Writer/Director/Actor/Producer Carl Reiner will be the recipient of the third “Thomas Ince Award” at the 2008 Backlot Film Festival for his outstanding work in the film industry. Previous honorees of this award include Daniel M. Selznick and Budd Schulberg.

The Tribute and Awards Ceremony – being held on April 5, 2008 at the Veterans Memorial Building Auditorium – will also present a program of some of Reiner’s classic work both in television as well as film.

With a fantastic career that spans seven decades, “Enter Laughing” (1967) marked Reiner’s directorial film debut.

After having created “The Dick Van Dyke Show” – as well as writing, directing and appearing in many episodes – in 1960, Reiner went on to re-team with Dick Van Dyke in 1969 when he produced and directed “The Comic.”

Having worked with actors such as George Segal, Ruth Gordon, George Burns, John Denver, Henry Winkler, among others, Reiner was instrumental in Steve Martin’s career, as he co-wrote and directed “The Jerk,” “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” “The Man With Two Brains,” and “All of Me.”

John Candy was the star of “Summer Rental,” which Reiner directed in the mid-80’s, while Mark Harmon and Kirstie Alley worked with the director in “Summer School.” Alley and Reiner teamed up again in the 90’s when Reiner directed the actress in “Sibling Rivalry,” also starring Bill Pullman.

Reiner also spend the 90’s directing Armand Assante in “Fatal Instinct” and Bette Midler and Dennis Farina in “That Old Feeling.”

In front of the camera, Reiner made appearances in several classic comedies including “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming,” “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” and “Slums of Beverly Hills.”

Reiner also worked with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and George Clooney when he made recent appearances in “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Ocean’s Twelve,” and “Ocean’s Thirteen.”

Before creating such a successful career for himself in the television and film world, Reiner enjoyed success on Broadway, beginning in the 1950’s when he snagged a role in “Call Me Mister.”

Following that success, producer Max Leibman asked Reiner to join “Your Shows of Shows,” which also starred Sid Caesar, and where he had a chance to work with writers Neil Simon and Mel Brooks.

“Caesar’s Hour” gave him a chance to team up once again with Simon, Brooks, Larry Gelbart and Woody Allen, this time being rewarded with two Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

In addition to his Emmy Awards, Reiner was elected into the Emmy Award Hall of Fame and has also received a Grammy for “The 2000 Year Old Man.”

The Backlot festival is accepting submissions – until March 1, 2008 – for fiction features and documentaries, fiction shorts and documentaries, music videos as well as student films. Submissions can be mailed to:
Backlot Film Festival
1041106 Venice Blvd. #801
Los Angeles, CA, 90234.

Additional awards include an Arthur Freed Award will be presented for “Best Student Film” and a documentary category for both long and short documentaries on “The History of the Entertainment Business in Southern California.”

Running from April 2nd-5th, the festival takes place at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium at 4117 Overland Ave. in Culver City. For more information, visit www.backlotfilmfestival.com.