Australians in Films: Baz Luhrman, Jacki Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Alex O’Loughlin to be Honoured in L.A.
Australians in Film will be conducting a benefit dinner at Los Angeles Intercontinental hotel on Thursday, Oct 24, to honour Aussie artists Baz Luhrman, Jacki Weaver, Joel Edgerton and Alex O'Loughlin.
Luhrman and Edgerton will be awarded the Fox Studious Australia-sponsored Orry-Kelly International Award for the Blue-Tongue Films collective.
Weaver and O'Loughlin will both be receiving the Breakthrough Award - Weaver for her 2010 performance in the Blue-Tongue crime drama Animal Kingdom.
Sullivan Stapleton, dubbed as Australia's next big actor, will also be receiving the Breakthrough Award. Stapleton is starring in the upcoming 300 sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire. He will also co-star with Sean Penn in Gangster Squad.
The benefit dinner will support Australians in Films undertaking to motivate Australian filmmakers to tap the international market and impart their experience, skills and knowledge for the members of the organisation.
The benefit dinner will also be attended by international celebrities Robert Pattinson, Oscar-nominated director David O. Russel and Andy and Lana Wachowski.
Yearly, the Australians in Films honours Aussie celebrities who made the country proud in the international film arena. The awarding through a benefit dinner was first held in 2012, jumpstarting from the Annual Breakthrough Award held since 2005.
"We are delighted to recognize the undeniable talent and international success by awarding both the Breakthrough and International Honorees each year," said Australians in Films President Tracey Viera.
"The achievements of Australian filmmakers and performers internationally is significant and the Awards event celebrates that success to serve as inspiration for the next generation."
In 2012, the organisation awarded studio executive Harvey Weinstein and filmmaker John Polson for their contributions to Australian film and television.
Actor Liam Hemsworth was also honoured in 2012 for tapping the international scene with his role for The Hunger Games, Home and Away and Daughters.
From his television roles in Australia, he left Melbourne in 2009 and snatched a role opposite Miley Cyrus in the Last Song. He continue penetrating the international arena with his stint as Gale in The Hunger Games.
Australians in Film stated that the organisation was "delighted to honor Liam Hemsworth with the 2012 Breakthrough Award. The string of his recent and upcoming films demonstrates an undeniable star power. From The Expendables 2, opposite Sylvester Stallone, and Paranoia, opposite screen legends Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford, to Arabian Nights, with Dwayne Johnson and Sir Anthony Hopkins, we believe this is only the beginning for Liam Hemsworth."
Also in 2012, actress Yvonne Strahovski was honoured for her successful transition to American Film and television - Sarah Walker opposite Zachary Levi in the NBC hit, Chuck.
"We also are honored to recognize Yvonne Strahovski with the 2012 Breakthrough Award. Last year, we watched as she starred opposite Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro in the action-thriller, Killer Elite. This year, we continue to celebrate her bright career, as we await the release of her upcoming comedy The Guilt Trip, where she stars alongside Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogen and I, Frankenstein, in which she will feature opposite Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy," Australians in Film said of Strahovski.