CinemaCon 2018, Day 3: Will Rogers Pioneer of the Year Dinner

In what has become annual tradition, the penultimate evening of CinemaCon is occupied by the posh charity benefit gala that is the Pioneer of the Year Dinner, during which the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation celebrates a figure in film as an industry pioneer. This year was the first time in the award's 77-year history that the recipient was an actor: the fresh-from-the-Paramount-presentation-stage Tom Cruise--who, to fair, has also enjoyed substantial success as a producer in addition to his well known on-screen exploits. The event, which benefits the Pioneers Assistance Fund for motion picture industry veterans in need of financial aid and assistance, was hosted by James Corden and featured a performance from rising film/stage/music star Leslie Odom Jr., best known for Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express on the big screen and his Tony-winning performance in Hamilton on Broadway. Ideally, I would relate more details about the event program and the various tributes and speeches, and more importantly more details on the great year-round work the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation does through its various programs. However, the media representative hired by the Foundation to handle this event, unlike the generous charity by which she was hired, was of steadfast non-assistance and coldly denied me a seat at the gala--despite what I was later told were a lot of unoccupied/unclaimed seats and empty tables at the event. All the same, here's to all the selfless work the Foundation as a whole and most of its employees and affiliates do in maintaining the happiness and literal health of those who keep the motion picture industry alive.

Stay tuned here and on my Twitter and Instagram all week for ongoing coverage of all the goings-on at CinemaCon 2018!

(Special thanks to Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation, and very special thanks to Heather Lewandoski, Corey Barger, and the entire team at Rogers & Cowan for all their helpful and generous assistance at the convention, as well as Mitch Neuhauser and the CinemaCon crew)

The Movie Report wants to attend all your film special events! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

CinemaCon 2012, Day 3: Pioneer of the Year

One of the most prominent and enduring figures in Hollywood, Jeffrey Katzenberg, made his second convention appearance of the week at the Caesars Palace Octavius Ballroom to receive the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation's 71^st annual Pioneer of the Year Award. While the award recognizes Katzenberg's numerous philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors, with ample video footage and testimony of his long-running efforts, the lively and lighthearted, sometimes roast-like dinner ceremony was spiced up by appearances from notable collaborators at his day job as head of DreamWorks Animation: Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, and Jack Black, the last of whom served as master of ceremonies.

(very special thanks to Heather Lewandoski, Jessica Erskine, and the entire crew at Rogers & Cowan for all their helpful and generous assistance at the convention this week.)

The Movie Report wants to attend all your film special events! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!