Celebration Of Artistic Freedom To Honor Martin Sheen & Terry George

by Stacey Kumagai Thursday, Feb. 03, 2005 at 4:01 PM

The City of West Hollywood and The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute Host the Oscar-Viewing Event, 3rd annual Celebration of Artistic Freedom - Benefiting Amnesty International USA and ACLU Foundation of Southern California

Celebration Of Artis...
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MEDIA CONTACTS: Stacey Kumagai, Media Monster Communications, Inc. 818-506-8675 or mediamonster@yahoo.com

James Michael Hughes
323-650-7777 or engineeleven@aol.com



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

3rd Annual Celebration Of Artistic Freedom To Honor
Emmy Award-Winner Martin Sheen And Oscar Nominee Terry George, Writer/Director Of “Hotel Rwanda,” At Academy Awards® Benefit Gala

The City of West Hollywood and The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute Host an Oscar-Viewing Event Benefiting Amnesty International USA and ACLU
Foundation of Southern California

LOS ANGELES, CA --- Actor/Activist Martin Sheen and Writer/Director, Terry George will have much to celebrate on Oscar Night, February 27th, 2005 as The 3rd annual Celebration of Artistic Freedom presents them with honors at an Oscar-Viewing gala hosted by The City of West Hollywood and The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, benefiting Amnesty International and the ACLU Foundation of Southern California. The event will take place at Robert De Niro’s West Hollywood restaurant, AGO (8478 Melrose Ave), beginning at 4:00 pm with red-carpet arrivals from such stars as Khandi Alexander, Ellen Burstyn, Danny Glover, Rebecca De Mornay, Martin Landau, Mira Sorvino, Harrison Ford, Ed Harris, Anjelica Huston, Julie Delpy, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. Many prominent industry leaders are expected to attend and support creative excellence for
the artistic community.

The event, described as the “party with a purpose,” focuses on human and civil rights, while honoring
creative excellence. The 500-person charity event boasts its own Artist of Conscience Award ceremony following an Oscar-viewing dinner. This year, Emmy Award-winner Martin Sheen has agreed to accept the organizations’ recognition of his unwavering commitment to equality and dignity for all communities.

"I've heard courage defined as "the first virtue" and "grace under pressure." And while I am fond of
quoting Andrew Jackson's "One man with courage is a majority," for me courage is defined by the day to day struggle to unite the will of the spirit with the work of the flesh," says Martin Sheen.

The event will feature a live multi-large screen Oscar-telecast dinner reception and a Celebration of
Visual Art-themed silent auction which encompasses photography, paintings and sculpture from such
talent as Tony Bennett, Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Viggo Mortensen, Hiro Yamagata and others. The silent auction also boasts a spectacular grand prize of a “Being Julia” themed trip to London. The live Oscar-telecast and Silent Auction will be followed by an after-party. The party’s theme is expected to be a strong draw among both artists and the community alike.

In addition, the Celebration for Artistic Freedom will honor Terry George, Writer/Director of the critically lauded, Golden Globe nominated film “Hotel Rwanda.” Highlighting “Hotel Rwanda,” currently topping many of the nation’s Best Picture of the Year lists, is a thematic alliance with the Gala’s commitment toward social and artistic freedom in the country.

“It's a great honor to share this honor with Martin Sheen, a man whose life and work can best be
described as a celebration of artistic freedom,” says Terry George. “I find nothing more satisfying than the search for stories about ordinary men and women struggling for justice and decency. As I do this I am acutely aware that there are so many artists around the world, artists of immeasurable talent, too frightened to speak, to sing or to put pen or brush to paper. This award is for them.”

Mr. George will be presented the ARTISTIC FREEDOM HONOR by Paul Rusesabagina, the former hotel manager who sheltered about 1000 people at the Hotel des Milles Collines in Kigali, Rwanda, played by Don Cheadle in the film. Mr. Rusesabagina is the recipient of the 2000 Immortal Chaplains Prize for Humanity, and Amnesty International’s “Enduring Spirit” Award.

TICKETS AND SPONSORSHIP INFO:
Tickets are available by calling (310) 242-6446, or by visiting our website at www.celebrateartisticfreedom.com . Sponsorships are available for this event by contacting Mark
Poncher, Executive Producer, or Alma Bogdan-Turner, Associate Producer at (310) 242-6446.

For more information on the organizations involved with Celebration of Freedom of the Arts, please
visit their respective websites City of West Hollywood www.weho.org; The Lee Strasberg Theatre &
Film Institute www.strasberg.com; Amnesty International USA www.aiusa.org and ACLU Foundation of Southern California www.aclu-sc.org


PRESS / CONTACT INFO
The event is produced by the RoundBoxx Group, a producer of large scale public and private events.
More information available at www.roundboxx.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Stacey Kumagai, Media Monster Communications, Inc. 818-506-8675 or mediamonster@yahoo.com

James Michael Hughes
323-650-7777 or engineeleven@aol.com


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