The Coronado Island Film Festival (CIFF) kicks off on Wed., Nov. 6, and has announced its 2024 Leonard Maltin Industry Tribute Awards Gala Honorees. The annual celebration recognizes industry icons, leaders, and emerging talent. This year’s honorees include Jane Seymour, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Clarence Maclin, Claudia Puig, and Bettina Sherick. Presided over by highly respected film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, the gala is back at the newly restored Crown Room at the historic Hotel del Coronado.
Coronado Island Film Festival Info
Jane Seymour, multiple Emmy® and Golden Globe® winner, and recipient of the Officer of the British Empire (OBE) bestowed upon her by Queen Elizabeth II, will accept this year’s Legacy Award, honoring her talents on virtually all media. Jane took home a Golden Globe for her iconic role on the beloved TV series “DR. QUINN: MEDICINE WOMAN,” where she became a role model to young women and girls throughout the world with her inspiring rendition of a woman who can courageously dare, achieve, and improve anything a man can do. She reached success with a star career encompassing international movie stardom with such lasting films as “SOMEWHERE IN TIME,” and “LIVE AND LET DIE,” her role in the now classic film “THE WEDDING CRASHERS,” which paired her with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, and “THE WAR WITH GRANDPA,” starring alongside Robert DeNiro. Other notable roles include opposite Malin Akerman in “FRIENDSGIVING” and Netflix’s “THE KOMINSKY METHOD” opposite Alan Arkin and Michael Douglas, as well as Broadway and London stage acclaim. Through her production company she has produced and starred in several programs including “SUNSTROKE,” “A PASSION FOR JUSTICE,” and “DR. QUINN, THE MOVIE,” among several others. Beyond her acting career, Seymour has made significant contributions as a producer and philanthropist. She has been involved in numerous charitable initiatives, including the creation of the Open Hearts Foundation. Seymour’s artistic endeavors extend to her work as a sculptor and painter, with notable exhibitions and collaborations, including designing limited-edition champagne bottles and receiving accolades for her contributions to the fine arts. Today, Jane stars in the leading role in HARRY WILD for Acorn TV and BBC America and continues to inspire others through her art, philanthropic efforts, and motivational speaking, all while balancing her roles as a mother and grandmother.
Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski will accept the Inaugural Screenwriting Award, an honor that celebrates and recognizes outstanding talent in the creation of original or adapted screenplays. It honors writers who craft compelling narratives, rich characters, and captivating dialogue, whether bringing fresh stories to life or reimagining existing works with new vision. Scott and Larry, who met when they were freshman roommates at University of California’s School of Cinema, are best known for writing very unusual biopics with larger-than-life characters. They’ve written highly-acclaimed screenplays including ED WOOD, for which they were nominated for Best Screenplay by the Writers Guild then followed this with THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, which won them a Golden Globe® and a special Writers Guild Award. For their first television project, they created the hit miniseries AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE PEOPLE V. O.J. SIMPSON, which won them an Emmy® , Golden Globe® , PGA and WGA Award for Best Limited Series. The duo’s most recent film, DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, is the celebrated tale of Rudy Ray Moore. Together they also wrote the hit Stephen King adaptation 1408, they produced the Bob Crane biopic AUTO FOCUS, and they wrote and directed the comedy SCREWED. They have also written numerous family films, including PROBLEM CHILD, PROBLEM CHILD 2, AGENT CODY BANKS, and GOOSEBUMPS. Scott is currently serving his fourth term on the Writers Guild’s Board of Directors and he is a Mentor in the USC School of Cinema. He has volunteered as a Sundance Writing Lab advisor numerous times, as well as teaching at writing workshops around the world. Scott is married, with three children. Larry is an active Los Angeles cineaste and was Vice President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. His humorous commentaries on cult movies can be seen at TrailersFromHell.com.
