Greer's OC

The 2022 Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) proudly announces its 2022 Festival Honors, to take place on Sunday, October 16 at Balboa Bay Resort in conjunction with Variety’s 10 Actors to Watch. This year’s honorees attending the Festival Honors event include Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Ron Howard (Thirteen Lives) who will receive the Variety Legend and Groundbreaker Award for his outstanding creative leadership and impactful artistic achievements that have proved both visionary and enduring.  

Four honorees – Aubrey Plaza (Emily the Criminal), Jonathan Majors (Devotion), Keke Palmer (Nope) and Patton Oswalt (I Love My Dad) – will receive Artist of Distinction Awards, presented to individuals known for their contribution to the arts, philanthropic endeavors, and an overriding commitment to their craft to tell unique and bold stories. Colson Baker (Taurus) and Anna Diop (Nanny) will receive Spotlight Awards, Cooper Raiff (Cha Cha Real Smooth) will receive the Maverick Award, and Aimee Carrero (The Menu) will receive the Breakout Award.

Eddie Redmayne will attend the NBFF Centerpiece screening of The Good Nurse on Saturday, October 15, where the festival will honor him with the Icon Award, presented to an actor or actress widely admired for their contribution and iconic role(s) in the industry. Filmmaker Paul Feig will receive the Career Achievement Award at a screening for The School of Good and Evil on October 19.

This year’s honorees will also be joined by previously announced, Adam Sandler, who will receive the festival’s inaugural Performance of the Year Award in recognition of his work in Jeremiah Zagar’s Hustle on Saturday, October 15.

The 23^rd edition of the festival will be held in person from October 13-20 and will spotlight over 350 films from around the world. 

Ron Howard (Variety Legend and Groundbreaker Award)

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation’s most popular directors, creating the Oscar-winning dramas A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 and such hit film comedies as Splash and Parenthood. 

Paul Feig (Career Achievement Award)

Paul Feig is a DGA-winning and Emmy-nominated filmmaker, writer, producer, and author, known for his signature style and discerning eye for talent. He is the founder of the production company Feigco Entertainment and content company Powderkeg Media, which aims to champion new voices with a commitment to female, LGBTQIA+ creators, and filmmakers of color. Feig is the director, producer, and co-writer of the film The School for Good and Evil starring Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington. 

Eddie Redmayne (Icon Award)

Academy Award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne will soon be seen in The Good Nurse opposite Jessica Chastain. The movie is based on the true story of the pursuit and capture of Charlie Cullen, a nurse regarded as one of the most prolific serial killers in history, now better known as the “Angel of Death.” 

Jonathan Majors (Artist of Distinction Award)

Emmy, Critics’ Choice, Independent Spirit and Gotham Award nominee Jonathan Majors will soon star as Jesse Brown, the first black man in U.S. Naval history to become a fighter pilot in the Thanksgiving feature action drama Devotion from Sony Pictures and Black Label Media. Other upcoming film projects include Creed III, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantmania, Magazine Dreams and The Man in My Basement. 

Patton Oswalt (Artist of Distinction Award)

Patton Oswalt is an Emmy and Grammy-winning actor, writer, comedian and best-selling author. He co-stars as Principal Durbin on the NBC comedy A.P. Bio and co-created the Hulu animated series M.O.D.O.K., in the wake of series regular and guest roles on such episodic shows as Veep, Parks and Recreation (TV Critics Choice Award winner), Justified, Two and a Half Men, Will & Grace, The Conners, and The King of Queens. 

Keke Palmer (Artist of Distinction Award)

Keke Palmer is an Emmy-winning actress, producer, host, singer and songwriter. She recently starred in Jordan Peele’s summer blockbuster Nope, voiced the character of Izzy in Disney/Pixar’s Lightyear and hosted NBC’s popular reboot of Password with Jimmy Fallon. In 2021 she won an Emmy for portraying the five Taylor family members in her own series, Turnt Up With the Taylors, which she produced. 

Aubrey Plaza (Artist of Distinction Award)

Aubrey Plaza received rave reviews for her starring role in Emily the Criminal which she produced under her Evil Hag Productions Company.  Next, she will star in Mike White’s White Lotus 2 on HBO and Guy Ritchie’s feature Operation Fortune opposite Jason Statham and Hugh Grant. 

Colson Baker (Spotlight Award)

Making his acting debut in Cameron Crowe’s Roadies for Showtime, Colson Baker has appeared in several blockbuster hits including Netflix’s BirdBox and Project Power, as well as the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt in the role of Tommy Lee. Other credits include Big Time Adolescence, The King of Staten Island, Nerve and Beyond the Lights. 

Anna Diop (Spotlight Award)

Anna Diop is a Senegalese-American actress who can next be seen in Prime Video’s highly-anticipated and award-winning film Nanny. The debut feature from writer/director Nikyatu Jusu is a genre-bending film that blends psychological horror with culturally relevant issues of social identity, including race, gender, and socioeconomic status. 

Cooper Raiff (Maverick Award)

Cooper Raiff wrote, directed, and produced his second original feature, Cha Cha Real Smooth, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2022, receiving the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award. 

Aimee Carrero (Breakout Award)

Since her breakout role on The Americans in 2016, Aimee Carrero has been working non-stop. She will next be seen on the big screen starring opposite Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell in the Apple TV+ film Spirited, a musical version of A Christmas Carol to be released November 18, and Fox Searchlight’s ensemble drama The Menu opposite Ralph Fiennes, out November 22.