The 2024 Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) proudly announces its 2024 Festival Honors, to take place on Sunday, October 20 at Balboa Bay Resort in conjunction with Variety 10 Actors to Watch. This year’s honorees attending the Festival Honors event include Nicolas Cage (“Longlegs”) will receive the Icon Award, Joan Chen (“Dìdi”) will receive the Career Achievement Award; Colman Domingo (“Sing Sing”) will receive the Maverick Award; Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Hard Truths”), and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”) – 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; George MacKay (“The End) will receive the Spotlight Award; June Squibb (“Thelma”) will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award; and Diane Warren will receive the Lifetime Achievement in Music Award. 

In addition to those being honored at this year’s Honors event, the festival is announcing two additional honorees, who will receive their awards at different events throughout the festival. On Monday, October 21, Finneas O’Connell will be receiving the Outstanding Achievement in Music Award during a conversation about his career. Additionally, on October 21, Terry Crews will receive the Arts Champion Award at the Festival’s Sunset Series. The 25^th edition of the festival will be held from October 17-24 and will spotlight films from around the world.

Nicolas Cage (Icon Award)

Nicolas Cage received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for his work in “Leaving Las Vegas,” and he earned his second Academy Award nomination for his performance in “Adaptation.” He can currently be seen in Neon’s critical and box office sensation “Longlegs” as the title character. Last year, he starred in A24’s “Dream Scenario” for which he received a Golden Globe nomination. His other credits include “Pig,” “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” “Mandy,” “Valley Girl,” “Birdy,” “Peggy Sue Got Married,” “Raising Arizona,” “Moonstruck,” “Vampire’s Kiss,” “Wild at Heart, ” as well as mainstream blockbusters “The Rock,” “Face/Off,” “Con Air,” “Gone in 60 Seconds,” “National Treasure 1 and 2,” and “Lord of War.”

Joan Chen (Career Achievement Award)

Joan Chen is one of the most widely recognized and respected stars in the international film industry. Chen Executive Produces and stars in the Focus Features film, “Dìdi (弟弟),” which won the Audience Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and was one of the top three limited openings of the year. She is best known for her roles in Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winning “The Last Emperor,” David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” series, and Oliver Stone’s “Heaven and Earth,” as well as for directing “Autumn in New York,” starring Winona Ryder and Richard Gere and the Chinese-language films “Xiu Xiu The Sent-Down-Girl,” “English,” and “Hero.” Her early performance in “Little Flower” garnered the Best Actress Award in China. She then went on to receive the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion Award for her performance in Ang Lee’s critically acclaimed “Lust, Caution.” She just wrapped production on “The Wedding Banquet,” in which she stars alongside Lily Gladstone and Bowen Yang, as well as the Amazon MGM Holiday Comedy “Oh. What. Fun.,” alongside Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Longoria, and Jason Schwartzman.

Colman Domingo (Maverick Award)

Colman Domingo has been nominated for an Oscar, BAFTA, Tony® Award, Critics Choice Award, Independent Spirit, Gotham Awards, Lawrence Olivier, Drama Desk, Drama League and NAACP Image, and Black Reel Award. He has won an Emmy, Astra, AAFCA, NAACP Image, and Black Reel Award. In 2023, Domingo starred as Civil Rights leader Bayard Rustin in Netflix and Higher Ground’s film “Rustin” for which he received an Academy Award Nomination, Golden Globes, BAFTA and SAG nomination. He also starred as “Mister” in the Warner Bros production of “The Color Purple”, which received a SAG Ensemble nomination. Earlier this summer, Domingo starred, and executive produced the acclaimed A24 drama “SING SING” directed by Greg Kwedar. Colman Domingo and Raul Domingo also executive produced the upcoming Netflix Thriller “It’s What’s Inside”; the film premiered earlier this year at Sundance Film Festival. Domingo starred in The London Evening Standard Award-winning “The Scottsboro Boys” at the Young Vic in London, in a role which he originated on and off-Broadway and reprised on the West End. Domingo is well known for his star turns as Mr. Franklin and a German performance artist, Mr. Venus of Berlin, in the Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning groundbreaking musical “Passing Strange” directed by Annie Dorsen on Broadway and documented on film by Spike Lee. Domingo has starred in the first-ever screen adaptation of a Ralph Ellison story for PBS, “King of the Bingo Game”. As a playwright, Domingo made his British and Australian theatrical debuts with his self-penned solo play “A Boy and His Soul” at the Tricycle Theater and Brisbane Powerhouse Theaters, the production which originated at the New York City’s stalwart the Vineyard Theatre. He starred in his play “Wild with Happy” which debuted at the Public Theater and is now an original podcast for Audible. His fourth play “Dot” premiered at the Humana Festival at Actors Theater of Louisville and premiered off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre directed by the legendary Tony award winner Susan Stroman. “Dot” is enjoying regional productions around the country and is published by Samuel French. As a theatre director, Domingo has helmed at the People’s Light Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Geffen Playhouse, Actors Theater of Louisville and Berkeley Repertory Theater. His other credits include his Emmy Award-winning role as Ali in HBO’s “Euphoria,” as well as his roles in “Zola,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Selma,” “Candyman,” “Fear The Walking Dead” and many more. This fall Domingo will be seen as the lead in the limited series “The Madness” created by Clement Virgo for Netflix. He also recently wrapped production on “Michael” playing Joe Jackson, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Lionsgate will release the film on April 25th, 2025. Domingo is currently in production on NETFLIX’s “The Four Seasons” alongside Tina Fey and Steve Carrell.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Artist of Distinction Award)

