Ben Stiller To Receive BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Award 11/30

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles® (BAFTA Los Angeles) will honor Ben Stiller with the Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy at the 2011 BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards on Wednesday, November 30 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The Britannia Awards are BAFTA Los Angeles' highest accolade, a celebration of achievements honoring individuals and companies that have dedicated their careers or corporate missions to advancing the entertainment arts.

"Ben Stiller is a master of comedy who, just like the legendary filmmaker for whom this award is named, embodies the remarkable multi-hyphenate talents of actor, writer, director and producer," says Nigel Lythgoe, Chairman of BAFTA Los Angeles. "Having worked with him personally on a couple of ‘IDOL GIVES BACK' shows, I am more than delighted that BAFTA Los Angeles has selected him to join our other 2011 distinguished honorees to receive this outstanding honor."

Stiller joins the previously announced Helena Bonham Carter who will receive the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year, John Lasseter who will be honored with the Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment, and David Yates who will be recognized with the John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing. The recipient of the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film will be announced shortly.

Emmy nominated and Tony winning actor Alan Cumming will serve as Master of Ceremonies. Cumming's film and TV credits include The Good Wife, X2: X-Men United, The Anniversary Party, Eyes Wide Shut, The Tempest and Titus.

The Britannia Awards are presented annually at a gala dinner, where peers and colleagues celebrate the work and accomplishments of the distinguished honorees. Proceeds from the gala ceremony support BAFTA Los Angeles' ongoing education, scholarship, community outreach and archival projects.

The first Britannia Award was presented to Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli, pioneer producer of the James Bond films. Since the awards were first created in1989 Britannia Awards have been given to Michael Caine, Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Colin Firth, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Hopkins, the late Stanley Kubrick (in whose name an award is now given), George Lucas, Sean Penn, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Chris Nolan, Emily Blunt, Sean Penn, Dame Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet and Denzel Washington.

Ben Stiller

As an actor, director, writer and producer, Ben Stiller's films have grossed over five billion dollars in worldwide box office revenues.

Stiller received rave reviews for his lead role in Noah Baumbach's Greenberg, which earned him a 2011 Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Lead Actor. He most recently starred in the Broadway revival of John Guare's award-winning play The House of Blue Leaves alongside Edie Falco and Jennifer Jason Leigh. He made his Broadway debut in the 1986 production of the same name.

Stiller will next star opposite Eddie Murphy in Universal's highly-anticipated action-comedy Tower Heist directed by Brett Ratner set for release on November 4th. This fall he begins production on Fox's Neighborhood Watch opposite Vince Vaughn, which revolves around a group of men who uncover a plot to destroy the world.

In 2008, Ben Stiller starred in, co-wrote and directed Tropic Thunder under his Red Hour Films production banner. Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Jack Black and Tom Cruise, the film garnered several award nominations including an Academy Award®, BAFTA, SAG and Golden Globe® for Robert Downey Jr. as well as a Golden Globe® nomination for Tom Cruise. The film also won the Broadcast Film Critics Award and Hollywood Film Festival Award for Comedy of the Year. Red Hour's other production credits include the upcoming film, The Big Year, starring Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black; the dark comedy 30 Minutes or Less, starring Danny McBride and Jesse Eisenberg, the animated feature Megamind starring Will Ferrell and Brad Pitt, Submarine, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival, Blades of Glory, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, andStarsky and Hutch.

His other directing credits include Reality Bites, The Cable Guy, and Zoolander, which he co-wrote and starred in. As a writer, Stiller won an Emmy Award® for the short-lived sketch comedy series The Ben Stiller Show, which he also directed and produced.

Stiller's acting credits include: Permanent Midnight, Your Friends & Neighbors, Flirting with Disaster, Empire of the Sun, There's Something About Mary, The Royal Tenenbaums, Night at the Museum and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian; Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers and Little Fockers; in voiceover, Madagascar and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa; and Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, a Red Hour production.

For many years, Stiller has been involved with and supported numerous charities and foundations, including Project ALS, Artists for Peace and Justice, Centre for Environmental Education, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Michael J. Fox Foundation, Oxfam, Red Cross, and Starlight Children's Foundation, among others.

Following his first visit to Haiti with Save the Children in 2009, Stiller has been committed to raising money for schools in the country through his StillerStrong campaign, and more recently with The Stiller Foundation. In 2010, Stiller was recognized by TIME MAGAZINE for his philanthropic work as one of the TIME 100, a list of the most influential people in the world.

BAFTA Los Angeles
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles is the only Anglo-American professional organization founded to promote and advance original work in film, television and interactive media. BAFTA Los Angeles serves as the bridge between the Hollywood and British production and entertainment business communities, and provides exclusive access to screenings, Q&As with creative talent, produces seminars with leading UK film and television executives and the Heritage Archive, featuring broadcast-quality interviews with distinguished British members of the film and television industries, giving life to the preservation of the UK film industry for future generations.

Maintaining a long tradition of recognizing the finest filmmaking and television talent, BAFTA Los Angeles hosts a series of events, including the prestigious Britannia Awards, the Awards Season Film and Television Tea Parties in January and September and the annual GArden Party.

In July, 2011, BAFTA presented the "Brits to Watch" event in Los Angeles which was attended by BAFTA's President, HRH The Duke of Cambridge and HRH The Duchess of Cambridge. The star-studded evening celebrated the incredible depth and range of great British talent emerging in film, television and video games.

A commitment to professional and community education is at the heart of the Academy's charitable remit. BAFTA Los Angeles hosts the Student Film Awards and has an active Scholarship Program offering financial support and mentorship to UK students studying in the U.S. The Academy created The Inner City Cinema, a screening program providing free screenings of theatrical films to inner city areas not served by theatres. The success of Inner City Cinema has led to further free screening programs extended to multiple inner city parks through the Academy's work with both the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks After Dark) and The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (Teen Summer Camps). Collaborating with Washington Prep's Drama Department, members of the Academy filmed a student production of Romeo and Juliet, which is currently being turned into the documentary "Shakespeare in The Hood."

For more information on the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Los Angeles, visit www.baftala.org

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos

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