The American Film Institute To Award Top Honors Ten Times With Newest Celebration In AFI's 100 Years... Series
AFI¹s 10 Top 10: To Honor America's Greatest Animated, Fantasy, Gangster, SCI-FI, Western, Sports, Mystery, Romantic Comdey, Courtroom Drama And Epic Films
Lists Revealed Live During CBS Television Event in June.
LOS ANGELES, CA (January 17, 2008), The American Film Institute (AFI) today
introduced a new chapter in its Emmy Award-winning AFI¹s 100 Years...
series. AFI¹s 10 Top 10 will count down the top 10 films from 10 classic
American film genres including animation, fantasy, science fiction,
gangster, western, sports, romantic comedy, courtroom drama, mystery and
epic films.
AFI¹s 10 Top 10 turns a page in the institutes¹ ongoing celebration of the
American cinema centennial with a more diverse version of AFI¹s highly
anticipated annual countdown special. Celebrating film genres that have
never been honored before, AFI will create 10 new lists within the format
previously designed for a top 100.
³Ten years ago, AFI¹s 100 Years... 100 Movies launched an unprecedented
celebration of American film to mark cinema¹s centennial. As we continue
this program into a new decade, we look forward to catalyzing a national
conversation 10 times greater?for the ultimate goal of this program is to
drive audiences to discover and rediscover the classics of American film,²
said AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale.
AFI¹s 100 Years... series has included AFI¹s 100 Years... 100 Movies (1998),
100 Stars (1999), 100 Laughs (2000), 100 Thrills (2001), 100 Passions
(2002), 100 Heroes & Villains (2003), 100 Songs (2004), 100 Movie Quotes
(2005), 100 Cheers (2006) and AFI¹s 100 Years... 100 Movies?10th Anniversary
Edition (2007).
The primetime special will be executive produced and directed by Gary Smith;
executive produced for AFI by former AFI Board Chair Emeritus Frederick S.
Pierce; and produced by Dann Netter. SFM Entertainment LLC is the
distributor of the program. Past sponsors of the series have included
General Motors, Pepsi, Best Buy, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Apple,
Anheuser-Busch, Colgate-Palmolive, Sony and all major motion picture
companies.
About the Jury Process:
Today, AFI distributed a ballot with 500 nominated movies (50 per genre) to
a jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film
artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers),
critics and historians.
This year, the jury will be asked to choose up to 10 movies per genre from a
comprehensive list, including entries such as: Animated: PINOCCHIO (1941)
and SHREK (2001); Fantasy: KING KONG (1933) and THE LORD OF THE RINGS
(2001); Sci-Fi: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953) and THE MATRIX (1999);
Gangster: SCARFACE (1932) and THE DEPARTED (2006); Westerns: THE SEARCHERS
(1956) and UNFORGIVEN (1992); Sports: THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942) and
SEABISCUIT (2003); Romantic Comedy: IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) and MY BEST
FRIEND¹S WEDDING (1997); Courtroom Drama: WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957)
and A FEW GOOD MEN (1992); Mystery: SHERLOCK HOLMES (1939) and THE USUAL
SUSPECTS (1995); and Epics: BEN-HUR (1959) and BRAVEHEART (1995).
AFI asks jurors to consider the following criteria in their selection
process:
FEATURE-LENGTH FICTION FILMS:
Narrative format, typically over 60 minutes in length.
AMERICAN FILM:
English-language film with significant creative and/or production elements
from the United States. Additionally, only films released before January 1,
2008 will be considered.
GENRE:
ANIMATED:
AFI defines "animated" as a genre in which the film¹s images are primarily
created by computer or hand and the characters are voiced by actors.
FANTASY:
AFI defines "fantasy" as a genre where live-action characters inhabit
imagined settings and/or experience situations that transcend the rules of
the natural world.
GANGSTER:
AFI defines the 'gangster film' as a genre that centers on organized crime
or maverick criminals in a twentieth century setting.
SCIENCE FICTION:
AFI defines 'science fiction' as a genre that marries a scientific or
technological premise with imaginative speculation.
WESTERN:
AFI defines 'western' as a genre of films set in the American West that
embodies the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier.
SPORTS:
AFI defines 'sports' as a genre of films with protagonists who play
athletics or other games of competition.
MYSTERY:
AFI defines 'mystery' as a genre that revolves around the solution of a
crime.
ROMANTIC COMEDY:
AFI defines 'romantic comedy' as a genre in which the development of a
romance leads to comic situations.
COURTROOM DRAMA:
AFI defines 'courtroom drama' as a genre of film in which a system of
justice plays a critical role in the film¹s narrative.
EPIC:
AFI defines 'epic' as a genre of large-scale films set in a cinematic
interpretation of the past. Their scope defies and demands?either in the
mode in which they are presented or their range across time.
CRITICAL RECOGNITION:
Formal commendation in print, television and digital media.
MAJOR AWARD WINNER:
Recognition from competitive events including awards from peer groups,
critics, guilds and major film festivals.
POPULARITY OVER TIME:
Including success at the box office, television and cable airing, and
DVD/VHS sales and rentals.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
A film¹s mark on the history of the moving images through visionary
narrative devices, technical innovation, or other ground breaking
achievements.
CULTURAL IMPACT:
A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.
AFI allows one write-in vote per genre.
Interesting Facts About the Ballot:
* Animation - 13 of the 50 films on the ballot were produced by Walt Disney.
* Fantasy - 11 movies feature ghosts.
* Gangster - Robert De Niro is the most featured actor with seven movies;
James Cagney and Al Pacino are featured with five movies each.
* Sci-Fi - 22 of the 50 movies contain an alien presence.
* Western - 11 of the 50 movies feature John Wayne; 10 of the 50 movies were
directed by John Ford. Seven of these 21 movies feature both John Ford and
John Wayne.
* Sports - 12 movies are based on baseball; nine movies are based on boxing;
eight movies are based on football.
* Mystery - Nine movies were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
* Romantic Comedy - Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn are featured together
three times. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are featured together
twice.
* Courtroom Drama - 20 of the 50 films involve a falsely accused defendant.
* Epic - 16 movies are war films; 11 movies are based on biblical events.
* The ballot includes entries that span from BIRTH OF A NATION (Epic) from
1915, to CARS (Animation), CHILDREN OF MEN (Sci-fi), THE DEPARTED
(Gangster), HAPPY FEET (Animation) and LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (Epic), all
from 2006.
* The films that are represented in more than one category are: ADAM'S RIB
(Romantic Comedy/Courtroom Drama), THE BIG HEAT (Gangster/Mystery), BULL
DURHAM (Sports/Romantic Comedy), DANCES WITH WOLVES (Western/Epic), FIELD OF
DREAMS (Sports/Romantic Comedy), THE GODFATHER PART II (Gangster/Epic), HOW
THE WEST WAS WON (Western/Epic), JERRY MAGUIRE (Sports/Romantic Comedy).
About the American Film Institute:
AFI is a national institute providing leadership in screen education and the
recognition and celebration of excellence in the art of film, television and
digital media. Additional information about AFI is available at AFI.com. |
