HOLLYWOOD, CA--(Marketwired - October 19, 2016) - dick clark productions announced today that acclaimed new director and established fashion designer Tom Ford will receive this year's "Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award" for "Nocturnal Animals," Academy Award-nominated producer Marc Platt will receive the "Hollywood Producer Award" for his numerous films this year including "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," "The Girl on the Train" and "La La Land," and two-time Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan will receive the "Hollywood Screenwriter Award" for his screenplay "Manchester by the Sea" at the 20^th Annual Hollywood Film Awards.

The awards ceremony, celebrating its 20^th anniversary as the official launch of the awards season®, will be hosted by actor and comedian James Corden, and will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, on November 6, 2016. The Hollywood Film Awards honors some of the most acclaimed films and actors, as well as artists in Cinematography, Visual Effects, Film Composing, Costume Design, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Makeup & Hairstyling. Its honorees over the past 20 years have included the world's biggest stars and more than 110 have gone on to garner Oscar nominations and/or wins.

Mr. Ford's second film "Nocturnal Animals," the hauntingly romantic thriller that explores the thin lines between love and cruelty stars Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal as a divorced couple discovering dark truths about each other and themselves. The film premiered at the 73rd annual Venice Film Festival in 2016, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. Focus Features will release "Nocturnal Animals" in select cities beginning November 18th and nationwide on December 9th.

Tom Ford is a highly respected and successful fashion designer and film director. One of the most esteemed and prolific designers of his generation, Mr. Ford has won numerous awards for his distinguished work at Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and his eponymous luxury brand TOM FORD, which launched in 2005. That same year, he formed his Los Angeles-based film production company Fade To Black through which he directed, produced and co-wrote his first feature film "A Single Man," starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. The film premiered at the 66th annual Venice Film Festival in 2009, where Mr. Firth was awarded Best Actor for his performance. The critically acclaimed film went on to receive multiple awards and nominations including the Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

Marc Platt's producing career spans film, theatre and television with his projects garnering a combined 17 Oscar nominations, 18 Tony nominations, 17 Golden Globe nominations and 29 Emmy nominations. His films this year are "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," "The Girl on the Train," and "La La Land." Last year, Platt received a "Best Picture" Oscar nomination for "Bridge of Spies," which was among the six earned for the film overall. Other credits include "Into the Woods," "Drive," "Rachel Getting Married," "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World," "Wanted," "Nine," "2 Guns," "Cop Out," "Ricki and the Flash," "Legally Blonde," "Legally Blonde 2," "Honey," "Josie and the Pussycats" and Disney's upcoming "Mary Poppins Returns." He produced Broadway's blockbuster musical, "Wicked," and for television he earned an Emmy Award for executive producing "Grease Live!" and an Emmy and Golden Globe awards for HBO's "Empire Falls." Prior to becoming an independent producer, Platt served as president of production for three movie studios -- Orion, TriStar and Universal.

Kenneth Lonergan wrote and directed "You Can Count On Me" (2000 Academy Award® and Golden Globe® Nominee for Best Screenplay), "Margaret" (2011), and "Margaret" - Extended Edition (2012). He also co-wrote the screenplays for "Analyze This" (1999) and "Gangs Of New York" (2002 WGA® and Academy Award® nomination for Best Original Screenplay). Lonergan's plays include Tony nominated "This Is Our Youth" (1996), Pulitzer Prize finalist "The Waverly Gallery" (2000), and Olivier Award nominated "Lobby Hero" (2001). He recently completed the television adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, "Howards End," for the BBC. His upcoming film, "Manchester by the Sea," which he both wrote and directed, stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Lucas Hedges and Kyle Chandler. The film premiered to great acclaim at the 2016 Sundance, Telluride, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals, and will be released by Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions on November 18, 2016.

Previously announced honorees for this year's show include: "Hollywood Career Achievement Award," Eddie Murphy; "Hollywood Actor Award," Tom Hanks; "Hollywood Blockbuster Award," "The Jungle Book"; "Hollywood Animation Award," "Zootopia"; "Hollywood Cinematography Award," Linus Sandgren; "Hollywood Film Composer Award," Mychael Danna; "Hollywood Editor Award," John Gilbert; "Hollywood Visual Effects Award," Stephane Ceretti and Richard Bluff; "Hollywood Sound Award," Christopher Boyes and Frank Eulner; "Hollywood Costume Design Award," Albert Wolsky; "Hollywood Make Up & Hair Styling Award," Shane Thomas, Angela Conte, Bec Taylor and Noriko Waztanabe; and "Hollywood Production Design Award," Wynn Thomas.

CHEAT TWEET: .@TOMFORD, Marc Platt and Kenneth Lonergan to be honored at the 20th Annual @hollywoodawards: bit.ly/HollywoodAwards4 #HFAs

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ABOUT DICK CLARK PRODUCTIONS

dick clark productions (dcp) is the world's largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the "Academy of Country Music Awards," "American Music Awards," "Billboard Music Awards," "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest," "Golden Globe Awards," "Hollywood Film Awards," "Miss America" and the "Streamy Awards." Weekly television programming includes "So You Think You Can Dance" from 19 Entertainment, a division of CORE Media Group and dcp. dcp also owns one of the world's most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with more than 55 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FILM AWARDS®

The Hollywood Film Awards®, founded in 1997, were created to celebrate Hollywood and launch the awards season. The recipients of the awards are selected by an Advisory Team for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released during the calendar year. For additional information, visit www.hollywoodawards.com.