Maui Film Fest will honor
4 artists on cutting edge
Actor, writer, musician Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson will receive the fifth annual Maui Film Festival's Navigator Award for carving a career of distinction in the turbulent waters of the entertainment industry.
Harrelson's film "Go Further" will be shown at the Maui Arts and Cultural Center at 5 p.m. June 17, and the actor is expected to attend. The Maui resident will receive his award between 8 to 10 p.m. that day at the Wailea Marriott's Maui Digital SkyDome at the Wailea Marriott-Pacific Terrace. The event will be preceded at 7:30 p.m. by a Bombay Sapphire MauiTini Reception.
Known for his role as the dim-witted but good-hearted bartender Woody Boyd on the hit TV series "Cheers," Harrelson in 1989 won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and the 1994 MTV Movie Award for Best Onscreen Kiss, in "Indecent Proposal."
Political satirist Bill Maher also will be honored with the festival's first ever Maverick Award. In 1993 he created the perfect forum for his quick-witted comedic talents, "Politically Incorrect."
The program, airing on Comedy Central, brought together politicians, entertainers and journalists to participate in a give-and-take discussion of controversial subjects that were both topical and comical.
Maher and his program won four CableACE Awards combined, and in 1997 caught the attention of ABC, resulting in a post-"Nightline" time slot. "Politically Incorrect" was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2001 for "Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series" and celebrated its fifth anniversary on ABC in January 2002, before post-9/11 sentiments led to its end.
Maher's credits also include five HBO specials, including the critically acclaimed "Bill Maher: Be More Cynical."
Angela Bassett, who will receive the Pathfinder Award, is a respected actress of stage, screen and television. Bassett, 45, has been one of the few African-American actresses to break Hollywood's color boundary. She has specialized in playing strong women familiar with adversity and has worked in genres from "chick flick" ("Waiting to Exhale") to sci-fi action ("Strange Days") to biography ("What's Love Got to Do with It?"), the last of which featured her in a star-making performance as Tina Turner. The performance earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe.
Noted producer Ted Hope -- whose films include "21 Grams," "American Splendor," "The Tao of Steve," "The Ice Storm," "The Brothers McMullen," and "Eat Drink Man Woman" -- will receive the festival's first Trailblazer honor.
Recipient of the Maui Film Festival's top award, the Silversword, has not yet been announced.
Bassett and Hope will be honored in back-to-back tributes from 5 to 7 p.m. June 18 in a ceremony at the Grand Wailea Ballroom, preceded at 4:30 p.m. by a Piper-Heidsieck Champagne and light pupu reception.
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