Marianne Jean-Baptiste received Academy Award, Golden Globe, and British Academy Award nominations for her performance in Mike Leigh’s “Secrets & Lies.” Now, Jean-Baptise and Leigh have reunited for his upcoming feature “Hard Truths.” Jean-Baptiste and Leigh’s history of collaboration has been decades long as they first worked together on his theatrical show “A Great Big Shame. Her other credits include “Surface,” “Homecoming,” “Boxing Day,” “Without A Trace” and “In Fabric”. Jean-Baptiste has also graced the stages of the Royal National Theatre and Shakespeare in the Park, is an accomplished musician, and made her directorial debut with the short film “Ink,” which she also penned.

George MacKay (Spotlight Award)

George MacKay’s film career began at the tender age of 10 in P.J Hogan’s “Peter Pan”. He has since starred in numerous critically acclaimed, award-winning productions for which he has gained wide recognition, including a BAFTA Rising Star nomination in 2017 and the lead role in the multi-award-winning film “1917” from writer-director Sam Mendes. George’s film credits include “Captain Fantastic,” “The True History of The Kelly Gang,” “Femme” and the recent “La Béte” (The Beast) starring opposite Lea Seydoux. Up next, MacKay can be seen in Joshua Oppenheimer’s feature film “The End,” starring alongside Michael Shannon and Tilda Swinton. He recently wrapped on “Misson,” from Scottish filmmaker Paul Wright, who he previously worked with on “For Those In Peril”.

Finneas O’Connell (Outstanding Achievement in Music Award)

Multi-Academy® and GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer FINNEAS has quietly emerged as an unassumingly ubiquitous presence in popular music and culture. He introduced a heartfelt and hypnotic style on 2019’s debut Blood Harmony EP highlighted by the gold-certified “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night.” 2021 saw him unveil his full-length debut, “The Optimist.” It arrived to widespread acclaim. He packed houses on headline tours and performed at festivals such as Coachella. His catalog grew to encompass popular collaborations with Ashe, Ringo Starr, and Lizzy McAlpine in addition to producing and/or co-writing tracks Justin Bieber, Halsey, Demi Lovato, Kid Cudi, girl in red, James Bay, Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello, and Tove Lo. He achieved stratospheric success for his work with his sister Billie Eilish, including ten GRAMMY® Awards, headline sets at Coachella and Glastonbury, two Academy® and Golden Globe® Awards both in the category of “Best Original Song” for “No Time To Die” from No Time To Die and “What Was I Made For?” for Barbie. He expanded his oeuvre as a sought-after composer, with a filmography boasting original scores for HBO Max’s award-winning “The Fallout” and BJ Novak’s “Vengeance.” In 2022, on behalf of the Disney PIXAR animated hit “Turning Red,” he wrote the music for the film’s boyband 4*Town. FINNEAS has also scored the Apple Original series “Disclaimer,” a new psychological thriller from the multi-Academy Award-winning director, writer, producer, cinematographer and editor Alfonso Cuarón. Yet still, after the many accolades and achievements in his career to date, his curiosity, excitement, and love for what he does continues to shine through in his highly anticipated sophomore solo album, “For Cryin’ Out Loud!” (out Oct 4 on Interscope Records). 

