American Cinema Editors has announced that two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Ang Lee will receive the ACE Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year award at the 76th Annual ACE Eddie Awards, taking place on Friday 27 February.
The prize will be presented at UCLA’s Royce Hall, where winners will also be announced in 14 competitive categories recognising the best film editing achievements of the year in film and television.
Kim Larson, managing director and head of YouTube’s Creator and Gaming team, will accept YouTube’s previously announced ACE Visionary Award, and Emmy-winning editor/director Arthur Forney and Oscar-nominated editor Robert Leighton will receive ACE Career Achievement awards.
Lee joins previous high-profile Golden Eddie award recipients including Jon M. Chu, John Waters, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, Kathleen Kennedy, Christopher Nolan, Lauren Shuler Donner, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg, Vince Gilligan, Alexander Payne, J.J. Abrams, Nancy Meyers, Martin Scorsese, Norman Jewison, Robert Zemeckis, George Lucas, and the Sundance Institute, among others.
“Ang Lee’s exploration of our most closely held emotions has ignited an international passion for cinema for over 30 years,” said ACE president Sabrina Plisco.
“The breadth of his filmography is unparalleled, ranging from the intimate and boundary-breaking romance of Brokeback Mountain, to the epic drama of Life of Pi and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, to even the pre-MCU Marvel film Hulk.”
This year’s ACE Visionary Award recognises Larson and YouTube’s “profound impact” on visual storytelling as a whole, the importance of digital content and spaces in the evolving media landscape, and ACE’s ongoing work to support creatives of all kinds across both traditional and digital spaces.
The recognition is given “in the spirit of previous honours bestowed upon pioneering companies” such as Avid, and “celebrates YouTube and Kim’s role in empowering a global generation of visual storytellers”.
“Kim Larson was the natural choice to represent YouTube in our inaugural year recognising creator content,” Plisco added.
“She has played a key role in the growth of digital entertainment, supports creators at the highest level, and helps elevate independent voices shaping modern storytelling.
“This year’s Career Achievement Award honourees are equally exemplary. Arthur Forney was the backbone of post-production at Dick Wolf’s Wolf Entertainment for more than 30 years, overseeing landmark series including Law & Order.
“Robert Leighton shepherded the editing room for American icon Rob Reiner across 15 films – including When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, and This Is Spinal Tap – shaping some of the most enduring works in modern cinema.”
Past recipients of the ACE Career Achievement Award are some of the best and most beloved editors in the industry, including Maysie Hoy, ACE, Paul Hirsch, ACE, Lynne Willingham, ACE, Don Zimmerman, ACE, Lillian Benson, ACE, Richard Chew, ACE, Alan Heim, ACE, Tina Hirsch, ACE, Thelma Schoonmaker, ACE, Janet Ashikaga, ACE, Craig McKay, ACE, Jerrold L. Ludwig, ACE, Mark Goldblatt, ACE, and Leon Ortiz-Gil, ACE, among many others.
Nominations for the 76th Annual ACE Eddie Awards will be announced on 27 January.
