DIRECTOR ANG LEE AND PRODUCER/SCREENWRITER JAMES SCHAMUS RECEIVE THE NATIONAL ART CLUBS MEDAL OF HONOR FOR FILM ON NOVEMBER 18, 2009 (New York) November 19, 2009—Last night, director Ang Lee and producer/screenwriter James Schamus were honored by The National Arts Clubs Film Committee for their achievement in the film industry at a black tie dinner held at the historic Gramercy Park members-only club. In attendance to help celebrate their success were actresses Sigourney Weaver and Christina Ricci, who both gave speeches about working with the honorees, actress/National Arts Club member Carroll Baker, playwright Christopher Durang and Gossip Girl star/National Arts Club member Matthew Settle. Professor Annette Insdorf of Columbia Universitys Graduate Film Program and WNYC radio talk show host Leonard Lopate were also among the evenings guest speakers. Known for their successful ground-breaking films such as Brokeback Mountain (2005), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) and Sense and Sensibility (1995), The National Arts Clubs Film committee chose to honor the creative duo for their ability to work together to bring about films that have repeatedly raised the bar for fellow-filmmakers. "It is rare that we get to honor such a unique creative team, says Dary Day Derchin, Chair of the NACs Film Committee. No other filmmakers have crossed cultural boundaries so brilliantly. Sigourney Weaver and Christina Ricci both spoke of their respect and admiration for Lee and Schamus and shared their memories of working with the duo on the set of the 1997 film The Ice Storm. Weaver admitted that when she first met with Lee to discuss the film, which is about a moral deterioration taking place in suburbia during the 1970s, she thought that it was a comedy. To this day, I still think that it is a comedy only you have to have a dark sense of humor, said Weaver. Ricci, on the other hand, referenced the great amount of patience that both Lee and Schamus had when working with the angry and stubborn 15-year-old version of herself. I was 15, angry and to be honest, had no idea what the film was about, said Ricci, who turned heads in a gorgeous Alexander McQueen dress. National Arts Club President O. Aldon James Jr. presented Lee and Schamus with the gold medal, officially making both men the newest members of The National Arts Club. They join the esteemed ranks of previous Film Committee honorees including Cliff Robertson, Sylvia Sydney, Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Whoopi Goldberg, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Aiello, Lynn Redgrave, Olympia Dukakis and Norman Jewison. Perhaps best known for their work on the film Brokeback Mountain, which allowed for Taiwan-born director Ang Lee to become the first Asian to win an Academy Award for Best Director, Lee and Schamus have received much praise from critics and their peers for their work as an internationally- recognized creative team. Their films, including the recent Taking Woodstock, has enabled them to work with a group of outstanding actors including Anne Hathaway, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Heath Ledger, Michelle Yeaoh, Ziyi Zhang, Yun-Fat Chow, Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Christina Ricci and Emile Hirsch among others. About The National Arts Club: Run by volunteers The National Arts Club was founded by Charles de Kay, New York Times literary and art critic, in 1898 with the mission to stimulate, foster and promote public interest in the arts and educate the American people in the fine arts. A historic staple in Gramercy Park, the Arts Club is located in the Tilden Mansion which was built in the 1840s. Today, The National Arts Club hosts art unveilings, award dinners, film screenings, lectures, dances and many more various types of art performances. In order to help recognize untapped talents, the Arts Clubs committees frequently award scholarships to young artists, writers and singers to help them develop their talent and work towards their dreams.

• published: 08 Dec 2009
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