Sheryl Lee Ralph (Artist of Distinction Award)

In 2022, Sheryl Lee Ralph won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of Barbara Howard, on ABC’s hit comedy series “Abbott Elementary.” She was nominated again for the series’ second and third seasons. On stage, she is well known for her award-winning work and for creating the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musical “Dreamgirls,” which earned her Best Actress nods for Tony and Drama Desk Awards. Ralph made her feature film debut at 20 years old opposite Academy Award winner Sidney Poitier in Warner Bros. “A Piece of the Action.” Other notable roles include “Mistress,” “To Sleep with Anger,” “The Distinguished Gentlemen,” “Sister Act 2,” “Moesha,” and “Ray Donovan.” Off-screen, Ralph is a passionate health advocate and honored AIDS activist. In 1990, she founded The DIVA Foundation, a national nonprofit 501(c)3 charitable organization as a memorial and life-long pledge to the many friends she had lost to HIV/AIDS. Their signature fundraising event, “Divas Simply Singing! Raising Health Awareness,” is an annual benefit concert that raises awareness and funds, and has a 33-year history making. In September 2023, Project Angel Food honored Ralph with the inaugural Sheryl Lee Ralph Legacy Award for her unwavering commitment to the organization over the last three decades.

June Squibb (Lifetime Achievement Award)

June Squibb started her career on the stage, working first at the Cleveland Playhouse then moving on to New York. Her first Broadway appearance was in the original 1960 production of the musical, “Gypsy,” starring Ethel Merman and her last Broadway appearance was in “Waitress” in 2018. In 1990, Squibb made her film debut in “Alice,” directed by Woody Allen – at the age of 61. Her other credits include “Scent of a Woman,” “Age of Innocence,” “In and Out,” “Meet Joe Black,” “About Schmidt,” “Palmer,” “Godmothered,” “Soul,” “Palm Springs,” “Toy Story 4,” “and remake of the cult classic, “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.” She was nominated for a SAG award, Golden Globe, and the Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards for her performance in “Nebraska.” This year Squibb starred in “Thelma,” “Inside Out 2,” and can be seen in “Lost & Found in Cleveland” which will world premiere at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

Diane Warren (Lifetime Achievement in Music Award)

Diane Warren has received 15 Academy Award nominations, is a GRAMMY winner with 15 nominations, an EMMY winner, and is a two-time Golden Globe winner whose songs have been featured in more than 150 films including chart-topping hits “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” (“Mannequin”), “Because You Loved Me” (“Up Close and Personal”), “How Do I Live” (“Con Air”), “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” (“Armageddon”) and “Til It Happens To You” (“The Hunting Ground”). In November 2022, Warren became the first songwriter in history to receive an Honorary Oscar, as voted on by the Academy’s Board of Governors. She has penned nine #1 and thirty-three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and is tied for having written the most #1 songs as a sole writer in Billboard history. Her upcoming projects include the original song “The Journey” performed by H.E.R. for the feature film “The Six Triple Eight.”

The Festival Honors event will also recognize Variety 10 Actors to Watch: Monica Barbaro (“A Complete Unknown”), Zoë Chao (“Nightbitch”), Ryan Destiny (“The Fire Inside”), Karla Sofía Gascón (“Emilia Perez”), Fred Hechinger (“Gladiator II”), Ella Hunt (“Saturday Night”), David Jonsson (“Alien: Romulus”), Josh Rivera (“American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez”), Drew Starkey (“Queer”), and Toby Wallace (“Eden”).

This year’s honorees will also be joined by previously announced honorees Colleen Atwood (Career Achievement in Costume Design on October 20), David Alan Grier and Wendi McLendon-Covey (Outstanding Achievement in Comedy Award on October 18), Jane Lynch (Outstanding Achievement in Comedy Award on October 22), Peter Sarsgaard (Performance of the Year Award (Actor) on October 23), Christoph Waltz (Icon Award on October 17) who will receive their awards throughout the festival. The 2024 Newport Beach Film Festival highlights include the Opening Night film “Old Guy” and the Closing Night film “A Real Pain.” Centerpiece films include “Blitz,” “Hard Truths,” “Nightbitch,” and “The Piano Lesson.”

Tickets to Opening Night Film and Gala are $225. Tickets to the Closing Night Film and Gala are $145. Gala events are open to attendees 21 and older. For Festival passes and tickets visit www.NewportBeachFilmFest.com.