Pierce Brosnan to honored at Maui Film Festival

Box-office clout and A-list glamour share space on the marquee with critics’ praise and scores of major screen awards for the four Hollywood stars who will be honored at this year’s Maui Film Festival at Wailea - reports Maui News.

Now in its ninth year, the festival will present its Maverick Award to Pierce Brosnan. Felicity Huffman will accept the Nova Award, Virginia Madsen has been chosen for the Navigator Award and Dennis Quaid will be presented with the Galaxy Award, festival Director Barry Rivers is expected to announce today.

“What is consistent about all of their careers is that they have the talent and the body of work reflecting what the Maui Film Festival has always aspired to honor. They’re not celebrities but luminaries,” Rivers said.

All four actors will be honored in tributes at the annual Maui-style celebration of cinema that returns June 11 to 15 to Wailea locations including the outdoor Celestial Cinema, as well as the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle and McCoy Studio theaters.

Brosnan, Madsen and Quaid will take part in a gala tribute and cocktail reception from 6 to 9 p.m. June 12. Huffman will appear at a special tribute the following night at the Maui Skydome Theater atop the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort. That tribute, sponsored by Louis Vuitton, will be free and will include a complimentary screening of Huffman’s new film, “Phoebe in Wonderland.”

Passes for this year’s festival are now available online at www.mauifilmfestival.com. Tickets for special events, including the Taste of Wailea as well as the Hollywood-style parties at resorts along the Wailea coast, will go on sale Friday. A Festival at a Glance flier will be included in Sunday’s The Maui News and the festival expects to post the final schedule online this weekend.

“Feel what’s reel,” is the tag for this year’s event.

The programming reflects the festival’s trademark blend of humanistic storytelling and spirituality that stretches from the waves to the stars, all in a relaxed tropical setting, but Rivers said the program this year “is a more accurate reflection of its times.”

“It was hard to look at the 1,000 films we screened and not see there are issues that people are feeling challenged by and responsible for finding solutions for.”

The stature of this year’s honorees emphasizes the festival’s growing reputation in the film world.

Although Brosnan is best known for his larger-than-life portrayal of the world’s best-known spy in four James Bond films, the Navigator Award acknowledges other aspects of this multifaceted actor and longtime environmentalist.

The Irish-born star hilariously punctured his dashing spy image in his Golden Globe-nominated performance in “The Matador” and was recently seen in the Maui Film Festival’s screening of the ironic dramedy “Married Life.”

The Maverick Award “honors a film artist for both their heartfelt commitment to making movies that matter as well as their long-standing efforts to work for both environmental justice and the triumph of the spirit of all Life on Earth.”

Brosnan, whose filmography ranges from the comedy of “Mrs. Doubtfire” through the action of “The Thomas Crown Affair” to the Civil War drama of “Seraphim Falls,” will soon be seen co-starring with Meryl Streep in the screen adaptation of the Broadway hit “Mama Mia.” His honors range from honorary doctorate degrees to the Order of the British Empire bestowed by the queen.

Huffman, a previous guest at the Maui Film Festival when her husband, William H. Macy, was honored, will claim the Nova Award for “a film artist whose stunningly original and seamless performances consistently infuse each character they play with unique insight and wisdom.”

Her filmography is laden with awards for work on both movie and TV screens, from her Emmy-winning role as Lynette Scavo in ABC’s hit series “Desperate Housewives” to her Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated star turn as the transgendered “mother” of a youth she had fathered in “Transamerica.”

Balancing her career between stage, television and movies, she recently starred with Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan in “Georgia Rules” and will attend the festival’s screening of “Phoebe in Wonderland,” fresh from its showing at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Co-starring Elle Fanning and previous Maui Film Festival honoree Patricia Clarkson, “Phoebe in Wonderland” features Huffman as the mother of a rule-defying little girl who becomes her inspiration.

Winning Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for being the sanest member of the stellar ensemble of “Sideways,” Virginia Madsen’s Navigator Award “honors a film artist for carving a path of distinction through the turbulent waters of the entertainment industry without sacrificing their fundamental commitment to excellence.”

The striking actress has demonstrated a broad range of emotions in her roles, but infuses all with qualities of empathy and understanding, from the ethereal angel hovering over “A Prairie Home Companion” to Billy Bob Thornton’s more-than-patient wife in “The Astronaut Farmer.”

An Independent Spirit Award winner, Madsen is currently co-starring with Hilary Swank and Richard Gere in “Amelia,” about legendary aviator Amelia Earhart.

Quaid, who has been playing against his leading-man charisma in recent roles, including his Oscar-nominated performance as a closeted gay husband in “Far From Heaven,” will accept the Galaxy Award. It honors “a film artist whose ongoing delivery of star-making performances forever guarantees a spotlight in the constellation of cinematic stardom.”

Quaid’s recent roles stretch from a barely disguised satirical president of the United States in “American Dreamz” and a shaky Secret Service agent in the box-office-topping “Vantage Point” to an arrogant English professor in “Smart People.”

He was thrust into the news last year when his newborn twins were accidentally administered a potentially fatal medication in the hospital. He has subsequently emerged as a crusader for patients’ rights and care, and recently testified before a congressional committee on the subject.

Upcoming projects for Quaid include “The Express,” in which he plays the Syracuse football coach of the first black Heisman Trophy winner; “The Horseman,” in which he plays a grieving detective who discovers a personal connection to a series of serial murders; and the action-packed “G.I. Joe.”

Summing this year’s festival plans, Rivers said: “The festival has a more independent spirit than it ever has. That makes it exciting. It’s more of an exploration of cinema around the world.”

He also noted that the industry itself is in a state of flux, especially for “little” artistic films, as evidenced by Warner Bros. Studio’s recent dissolution of two of its branches, Warner Independent and Picturehouse.

Being able to assemble this year’s program in these uncertain times shows “that the festival is held in such high regard,” Rivers concluded. “It shows the respect and admiration that many people in the industry have for us.”

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