HOLLYWOOD, CA, September 15, 2006 -- The 10th Annual Hollywood Film Festival® and Hollywood Awards®, co-chaired by Paula Wagner and presented by STARZ, will honor Oscar®-winning actor ROBIN WILLIAMS with the "Hollywood Career Achievement Award," PENELOPE CRUZ with the "Hollywood Actress of the Year Award," and actress SANDRA BULLOCK with the "Hollywood Supporting Actress of the Year Award." The awards will be bestowed as part of the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony on Monday evening, October 23, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival.

"We at the Hollywood Film Festival feel that it is important to recognize excellence in the art of filmmaking, in all its disciplines. This year we are proud to honor talent like Robin, Penelope and Sandra, whose hard work and passion for acting continually captivate audiences," said Paula Wagner, fest's co-chair.

ROBIN WILLIAMS

An Academy Award-winning actor and a multiple Grammy-winning performer unparalleled in the scope of his imagination, ROBIN WILLIAMS continues to add to his repertoire of indelible characters. In 1997, Mr. Williams received Academy and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance as Sean Maguire, the therapist who counsels Matt Damon's title character -- a math genius -- in Gus Van Sant's "Good Will Hunting." The Academy previously nominated Robin Williams for best actor in "The Fisher King," "Dead Poets Society," and "Good Morning Vietnam." Mr. Williams garnered a special honor from the National Board of Review for his performance opposite Robert DeNiro in "Awakenings." In 2005, the HFPA honored him with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.

Robin Williams most recently appeared in Sony Pictures' hit comedy "RV" for director Barry Sonnenfeld and opposite Toni Collette in Patrick Stettner's dark thriller "The Night Listener."

The final quarter of 2006 will see the release of three major films, each of which will once again display the amazing diversity of Robin Williams as an actor. In October, Mr. Williams reunites with director Barry Levinson ("Man of the Year") to answer the question, "What would happen if one of the nation's funniest men became its leading one?" Robin Williams stars as Tom Dobbs, a late night talk show host who decides to run for President in this comic tale of an entertainer's accidental rise to power. In November, he lends his award-winning vocal talents to Warner Bros.' highly anticipated animated film, "Happy Feet." And in December, he will appear as Theodore Roosevelt opposite Ben Stiller in the Twentieth Century Fox film "Night at the Museum."

In addition, Robin Williams will star in two films expected for release in 2007. In Kirsten Sheridan's "August Rush," he'll appear as caretaker to a musically gifted orphan named August, portrayed by Freddie Highmore. The film also stars Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Terrence Howard. In the comedy "License to Wed," Mr. Williams stars as a pushy minister who orders a young couple (played by Mandy Moore and John Krasinski) to complete a grueling marriage preparation course if they want to marry in his church.

Robin Williams first captured the attention of the world as Mork from Ork on the hit series "Mork & Mindy." Born in Chicago and raised in Michigan and California, he trained at New York's Juilliard School under John Houseman. Mr. Williams made his cinematic debut as the title character in Robert Altman's "Popeye." Additional early motion picture credits include Paul Mazursky's "Moscow on the Hudson," in which he played a Russian musician who decides to defect, and "The World According to Garp," George Roy Hill's adaptation of John Irving's acclaimed best-selling novel about a writer and his feminist mother.

Robin Williams's filmography includes a number of blockbusters. In 1993, he starred in Chris Columbus's "Mrs. Doubtfire." For Mike Nichols, he portrayed Armand Goldman in "The Birdcage," for which the cast won a SAG ensemble award. In 1996, both "The Birdcage" and "Jumanji" reached the $100 million mark in the U.S. in exactly the same week. Robin Williams went on to assume the dual roles of Peter Pan/Peter Banning in Steven Spielberg's "Hook," to play a medical student who treats patients with humor in "Patch Adams," and to star in Disney's "Flubber."

In a departure from the usual comedic and family fare he is best known for, Robin Williams collaborated with two accomplished young directors on dramatic thrillers. For Christopher Nolan, he starred opposite Al Pacino as reclusive novelist Walter Finch, the primary suspect in the murder of a teenaged girl in a small Alaskan town, in "Insomnia." In Mark Romanek's "One Hour Photo," Mr. Williams played a photo lab employee who becomes obsessed with a young suburban family.

