Guillermo del Toro to Receive ‘Hall of Fame Award’ During Final Draft Awards

Guillermo del Toro has earned a spot in the Final (Draft)…

The 57-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning filmmaker will be among the honorees for screenwriting excellence at the 17th annual Final Draft Awards, which will be presented in a virtual ceremony on March 16.

Guillermo del Torodel Toro will be honored alongside Jane CampionNicole HolofcenerDanny Strong, Jeymes Samuel, and Ashley Lyle & Bart Nickerson.

del Toro, whose current film is Nightmare Alley, will be presented with the Hall of Fame Award, honoring a writer whose body of work has had a profound influence on the industry.

The inaugural Trailblazer Award will go to Oscar-winning filmmaker Campion who is currently winning much acclaim for her latest film The Power of the Dog; the honor recognizes a writer whose career exudes excellence and who consistently tells compelling and bold stories.

Two Storyteller Awards will be presented recognizing writers who consistently maintain a level of excellence and surpass expectations. Academy Award nominee Holofcener will receive the Storyteller Award (Film) for The Last Duelon which she collaborated with stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Two-time Emmy winner Strong will receive the Storyteller Award (TV) for the limited series Dopesick, currently streaming on Hulu. Additionally, Final Draft will present two New Voice Awards recognizing rising and vital talents in the industry: The New Voice Award (TV) to Lyle and Nickerson, the husband-and-wife writer-producer team behind Showtime’s Yellowjacketsand The New Voice Award (Film) to Samuel whose feature debut The Harder They Fall is currently streaming on Netflix.

“Storytellers have been revered throughout history for their ability to connect us,” Final Draft president Shelly Mellott said Wednesday. “This year’s honorees are using their considerable talents to tell brave, audacious stories in imaginative ways that entertain, provoke and enlighten audiences. We could not be more proud to honor them and their outstanding work and the impact their stories have on our culture.”

Final Draft, the screenwriting software company, has previously honored the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Nancy Meyers, Aaron Sorkin, Lawrence Kasdan, Paul Schrader, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, Callie Khouri, Steven Zaillian, Robert Towne, Oliver Stone and Sydney Pollack, among others.

The Storyteller Award was introduced in 2021 and was presented to Steve McQueen and Sofia Coppola. The New Voice Award was introduced in 2017 with recipients including Ramy Yousef, Steven Canals, Lulu Wang, Liz Hannah, Issa Rae, Boots Riley, Radha Blank and Tanya Saracho.

de Vita to Receive the Prestigious Billboard Hall of Fame Award

It’s the Fame game for Franco de Vita

The 60-year-old Venezuelan singer-songwriter will be feted with the Billboard Hall of Fame Award at this year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards, which will take place on April 24.

Franco de Vita

The Billboard Hall of Fame Award is reserved for those artists who’ve achieved global recognition for a career that transcends genre and language.

de Vita is being recognized for his perceptive pop/rock ballads that have brought him international acclaim over his three-decade career.

He’s sold more than 25 million albums worldwide, achieving 11 top 10s and one No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.

One of Latin pop’s most revered artists, de Vita became known as the lead vocalist, keyboardist, and songwriter of the trio Icaro before launching his solo career.

After a string of hits in the 1980s including “Solo Importas Tu,” “Te Amo,” and “Louis,” his song “No Basta” spent six weeks atop the Hot Latin Songs chart in 1991.

Most recently, “Te Pienso Sin Querer,” featuring Gloria Trevi, peaked at No. 17 on Latin Pop Airplay.

de Vita has also composed hit songs for other artists including pop star Chayanne (“Contra vientos y mareas,” “Y Tú Te Vas” and “Un Siglo Sin Ti”); and Ricky Martin (“A Medio Vivir,” “Vuelve,” and “Tal Vez”). Those collaborative works alone have sold more than 30 million albums around the world.

He’s known for his frequent collaborations with a broad spectrum of artists. He performed “The Good Life” with Tony Bennett on the American crooner’s 2012 Duets album. de Vita’s latest production, Vuelve en Primera Fila (Sony Music Latin) features urban artist Wisin, salsero Victor Manuelle and rising Spanish pop singer India Martinez, among others.

de Vita’s Vuelve en Primera Fila tour will take him to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay and Argentina this spring. The Venezuelan leg of the tour, planned for March, was cancelled. “With the hope that my country achieves peace and harmony I hold the firm conviction that we will see each other soon,” The artist announced on his Website.