STAR WARS creator George Lucas was presented with the Galactic Achievement Award at the closing night ceremony of ShoWest 2005, March 17, 2005, in Las Vegas at the Paris Hotel. Lucas, whose sixth STAR WARS movie, STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH, opens May 19, acknowledged the one-time special honor while Animation Director of the Year honor was given this year to Brad Bird, director of THE INCREDIBLES.
"I do appreciate the fact that they named an award for the fact that all these movies are one big, long movie, said Lucas. They are not separate movies."
Bird is racking up the awardware, having won the Oscar last month for best animated film (as well as a nomination for original screenplay) plus three Annie Awards (for writing, direction and his voice contribution) for THE INCREDIBLES.
At ShoWest 2005's official opening ceremony March 15, Nielsen Entertainment presented its inaugural Nielsen EDI Platinum Reel Award to DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg for the extraordinary box-office performance of SHREK 2, the top grossing film of last year with $436 million domestically.
The 2005 edition of ShoWest, held March 14 -17 at Ballys and Paris Las Vegas, draws some 5,000 members of the industry with delegates from more than 45 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Founded by the National Association of Theatre Owners of California and Nevada, ShoWest is managed by the VNU Expositions Film Group, a division of VNU Business Media (parent company of THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER).