Using only his voice, Robin Williams created one of the most vivid characters in recent memory -- the Blue Genie of the Lamp in Disney's "Aladdin." The performance redefined how animations were voiced. Audio versions of his one-man shows and the children's record "Pecos Bill," have won him five Grammy Awards. Most recently, Robin Williams lent his vocal talents to the blockbuster hit animated feature "Robots."

Robin Williams's stage credits include a landmark production of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" directed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Steve Martin and, most recently, a short run in San Francisco of "The Exonerated," which tells the true stories of six innocent survivors of death row.

Robin Williams, who began his career as a stand-up comedian, is well known for his free-associative monologues and for pointing out life's absurdities through his astute social and political observations. After a 20-year absence from the stand-up scene, he hit the road and toured America with a critically acclaimed one-man show that visited 36 cities. The tour became the highest-grossing comedy tour ever and culminated in a final performance filmed by HBO and broadcast live from New York on July 14, 2002. The special was nominated for five Emmy Awards.

Offstage, Robin Williams takes great joy in supporting causes too numerous to identify -- covering the spectrum from health care and human rights to education, environmental protection, and the arts. He toured the Middle East three times in as many years to help raise morale among the troops and is, perhaps, best known philanthropically for his affiliation with Comic Relief, which was founded in 1986 as a non-profit organization to help America's homeless.

This year Robin Williams will reteam with his Comic Relief co-founders, Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, to present "Comic Relief 2006." The special, which marks the 20-year anniversary of the organization, will air live on November 18, 2006 on HBO and TBS. The "Comic Relief 2006" concert will help families affected by Hurricane Katrina, in the rebirth of the city of New Orleans, by raising funds to help families rebuild their homes and to tangibly address causes that kept victims from escaping. To date, the overall efforts of the Comic Relief organization have raised over $50 million.

PENELOPE CRUZ

PENELOPE CRUZ has proven herself to be one of the most versatile young actresses by playing a variety of compelling characters. First introduced to American audiences in the Spanish films "Jamon, Jamon" and "Belle Epoque," she starred in 1998 in her first English language film, "The Hi-Lo Country" for director Stephen Frears opposite Woody Harrelson, Patricia Arquette, and Billy Crudup. In 1999, Ms. Cruz won the Best Actress award at the 13th Annual Goya Awards given by the Spanish Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for her role in Fernando Trueba's "The Girl of Your Dreams."

Confirming her status as Spain's hottest international actress, Penelope Cruz landed the coveted role opposite Matt Damon in the film adaptation of "All the Pretty Horses," directed by Billy Bob Thornton. Next, she portrayed Isabella in "Woman on Top" for Fox Searchlight. The film is a whimsical tale of a gifted gourmand who journeys across the world in search of success, but ultimately finds herself. Other featured credits include her starring role in the thriller "Open Your Eyes," "Twice Upon a Yesterday," Pedro Almovodar's "Live Flesh," and "Talk of Angels." Additionally, Ms. Cruz co-starred in Pedro Almovodar's critically acclaimed "All About My Mother," which was awarded the Golden Globe and Oscar® for Best Foreign Film.

Penelope Cruz's next film was New Line Cinema's "Blow" for director Ted Demme. The film portrayed the true story of how cocaine became the designer drug in the U.S. in the early '70s as seen through the eyes of an American, played by Johnny Depp, who became one of the biggest traffickers for reputed drug kingpin Carlos Escobar. Penelope Cruz portrayed Johnny Depp's wife. She next starred opposite Nicolas Cage and Christian Bale in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin." The film, directed by John Madden, was shot in Greece and is based on Louis de Bernieres's best-selling novel set during World War II.

Penelope Cruz next starred opposite Tom Cruise in the erotic thriller "Vanilla Sky." The film also starred Cameron Diaz and Jason Lee and was directed by Cameron Crowe. She then tackled "Masked and Anonymous," "Fanfan la Tulipe," and "Don't Tempt Me." She received rave reviews for her eagerly awaited performance in "Don't Move" ("Non ti Muovere") for which she was honored with a David di Donatello Award and European Film Award for Best Actress.

