Ron Howard to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Palm Springs Film Festival

Oscar-winning moviemaker Ron Howard will receive the Director’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the 20th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival. Howard will be honored for his 50 years in the industry, with special focus on his upcoming drama Frost/Nixon.

Frost/Nixon is a dramatization of the battle between disgraced president Richard Nixon and newsman David Frost. According to festival chairman Harold Matzner, “Frost /Nixon is yet another powerful film from one of the industry’s true icons and can be included amongst the classics of Ron Howard’s total body of work. We are honored to present Howard with this honor at this year’s festival.”

Howard began his career in entertainment as an actor in 1959’s The Journey, going on to star in “The Andy Griffith Show” and “Happy Days.” Howard has since become one of this generation’s most celebrated directors, with credits including critically acclaimed movies Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind.

Past recipients of this prestigious award include Milos Forman, Ridley Scott and Franco Zeffirelli, among others. Howard will be honored at the Black Tie Awards Gala on January 6, 2009, with the festival continuing on through January 19.

For more information, visit www.psfilmfest.org.