Society of Cinematographers’ prestigious Board of Governors Award—an award given to an individual “who has made significant contributions to the advancing art of filmmaking,” according to the organization.

“Morgan Freeman is a consummate actor and producer who devotes his considerable talent and influence to projects that make a difference,” says ASC president Michael Goi. “His avid participation on films with subjects such as slavery, apartheid and the Hollywood blacklist reflect his desire to inform the world through his art.”

After Gregory Peck won the first Board of Governors Award at the fourth ASC Awards in 1989, the likes of Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Jodie Foster, Francis Ford Coppola, Warren Beatty, Sally Field, Ron Howard and Sydney Pollack, among others, have taken home the honor.

“Morgan Freeman makes every film he is in better with both his talent as an actor and his presence on the set,” says Richard Crudo, ASC, chairman of the organization’s Awards Committee. “He inspires everyone around him. Every one of our members who has worked with him has cherished memories to share.”

Freeman won his first Academy Award in 2005 (after four nominations) for his performance in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby. He has starred in a number of films, including The Dark Knight, The Bucket List, Se7en and The Shawshank Redemption. In 1997, he and Lori McCreary co-founded the production company Revelations Entertainment, which has produced 10 major films, including Freeman’s latest effort, Invictus.

Ceremonies will be held at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. For more information, visit http://www.theasc.com.