Clarence Maclin will accept the Industry Impact Award. Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin is currently employed as a consultant and ambassador at Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA). Maclin was a longtime intervention specialist and counselor at Lincoln Hall. Maclin is, as of recently, represented by MGMT to launch his professional acting career. When he was 29, Maclin was sentenced to 17 years at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility for robbery. During his incarceration, Maclin participated in the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. Since his release, Maclin has worked as a youth counselor, creative arts specialist, and gang intervention specialist at Lincoln Hall Boys Haven in Somers, New York. He made his feature film debut in SING SING, portraying a younger version of himself. Maclin’s performance has received critical acclaim. He will be presented this award from the 2023 inaugural recipient, Paul Raci who coincidentally stars with Clarence in SING SING.
The Leonard Maltin Award will go to Claudia Puig, a nationally recognized film critic, entertainment journalist and film festival curator. She has been Director of Programming for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival since 2021 and is also the Program Director for the Mendocino Film Festival, Consulting Program Director for the Cascadia International Women’s Film Festival in Bellingham, Washington, and Documentary Juror for CIFF. In 2020 she was Senior Programmer for the AFI Film Festival in Los Angeles. Prior to that she was Program Director for the Napa Valley Film Festival and FilmFest 919 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Claudia was President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association from 2016-2023. In 2016, she was a speechwriter and diversity consultant for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Claudia has had a 30-year career in print journalism including being the lead movie critic at USA Today and host of the USA Today video series “The Screening Room.” She also worked at the Los Angeles Times where she was part of a team of journalists that won the Pulitzer prize for spot news reporting of the 1992 Los Angeles uprising. Claudia has a film consulting business providing movie studios and streaming services with film analyses and cultural diversity assessments. She has covered the Sundance, Toronto and Cannes film festivals and has been a juror at dozens of film festivals around the world from Ashland to Zurich. She is fluent in Spanish, conversant in Italian and French, and has won several Journalism and Film Critic awards over the years.
The Trailblazer Award will be awarded to Bettina Sherick, an entertainment digital marketing veteran and the President/Founder of Hollywood In Pixels, a non-profit dedicated to the celebration and preservation of Hollywood digital marketing innovation. Sherick’s career in the industry began at 20th Century Fox International, where she rose to SVP of Strategic Digital Marketing leading cross-functional teams to produce ground-breaking digital campaigns for every Fox release during her tenure, including award-winning campaigns for the original AVATAR, THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, multiple movies from the X-MEN franchise, and LIFE OF PI, amongst others. Sherick has also held leadership roles in digital, data, and innovation at Warner Bros. and a second stint at 20th Century Fox. Most recently, Sherick was the Head of Digital Intelligence at Prime Video, where she led audience intelligence for Prime Video’s high profile Season 1 of THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER and rolled out Prime Video’s global social intelligence program. Sherick is an active member of AMPAS, serving as the chair of the Student Academy Awards Executive Committee (2018 – 2021, incoming chair 2025). She has been twice listed in the Variety Digital Impact Report for founding Hollywood In Pixels (2019, 2022), and was awarded the Advanced Imaging Society’s Distinguished Leadership Award (2018). She has presented to audiences around the world about entertainment digital marketing, and she has authored a chapter on digital history in the book Digital State: How the Internet Is Changing Everything. Sherick also sits on the advisory council for Loyola Marymount University’s Master in Entertainment Leadership and Management.
The annual festival will return for its ninth year as a five-day event running November 6-10, 2024. The Leonard Maltin Industry Tribute Awards Gala will be hosted on Saturday, November 9. This year’s Presenting Sponsor of the tribute is the Auen Foundation, a private foundation formed in 1991 as a non-profit, grant-making organization that concentrates on the aging population and its emerging needs. Believing that mature citizens are an important component of a vibrant community, the Foundation is dedicated to building and supporting aging programs that include the entire family.
Individual tickets for the Industry Tribute Gala, as well as tickets to each screening, party, and panel are on sale now. Ticket prices range from $15 – $295. The All-inclusive Emerald Badge is recommended as the best way to enjoy all the festival offers.
For more information and updates on this year’s honorees and overall programing slate, please visit the festival website at festival.coronadofilmfest.com.
Congratulations to Mr. Maclin!! He was a wonderful role model for the youth at Lincoln Hall. They learned so much from him as they began their focus on a positive future.
All my best to this wonderful role model, Clarence Maclin!
Barbara C. Morris, LCSW-R, M.Ed.