The American Cinematheque is giving its 2017 Sid Grauman award to Imax and its top executives Richard Gelfond and Greg Foster.
The giant-screen company will be honored for its achievements in the motion picture industry at the American Cinematheque’s annual benefit awards show on Nov. 10 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where Amy Adams is the American Cinematheque award recipient.
American Cinematheque chairman Rick Nicita said, “The American Cinematheque is pleased to present this year’s annual Sid Grauman award to Richard Gelfond and Greg Foster on behalf of Imax for their outstanding contribution to theatrical exhibition. Their leadership of Imax has resulted in a breathtaking expansion of not only box office grosses around the world, but in a quantum leap forward for the excitement and enjoyment of the moviegoing audience. There is no better way to see a movie than on the big screen and Imax gives us the biggest screens of all.”
The American Cinematheque’s board of directors created this award in 2015 and named it after Grauman, a founder of the Egyptian Theatre, where the first Hollywood “premiere” was held in 1922. He went on to be part of the Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and was a pioneer in the theatrical exhibition of movies and a founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Gelfond is chief executive officer of Imax Corp., which has more than 1,200 theaters in 75 countries. The company entered China more than 15 years ago and is Imax’s fastest-growing market with more than 400 theaters.
Gelfond is one of the industry’s longest-tenured executives, having joined in 1994 as co-chairman after his firm, Cheviot Capital Advisors, bought the company.
Foster is the CEO of Imax Entertainment and senior executive VP of Imax Corp. He joined the company in 2001 and oversees creative, production, film distribution, business affairs, marketing, studio relationships, local-language releases, and the Imax digital re-mastering process.
