BELFAST filmmaker and screenwriter Terry George is set to be honoured with a prestigious award at the 78th Annual Writers Guild Awards in New York.
The Writers Guild of America East’s (WGAE) Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement was established in 1992 and named in memory of longtime WGAE member Ian McLellan Hunter. The award is presented to a WGAE member in honour of their body of work as a writer in motion pictures or television. Past recipients include Tony Gilroy, Spike Lee, Scott Frank, Richard Price, Geoffrey Ward, Andrew Bergman, John Sayles, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, John Waters, Richard LaGravenese, Nora Ephron, Walter Bernstein and Claire Labine.
A Guild member since 1989, George’s first credit came as the co-writer of the acclaimed feature film In The Name of the Father, which was co-written and directed by Jim Sheridan and starred Daniel Day Lewis. The film earned Best Adapted Screenplay nominations at the Academy Awards and Writers Guild Awards. In The Name of the Father marked George’s first of three collaborations with Sheridan chronicling the conflict in Northern Ireland, including 1996’s Some Mother's Son and 1998’s The Boxer.
George co-wrote and directed the 2004 masterpiece Hotel Rwanda, which tells the harrowing true story of a hotelier’s attempt to use their property to save the lives of thousands of refugees during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The film was nominated for an Academy Award and Writers Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay, and was named to American Film Institute as one of the 100 most inspirational movies of all time.
In 2012, George, along with his daughter Oorlagh George, won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for The Shore.
His other credits include co-creating the television police procedural The District, co-writing the 2002 film Hart's War, and in 2007 he co-wrote and directed the film Reservation Road. His most recent work includes the 2012 film Whole Lot of Sole and the 2016 film The Promise.
Tom Fontana, President of the Writers Guild of America East, said: “Terry is a unique talent whose screenplays have brought humanity and attention to tragedies from the genocide in Rwanda and Armenia to The Troubles in Ireland. He is also a staunch union ally who has served on the WGAE Council and the Minimum Basic Agreement (MBA) Negotiating Committee. We are so pleased to honour him and his extraordinary work at this year’s awards.”
Terry George said: “I have been a proud WGAE member for 37 years. The Writers Guild of America is the rebel heart of the entertainment industry and has protected me throughout this wonderful career. To receive Ian McLellan Hunter Award for Career Achievement is the greatest honour I can achieve and I am truly humbled.”
Terry will receive the award on Sunday, March 8, at New York’s Edison Ballroom.
