Executive summary

What: 8th Annual The Method Fest Independent Film Festival

Date: March 31-April 7, 2006

Site: Calabasas, California (map, information)

Mission: Named for the "Stanislavski Method' which brought truth and realism to the world of acting, The Method Fest is the only major film festival in the U.S. that pays homage to the actor. The Method Fest is truly The Actor's Film Festival, a festival of Discovery, seeking breakout acting performances of emerging stars and established actors in story-driven independent films.

Events & Activities: TBA.

Film Schedule: TBA.

Past Honorees Lifetime Achievement Award

Marttin Landau (2005)
Dennis Hopper (2004)
Peter Falk (2003)
Rod Steiger (2002)
James Earl Jones (2001)
Maximillian Schell (1999)

Other Honorees

Directors
Mark Rydell
Henry Jaglom
Agnieszka Holland

Actors
Lloyd, Jeff and Beau Bridges
Lainie Kazan
John Savage
Karen Black
Kim Hunter
Jon Jacobs

Other
Mali Finn

Festival notes:

• 47 of the films screened at The Method Fest have been released theatrically or have received Cable TV and home DVD/video distribution deals.
• Actors, filmmakers and films in The Method Fest have received 7 Independent Spirit Award nominations.

Actors featured in Method Fest films

Irina Bjorklund, Timothy Bottoms, Robert Carlyle, Coolio, Jeff Daniels, Taye Diggs, Portia De Rossi, Faye Dunaway, Joseph Fiennes, Tippi Hedren, Dennis Hopper, Debra Kara-Unger, Lisa Kudrow, Tuesday Knight, Jason Patrick, Brad Renfro, John Ritter, James Spader, Sam Shepard, Elizabeth Shue, Kiefer Sutherland, Molly Ringwald, Mickey Rooney, Jay Thomas.

Past Panelists

Barbara Bain (Actress, Mission : Impossible )
Joanne Baron (Baron/Brown Acting Studio)
Timothy Bottoms (Actor, The Last Picture Show, DC 9/11: Time of Crisis )
Peter Broderick (Nextwave Films)
DW Brown (Baron/Brown Acting Studio)
Mickey Cottrell (Publicist)
Ivana Chubbuck (Acting teacher, worked with Halle Berry )
Lisa Dalton (Co-founder of the International Michael Chekhov Assn.)
Mark David ( Director , Sweet Thing, Intoxicating )
Joe Dickstein (Mainline Releasing)
Greg Gardner (Laemmle Theaters)
Larry Greenberg (Showtime / Sundance Channel)
Ron Gilbert (The Actors Studio)
Chris Gore (FilmThreat)
Marla Gibbs (Actress, The Jeffersons , This Visit )
Kirk Harris (RogueArts; Actor, Director loser, My Sweet Killer )
Robert Hawk (Producer, Chasing Amy; The Slaughter Rule )
Randi Hiller ( Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines )
Lorrie Hull, Ph.D. (Senior faculty member, Lee Strasberg Institute)
Lyle Kessler (Screenwriter Gladiator, Orphans )
Leonard Klady (Columnist, Variety, Movie City Geek)
Shirley Knight (Actress, Sweet Bird of Youth; As Good as It Gets )
Yevgeny Lazarev ( The Saint; Stalin )
Joe Mantegna (Actor, Joan of Arcadia ; The Rat Pack )
John Manulis VisionBox Media
Andrea Mia VisionBox Media
Alan Miller (Acting coach - Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman)
David Albert Pierce (Pierce Gorman law firm)
Stephen Polk ( Actor , Amy's Orgasm, Destination Vegas )
Tom Quinn (Senior VP Acquisitions, Samuel Goldwin)
Steve Rothenberg (VP Acquisitions, Artisan)
Mark Rydell (Director, On Golden Pound; The Rose )
Maximilian Schell (Actor, Judgment at Nuremberg ; A Bridge Too Far)
William Smithers ( Attack; Papillon; Scorpio )
Tom Tangen (Interviews of a Lifetime; Founder, L.A. Actors Coalition)
Murray Weissman (Weissman/Delson Communications)
Ian Whitcomb (Grammy Award winning recording artist)