London, UK (6 January 2019):Global media and entertainment firm Alpha1Media on January 6 launched its A1Film Awards for 2018, highlighting the achievements of the global cinema industry over the year.
The A1Film Awards for 2018 highlights films, writers, producers, actors and directors, from Hollywood, Bollywood, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and the Far East which are reflective of the best of global popular cinema in 2018, Alpha1Media said.
‘2018 was Cinema’s Year of Representation,’ said Talal Malik, Chairman and CEO of Alpha1Media. ‘Both at the box office and the awards ceremonies, it is clear that inclusivity and diversity are much-warranted global trends that need to be rapidly scaled and celebrated.’
On 8 August 2018, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced an Academy Award (‘Oscar’) for Best Popular Film, affirming the importance of global popular cinema which Alpha1Media has promoted since its A1Film initiatives began in 2012.
Alpha1Media on 5 January 2019 launched its A1Film Top 10 List 2018, celebrating the Top 10 Films of 2018. From its A1Film Top 10 List 2018, Alpha1Media awards the following colleagues in the global film industry with the A1Film Awards 2018, recognising their achievements across the year.
‘Now in its sixth year, the A1Film Awards List continues to be the only list of its kind, focusing on the achievements of our industry colleagues in global popular cinema over 2018, as the Oscars will do officially with their new category from this year,’ said Ms. Maria Felce, Alpha1Media’s official spokesperson.
The A1Film In Memoriam Achievement Award is given to Burt Reynolds, the American Hollywood actor who died on 6 September 2018. Reynolds was the only actor ever to have been the top US box office draw for five consecutive years, from 1978-1982. Whilst his breakthrough role was at the hero in the acclaimed thriller ‘Deliverance’, Reynolds was also the titular Bandit in his biggest box office hit, ‘Smokey and the Bandit’ and its two sequels. He received an Oscar-nomination for Best Supporting Actor in ‘Boogie Nights’ and had his last number one film at the US box office with A1Film 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award winner Sylvester Stallone in ‘Driven’, with his last cinematic release before his death being ‘The Last Movie Star’.
The A1Film In Memoriam Achievement Award is also given to Sridevi, the Indian Bollywod actress who died on 24 February 2018 and was widely regarded as Bollywood’s first female superstar of Indian cinema. In a career spanning five decades, Sridevi was a winner of the prestigious Padmi Shri from the Government of India and also topped a poll on the centenary of Indian cinema as the ‘India’s Greatest Actress in 100 Years’. One of her most iconic roles was in the box office mega-hit ‘Mr. India’, opposite the Indian actor Anil Kapoor, who also appeared opposite Tom Cruise in ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ and was directed by Shekhar Kapur, the director of the Oscar-winning ‘Elizabeth’ whom Alpha1Media’s Chairman and CEO met on 12 December 2013. She also was most famously paired with legendary Bollywood acting superstar and the A1Film 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Amitabh Bachchan, in the blockbuster ‘Khuda Gawah’, set in Afghanistan, whom Alpha1Media’s Chairman and CEO last met on 21 July 2006. For her 300th film, ‘Mom’, Sridevi in 2017 received her first National Film Award for Best Actress.
A special A1Film In Memoriam Achievement Award is also given to Stan Lee, the American creator of Spider-man and many of Marvel Studios’ top characters, and Chairman Emeritus of Marvel, who passed away on November 12, 2018. Stan Lee was awarded the A1Film 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award, and has appeared in all the major Marvel films, those in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films and even outside it, having helped create a global literary and cinematic phenomenon. Alpha1Media’s Chairman and CEO, Talal Malik, met Stan Lee several times in July 2014, and paid tribute to him at his passing away: ‘It was a pleasure to have met Stan a few times, thanked him for his work and made him smile with our creative work from Alpha1Media. The global success of Marvel Studios today started decades ago in the mind of Stan. Thank you, Stan – for Peter Parker, Spider-man, Marvel and his motto “With Great Power comes Great Responsibility.” And one final time, Excelsior!’
The A1Film 2018 Best Original Screenplay is given for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ to American screenwriting team, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, which is No. 1 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2018. Markus and McFeely have so far written five films for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including ‘Captain America: Civil War’, which was the A1Film 2016 Best Picture and was also No 1 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2016. Markus and McFeely also were screenwriters for the Chronicles of Narnia franchise, starting with ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.’
