October 16, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Leslie Unger - 310-247-3000

Beverly Hills, CA - Composer Elmer Bernstein, in celebration of his 50th Anniversary of film composition, will be honored with a tribute program at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday, November 8, at 8 p.m., in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. Bernstein will be present for the event, which will feature film clips and personal appearances by friends, colleagues and admirers.

Bernstein's first feature film, "Saturday's Hero," was released in 1951. Since then, he has worked with many of the most innovative creative talents in film, and in a wide range of genres including comedy, drama, epic and the western. He won an Academy Award in 1967 for the original music score for "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and he has earned an additional twelve nominations, including three in 1966 alone. His most recent nomination was in 1993, for the original score for "The Age of Innocence." Bernstein's current project is the upcoming "Gangs of New York."

Actor-director Carl Reiner will serve as master of ceremonies for the event. Other confirmed participants include actor James Coburn, who starred in "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), for which Bernstein earned his second Oscar nomination; director John Landis, who has worked with Bernstein on several films including "Oscar" (1991), "Three Amigos!" (1986), "Spies Like Us" (1985), "Trading Places" (1983), which earned Bernstein a nomination, and "National Lampoon's Animal House" (1978); director Carl Franklin, who worked with Bernstein on "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995), and producer Noel Pearson, for whom Bernstein scored "Frankie Starlight" (1995), "The Field" (1990) and "My Left Foot" (1989). Also scheduled to participate are jazz composer Terence Blanchard, who will address Bernstein's seminal jazz scores, and Cecelia DeMille Presley, grand-daughter of Cecil B. DeMille, with whom Bernstein worked on "The Ten Commandments" (1956).

The Academy's Tribute to Elmer Bernstein will be followed by a screening series at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. A dozen films for which Bernstein composed music, including the Oscar nominated "The Man with the Golden Arm" and "To Kill A Mockingbird," will be screened beginning November 9 and continuing through December 1. For information about this series, please call 323-857-6010 or visit www.lacma.org.

Tickets for "An Academy Tribute to Elmer Bernstein" are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. They may be purchased in advance at the Academy during regular business hours or by mail, or, if still available, on the night of the program when the doors open at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information call
310-247-3600.