Penelope Cruz's next films only added to her already brilliant and diverse choice of film credits. Recent films include "Gothika," in which she co-starred with Halle Berry and Robert Downey Jr.; director John Duigan's romantic drama "Head in the Clouds" opposite Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend; "Noel" opposite Susan Sarandon; and "Chromophobia" with Ralph Fiennes. Ms. Cruz also co-starred with Matthew McConaughey and William H. Macy as Dr. Eva Rojas in the action-packed film "Sahara."

Penelope Cruz will next be seen in "Volver," which recently won her the Cannes Film Festival's "Best Actress" award. This film once again teams her with director and friend Pedro Almodovar. Ms. Cruz recently completed filming on "The Good Night," written and directed by Jake Paltrow, and "Manolete," co-starring Adrien Brody.

SANDRA BULLOCK

SANDRA BULLOCK is one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading ladies. She was recently seen in the "The Lake House" starring opposite Keanu Reeves. Before that she was seen in "Crash," an independent film directed by Paul Haggis, as well as "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous," the follow-up to her 2000 hit film "Miss Congeniality." This fall, she will be seen starring as Harper Lee in "Infamous," a film directed by Doug McGrath that chronicles Truman Capote's life from 1959 through 1965. Ms. Bullock has also recently completed shooting the drama "Premonition." She continues her success in the television arena by executive producing "The George Lopez Show," which is currently in its fifth season on ABC.

Following acclaimed roles in several motion pictures, Sandra Bullock's breakthrough came in the 1994 runaway hit, "Speed." Her next two features, "While You Were Sleeping," which earned a Golden Globe nomination, and "The Net," were both critical and popular successes. Her subsequent starring roles include the box office smash "Forces of Nature," "Hope Floats," which marked her feature film producing debut, "Practical Magic," which she also co-produced for her production company Fortis Films, "Gun Shy," and "Miss Congeniality," also for Fortis Films, "Speed 2: Cruise Control," "A Time to Kill," "In Love and War," "Two If by Sea," "The Vanishing," "Demolition Man," "Wrestling Ernest Hemingway," "The Thing Called Love," and the voice of Miriam in the animated film "The Prince of Egypt." Other credits include the starring role in "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" for first time director Callie Khouri and the lead in the psychological thriller "Murder By Numbers," which she also executive produced. Adding to her list of box office hits is "Two Weeks Notice" in which she stars opposite Hugh Grant. The film, which she also produced, grossed over $200 million at the box office. Sandra Bullock made her debut as a writer/director with the short film "Making Sandwiches," in which she also starred with Matthew McConaughey.

Sandra Bullock has received numerous awards and nominations for her work, including two Blockbuster Entertainment Awards, three MTV Movie Awards, an American Comedy Award, three People's Choice Awards for Favorite Female Movie Star and two Golden Globe nominations. Additionally, in 2001 and in 1996, she was voted NATO/ShoWest "Female Star of the Year."

Other industry professionals who will be honored for their achievements at the Gala Awards Ceremony are Oscar®-winning director Oliver Stone who will be honored with the "Hollywood Director of the Year Award," producer Mike Medavoy who will receive the "Hollywood Producer of the Year Award," Academy Award-winning screenwriter Eric Roth who will be honored with the "Hollywood Screenwriter of the Year Award," the cast of "Bobby" who will receive the "Hollywood Ensemble Acting of the Year Award," Oscar®-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond who will be honored with the "Hollywood Cinematographer of the Year Award," Academy Award-winning editor Joel Cox who will receive the "Hollywood Editor of the Year Award," Academy Award-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla who will get the "Hollywood Composer of the Year Award," two-time Oscar®-winning production designer John Myhre who will receive the "Hollywood Production Designer of the Year Award," costume designer Penny Rose who will be honored with the "Hollywood Costume Designer of the Year Award," Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" which will receive the "Hollywood Visual Effects of the Year Award," Disney/Pixar's "Cars" which will be honored with the "Hollywood Animation of the Year Award," make-up artist Kris Evans who will receive the "Hollywood Make-Up of the Year Award," and casting director Francine Maisler who will be honored with the "Hollywood Casting Director of the Year Award."

The 2006 Annual Hollywood Film Festival will take place from October 18 to 23. The festival's screenings take place at ArcLight Theatres in Hollywood. Its Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony will be held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Monday, October 23.

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