Cinequest announced that Avi Arad, chairman/ceo of Marvel Studios, will receive Cinequest's Maverick Spirit Award and participate in a conversation with venture capitalist William R. Hearst III on the art of technology an event culminating Cinequest's expanded Filmmaking and Technology Forums. This Meeting of Maverick Moguls event will occur on Saturday, March 11, 2006, at 3:30 pm at the Camera 12 Cinemas. The entire Cinequest festival runs from March 1-12, 2006, in San Jose, California.
Cinequest chose Arad for this honor because he is a master of leveraging digital technologies to tell stories which could not have been told before. Past recipients of the Maverick Spirit Award have include Kevin Spacey, William H. Macy, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Spike Lee, Gus Van Sant and Sir Ian McKellen.
"He is a mogul who has demonstrated the Maverick spirit both in his work with Marvel Studios and in his life," said Cinequest's exec director Halfdan Hussey. "It is this spirit which Cinequest champions and why he is a perfect fit for the Maverick Spirit Award."
Arad has been the driving force behind Marvel's Hollywood renaissance, including a string of eight consecutive #1 box office openings. As an exec producer and producer, his credits include SPIDER-MAN and its sequel, SPIDER-MAN 2 (Columbia Pictures), which set an industry record for opening day box office receipts; X-MEN and X2: X-MEN UNITED (Twentieth Century Fox); THE HULK (Universal Pictures); DAREDEVIL (New Regency); THE PUNISHER (Lionsgate Ent.); BLADE, BLADE II and BLADE: TRINITY (New Line Cinema); ELEKTRA (Twentieth Century Fox); and THE FANTASTIC FOUR (Twentieth Century Fox). Arad's current live-action feature film slate includes the highly anticipated May 2006 release of X-MEN: THE LAST STAND (Twentieth Century Fox), as well as GHOST RIDER (Columbia Pictures), SPIDER-MAN 3 (Columbia Pictures) and FANTASTIC FOUR 2 (Twentieth Century Fox) all slated for 2007.
Cinequest connects films to their fans and empowers film artists with the knowledge and technologies to make and distribute their visions. Cinequest has built a reputation for being a trend-setter, leading the way in promoting and exposing digital tools that aid creativity and delivery of Maverick, independent and international cinema. At Cinequest Film Festival 16 (CQFF16), Cinequest, in conjunction with exclusive partners, will present a series of forums, structured as thematic days that will empower filmmakers via exposure to cutting-edge technologies as well as wisdom and how-to knowledge from leading film professionals.
Tickets are available to all Cinequest forums online at www.cinequest.org and on the phone at (408) 295-FEST (3378).
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
