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The Austin Film Society (AFS) announced today that Debra Winger will accept honors for URBAN COWBOY at the eighth annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards on March 7, 2008. Set and shot in Texas at the landmark country bar Gilley's, owned by singer Mickey Gilley, Winger had her first starring role alongside John Travolta in the 1980 classic. Winger will accept the Tiffany & Co. Star of Texas Award on behalf of the cast and crew of the film.
Thomas Haden Church, born in El Paso, will be inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. In addition to his Academy Award nomination for his role in SIDEWAYS, Church has appeared in such films as SPIDER-MAN 3, SPANGLISH and ROLLING KANSAS, his directorial debut which he also wrote. Church won an Emmy Award in 2007 for his role in BROKEN TRAIL with Robert Duvall, a 2004 Texas Film Hall of Fame inductee.
Mariska Hargitay will accept honors on behalf of her late mother Jayne Mansfield. Mansfield spent her formative years in Texas, even studying with Baruch Lumet, Sidney Lumet's father, at the Dallas Institute of the Performing Arts, before heading off to Hollywood at 16 to pursue stardom. Her films included THE FAT SPY, PROMISES! PROMISES! up to her last, SINGLE ROOM FURNISHED. Hargitay, one of Mansfield's five children, is accomplished in her own right, having won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role as Det. Olivia Benson on LAW & ORDER: SVU.
They will be honored for their immense contributions to Texas filmmaking and join fellow Texas Film Hall of Fame honorees Dennis Quaid, Marcia Gay Harden, Forest Whitaker, Sissy Spacek, Owen Wilson and many more. Additional honorees will be announced in January.
AT&T has joined the gala event as its presenting sponsor. "Our partnership with the Austin Film Society is a natural. At AT&T we strive each day to keep people connected," said Jim Epperson, President of AT&T Texas. "We salute the filmmakers who bring different worlds together, and open new ones. And we share their commitment to keeping people engaged, enlightened and entertained."
This year's event co-chairs are Kate and Robert Hersch. Robert is the President of Mastodon Ventures, an Austin-based management consulting firm, and Kate recently served as event chair for Ballet Austin's White Nights Fete and The Heritage Society of Austin's Circa Antiques Show. The proceeds from the Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards benefit the educational and artistic programs of the Austin Film Society.
Tables (seating ten) range in price from $5,000 to $25,000. For table sales and sponsorship information, contact AFS Director of Development Shannon Moody at 512.322.00145 x 222 or by email at shannon@austinfilm.org .
Austin Film Society promotes the appreciation of film and supports creative filmmaking by screening rarely seen films, giving grants and other support to emerging filmmakers, and providing access and education about film to youth and the public. Through Austin Studios, which AFS opened in 2000 in partnership with the City of Austin, AFS helps attract film development and production to Austin and Texas. Gala film premieres and the annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards raise funds as well as awareness of the impact of film on economy and community. The Austin Film Society is ranked among the top film centers in the country and recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and Directors Guild of America.
For more information on Austin Film Society, visit www.austinfilm.org
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Thomas Haden Church, born in El Paso, will be inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame. In addition to his Academy Award nomination for his role in SIDEWAYS, Church has appeared in such films as SPIDER-MAN 3, SPANGLISH and ROLLING KANSAS, his directorial debut which he also wrote. Church won an Emmy Award in 2007 for his role in BROKEN TRAIL with Robert Duvall, a 2004 Texas Film Hall of Fame inductee.
Mariska Hargitay will accept honors on behalf of her late mother Jayne Mansfield. Mansfield spent her formative years in Texas, even studying with Baruch Lumet, Sidney Lumet's father, at the Dallas Institute of the Performing Arts, before heading off to Hollywood at 16 to pursue stardom. Her films included THE FAT SPY, PROMISES! PROMISES! up to her last, SINGLE ROOM FURNISHED. Hargitay, one of Mansfield's five children, is accomplished in her own right, having won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role as Det. Olivia Benson on LAW & ORDER: SVU.
They will be honored for their immense contributions to Texas filmmaking and join fellow Texas Film Hall of Fame honorees Dennis Quaid, Marcia Gay Harden, Forest Whitaker, Sissy Spacek, Owen Wilson and many more. Additional honorees will be announced in January.
AT&T has joined the gala event as its presenting sponsor. "Our partnership with the Austin Film Society is a natural. At AT&T we strive each day to keep people connected," said Jim Epperson, President of AT&T Texas. "We salute the filmmakers who bring different worlds together, and open new ones. And we share their commitment to keeping people engaged, enlightened and entertained."
This year's event co-chairs are Kate and Robert Hersch. Robert is the President of Mastodon Ventures, an Austin-based management consulting firm, and Kate recently served as event chair for Ballet Austin's White Nights Fete and The Heritage Society of Austin's Circa Antiques Show. The proceeds from the Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards benefit the educational and artistic programs of the Austin Film Society.
Tables (seating ten) range in price from $5,000 to $25,000. For table sales and sponsorship information, contact AFS Director of Development Shannon Moody at 512.322.00145 x 222 or by email at shannon@austinfilm.org .
Austin Film Society promotes the appreciation of film and supports creative filmmaking by screening rarely seen films, giving grants and other support to emerging filmmakers, and providing access and education about film to youth and the public. Through Austin Studios, which AFS opened in 2000 in partnership with the City of Austin, AFS helps attract film development and production to Austin and Texas. Gala film premieres and the annual Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards raise funds as well as awareness of the impact of film on economy and community. The Austin Film Society is ranked among the top film centers in the country and recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts and Directors Guild of America.
For more information on Austin Film Society, visit www.austinfilm.org
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