NYWIFT Announces 2015 Muse Awards Honorees

GABOUREY SIDIBE, BLYTHE DANNER, PATRICIA CLARKSON,
SARAH BARNETT AND VICTORIA ALONSO

AT THE 35TH ANNUAL MUSE AWARDS ON DECEMBER 10TH
WITH EMCEE NANCY GILES

Lizz Winstead to be Presented with the Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award
Recognizing Outstanding Women Who Champion Change in the Entertainment Industry

NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 10, 2015 – New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT), which has supported women calling the shots throughout the entertainment industry for nearly 40 years, is pleased to present their 35th annual Muse Awards gala luncheon on Thursday, December 10th at the New York Hilton Midtown hotel. The spiritedMuse Awards recognize and celebrate the remarkable achievements of women in the film, television and digital media industries. Actress and CBS Commentator Nancy Giles will emcee the afternoon’s events.

The Muse honorees for this year include five of the most talented women in the business:

• Gabourey Sidibe, an Academy and Golden Globe Award-nominated actress recognized for her roles on-screen in ‘Precious,’ Showtime’s ‘The Big C,’ FX’s ‘American Horror Story.’ The Independent Spirit Award and NCAAP Image Award-winner was recently in the films ‘Gravy,’ ‘Life Partners’ and ‘White Bird in a Blizzard,’ on Hulu’s ‘Difficult People’ and in FOX’s ‘Empire.’
  
  
• Blythe Danner, a Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress for her work in ‘The Miser,’ ‘Butterflies Are Free’ and ‘Huff,’ also renowned for film roles, including ‘Meet the Parents,’ ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs,’ Woody Allen’s ‘Husbands and Wives’ and ‘Sylvia.’ She is currently filming the TV movie ‘Madoff.’
• Patricia Clarkson, an Emmy Award-winning actress for her role in HBO’s ‘Six Feet Under,’ also an Oscar, Academy, Tony, Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award nominee for her work in ‘Pieces of April,’ ‘The Elephant Man’ and ‘High Art.’ She was most recently in the thrillers ‘The Maze Runner,’ ‘October Gale,’ ‘The East’ and in the family-oriented drama ‘ Last Weekend.’
• Sarah Barnett, president and general manager of BBC America. In just under one year, she has helped the network experience unprecedented growth, receive an Emmy Award nomination and breakthrough ratings. She is also known for her leadership at the BBC in London and at SundanceTV, where she launched the network’s scripted programming, including ‘Carlos,’ a Golden Globe Award winner.
• Victoria Alonso, executive vice president of physical production for Marvel Studios. She is credited for executive producing many action-packed films, including ‘The Avengers,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ among others, and for co-producing ‘Iron Man,’ ‘Iron Man 2,’ ‘Thor’ and ‘Captain America: The First Avenger.’  She began her career in the visual effects industry, working with top directors including Tim Burton, Ridley Scott and Andrew Adamson to name a few.

Lizz Winstead will receive the 10th annual Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award. The acclaimed comedienne, radio and television personality, author and blogger for The Huffington Post is also the co-creator of ‘The Daily Show’ and Air America Radio network. She also started Lady Parts Justice, an organization dedicated to creating more awareness of anti-choice legislation, to help fight for women’s reproductive rights. Lizz frequently appears on various shows on CNN and MSNBC.

The Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award was created with the generous support of New York Women in Film & Television member Loreen Arbus. Each year, it is given to an individual, organization or corporation in the entertainment industry that has helped to create and bring about significant change to benefit and aid women.

“We look forward to the Muse Awards each December and this year is certainly no exception,” said New York Women in Film & Television Executive Director Terry Lawler. “The inspirational event gives us another opportunity to get together to not only support and mentor each other as we do on a regular basis, but to really take a moment to credit success, outstanding talent, entrepreneurship and vision among our remarkable colleagues and friends. There are always some surprises during the afternoon, as you can imagine with such a great group of charismatic, fun and smart people celebrating in one place.”

The Muse Awards gala luncheon is one of the most coveted tickets during the height of the holiday season, and is attended by leading executives from major studios, broadcast and cable networks and film, television and digital media production facilities. Past recipients include Meryl Streep, Claire Danes, Anne Sweeney, Martha Stewart, Robin Wright, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore, Tina Fey, America Ferrera, Julianna Margulies, Cicely Tyson, Wanda Sykes and Lucy Liu.

Tickets are $165 for most New York Women in Film & Television members and $350 for non-members. Corporate tables for $3500 or sponsorships starting at $5000 are also available. To purchase, please visit nywift.org/MUSE.