The Hollywood Foreign Press Association celebrated their annual Installation Luncheon last week at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. The star-studded luncheon presented a record $1,541,000 in financial grants to 41 film schools and non-profit organizations. The event also celebrated the election of the HFPA’s 2010-2011 officers.
Eva Longoria Parker joined returning HFPA President Philip Berk to announce grants. Acceptance remarks on behalf of the grants were made by Nicole Kidman (The Film Foundation), John Slattery (UCLA), Annette Bening (Sundance Institute), Aaron Sorkin (Higher Education Fellowships & Institutional Support Grants), Bryan Cranston (Professional Training & Mentoring Grants), Ryan Phillippe (FilmAid International), Jane Lynch and Glee Co-Creator Ian Brennan (Outfest), Carla Gugino (LA Conservancy, MOMA, UC Berkeley, LACMA and other Preserve The Culture & History Of Film Grants), Matthew Fox (American Cinematheque, Levantine Cultural Center, and Latin American Cinemateca), and Jim Parsons and Kaley Cuoco (Pre-Professional Training & Education Grants)
Berk introduced the re-elected HFPA officers Hans J. Spurkel (Vice President), Meher Tatna (Executive Secretary), and Jack Tewksbury (Treasurer). The new Board of Directors is comprised of Ali Sar (Chairman), Jorge Camara, Yoram Kahana, Theo Kingma, Lorenzo Soria, and Ruben Nepales (alternate).
Founded in the 1940s during World War II, the HFPA was originally comprised of a handful of LA based overseas journalists who sought to bridge the international community with Hollywood, and to provide distraction from the hardships of war through film. Sixty-six years later, members of the HFPA represent 55 countries with a combined readership of 250 million in some of the world’s most respected publications. Each year, the organization holds the third most watched awards show on television, the Golden Globe Awards, which have enabled the organization to donate more than $12 million to entertainment related charities and scholarship programs.