The A1Film 2018 Best Producer is given to American auteur and producer, Jordan Peele, who co-produced ‘BlackKKlansman’, which is No. 2 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2018. Peele pitched the high-concept for the film to American director Spike Lee in six words: ‘Black man infiltrates the Klu Klux Klan.’ The film was made for $15 million and has made $89.1 million at the global box office. The A1Film 2017 Best Original Screenplay was also given to Peele for ‘Get Out’ to Peele, who wrote, directed and produced the film, which was No. 7 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2017. ‘Get Out’ was produced for $4.5 million and made $254.6 million at the global box office, making it a runner up to the A1Film 2017 Best Producer Award.
The A1Film 2018 Best Director is given to American director Spike Lee for ‘BlackKKlansman’, which is No. 2 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2018 and won the Grand Prix at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. Lee has directed acclaimed films such as ‘Do the Right Thing’, ‘Malcom X’ and ‘25thHour’, been nominated for two Oscars, and also received an Honorary Oscar for his contribution to cinema in 2015.
The A1Film 2018 Best Foreign Picture is given to Mexican auteur, Alfonso Cuarón for ‘Roma’, which is No. 3 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2018. Cuaron won both the A1Film 2013 Best Original Screenplay and A1Film 2013 Best Picture Awards for ‘Gravity’, which was also No. 1 in the A1Film List 2013. He also won the Oscars for Best Director and Best Film Editing for ‘Gravity’ in 2014.
The A1Film 2018 Best Actor Award is given to American auteur Bradley Cooper for the film, ‘A Star is Born’, a joint No. 6 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2018. Cooper made his directorial debut with the film, the fourth remake by Hollywood, co-writing and starring in it, with 18 months of vocal training.
The A1Film 2018 Best Actress Award is given to Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio in her acting debut in ‘Roma’, directed by Mexican auteur Alfonso Cuarón, which is No. 3 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2018. This is the second time an actress in a movie by Cuaron has won Best Actress, as the A1Film 2013 Best Actress Award was given to American actress Sandra Bullock for her leading role in ‘Gravity’, No. 1 on the A1Film List 2013.
The A1Film 2018 Best Picture is given to American producer and President of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, for ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, No. 1 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2018. This is the third consecutive year that Kevin Feige, who conceived and had entirely produced the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has won the A1Film Best Picture: firstly, the A1Film 2017 Best Picture for ‘Spider-man: Homecoming’, No 1 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2017, and the first Spider-man film which was produced with counsel from Marvel Studios; and secondly, the A1Film 2016 Best Picture for ‘Captain America: Civil War’, No 1 on the A1Film Top 10 List for 2016. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is first superhero film to make $2 billion at the global box office, and also marked the last film cameo of Stan Lee, Chairman Emeritus of Marvel A1Film 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award, before his death in 2018.
“‘Avengers: Infinity War’ leads our list for three reasons – as a story, it made cinema audiences’ jaws drop from start to end; it represents the start of the culmination of a decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) which started with ‘Iron Man’ in 2008 with Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige at the helm; and it also typifies 2018 as the Year of Representation with 23 characters with arcs in the story,” said Ms. Felce about the top movie upon publication of the A1Film Top 10 List for 2018.
Seven of the top 10 films selected by Alpha1Media had been recognised in the official A1Film Preview List of 2018, namely ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, ‘Roma’, ‘Black Panther’ , ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout’, ‘Creed 2’, ‘Aquaman’ and ‘First Man’.
Alpha1Media will also launch its acclaimed annual list of the top films from around the world which cinema audiences were looking forward to in 2019.
The A1Film Preview List for 2019 will highlight essential and interesting films from Hollywood, Bollywood, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Far East, which audiences can view over the year.
Alpha1Media is a global media and entertainment firm. Alpha1Media produces and advises on media creation using 10×10 types of media including phone, print, TV, radio, billboard, computer, cinema and futuristic media based on scale, motion and holograms.
In the film sector, Alpha1Media focuses on film development, production, financing and cultural advisory services. It currently has four film projects in development with production value estimated at over USD $350 million from 2019-2025. The script for its first film project, ‘NANO’, has been recognised as one of the best new film scripts in development, including by 40 Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA and Emmy winners.