AFI Bestows Honorary Degrees on Karl Malden, Thelma Schoonmaker and Saul Zaentz; The AFI Conservatory's 30th Commencement Ceremonies Take Place Today at the AFI Campus.

Entertainment Editors

LOS ANGELES--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--June 7, 2000

The American Film Institute (AFI) awards honorary degrees to three distinguished film artists -- actor Karl Malden, film editor Thelma Schoonmaker and producer Saul Zaentz -- today during commencement ceremonies for the AFI Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies, also known as the AFI Conservatory.

The new recipients of AFI's doctorate of fine arts degree are selected by the institute's board of trustees.

Previous honorees include Robert Altman, Maya Angelou, Steven Bochco, Kevin Brownlow, Roger Corman, Robert A. Daly, Horton Foote, Ray Harryhausen, Chuck Jones, Charles Kuralt, Akira Kurosawa, Gena Rowlands and Alfre Woodard.

"Saul Zaentz, Thelma Schoonmaker and Karl Malden have each helped to shape the moving image arts of the 20th century by their indelible achievements and memorable contributions to the film arts," said Tom Pollock, AFI's board of directors chair.

Malden's career as an accomplished, multilayered character actor has spanned six decades and encompasses many unforgettable roles on stage, screen and television. He performed in "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "All My Sons" on Broadway and won an Academy Award(TM) for his performance in the film version of "Streetcar." Malden appeared in "ON THE WATERFRONT" and "PATTON" and the long-running television series, "The Streets of San Francisco." He also served three terms as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences during 1989-1992 and has been a board member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Schoonmaker is an acclaimed film editor who received an Academy Award(TM), an American Cinema Editors Golden Eddie and the BAFTA Film Award for one of the most acclaimed films of the past two decades, "RAGING BULL," and also won a BAFTA Award for "GOODFELLAS." She has edited all of Martin Scorcese's films since 1980, including "THE KING OF COMEDY," "AFTER HOURS," "THE COLOR OF MONEY," "THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST," "CAPE FEAR," "CASINO," "KUNDUN," "BRINGING OUT THE DEAD" and her current project, "THE GANGS OF NEW YORK."

Zaentz is one of the most respected and successful independent producers in film history. His distinguished Academy Award(TM) winning films include "THE ENGLISH PATIENT" (1996), "AMADEUS" (1984) and "ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST" (1975). Zaentz received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in 1997.

The AFI Conservatory is a two-year graduate program that trains many of the world's most talented aspiring filmmakers in seven behind-the-camera disciplines: directing, screenwriting, cinematography, producing, editing, production design and digital media arts. AFI alumni include such prominent filmmakers as David Lynch, Edward Zwick, Randa Haines, Martin Brest, Jon Avnet, Carl Franklin, John McTiernan, Amy Heckerling, Mimi Leder and Terrence Malick.

AFI is the pre-eminent national organization dedicated to advancing and preserving the art of film and television and other forms of the moving image. AFI's programs promote innovation and excellence through teaching, presenting, preserving and redefining the moving image. More information about the AFI can be found by visiting its award-winning Web site located at www.AFIonline.org.