Media 8 Entertainment announced today that Charlize Theron, star of its film “Monster,” has been nominated for the entertainment industry's highest theatrical honor, an Academy Award, in the category of “Best Actress.” The Oscar nomination follows Ms. Theron's major triumph at the Golden Globe Awards this past Sunday, where she took home the prize for “Best Actress- Drama” on national television.
The Academy Award and the Golden Globe are considered two of the most highly esteemed theatrical awards in the film industry, and “Monster's” recent recognition from both organizations represents yet another impressive critical achievement. The Academy Awards are voted on by the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who represent a broad cross section of the film industry, and will be awarded on prime time television February 29th. It is expected that this Oscar nomination will further bolster “Monster's” marketplace visibility and commercial box office appeal in the upcoming weeks, as the national press attention and media coverage leading up to the Academy Awards ceremony brings considerable publicity to the selected nominees.
"This is a major accomplishment for Charlize and for ‘Monster',” stated Sammy Lee, Vice Chairman of the Board. "All of us at MDP are thrilled to see Charlize continue to be recognized for her captivating dramatic performance, and are extremely gratified to see independent films like ‘Monster' continue to prove their positive commercial appeal against larger studio-backed productions.” Added Lee, “We have been very pleased with the way audiences and critics have embraced ‘Monster' so far, and this Oscar nomination should further expand the film's growing box office draw.”
The Golden Globe award ceremony was nationally televised by NBC and was seen by nearly 27 million viewers - the biggest turnout since NBC began carrying the event in 1995. “Monster” also performed very strongly at the North American box office this past weekend, grossing over $2 million in the US and Canada combined, bringing the film's cumulative gross to over $6 million. The film will expand to approximately 600 theaters this upcoming weekend, or nearly double the number of previous locations.
The Academy nod is the latest in an already remarkable series of accolades that Ms. Theron and “Monster” have garnered in the last few months. Prior to the Golden Globe win, Ms. Theron won the Best Actress award from the Chicago Film Critics, received a nomination for “Best Actress” from the Screen Actors Guild, and won the “Best Actress” award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. In addition, Ms. Theron has won the award for “Breakthrough Performance – Actress” from the National Board of Review, and “Best Actress” honors from the San Francisco Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, the Southeastern Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Online, the Las Vegas Film Critics, the Dallas/ Fort Worth Film Critics, and the CNN Radio Movie Awards. “Monster” is also nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards, and “Monster” has landed on many Top Ten lists, including being named the “#1 Movie of the Year” by nationally syndicated film critic Roger Ebert. |
