Naomi Watts, Tom Hooper to Participate in Palm Springs Film Festival's Talking Pictures Series

The Palm Springs International Film Festival has revealed details about its Talking Pictures program, a series of film clips and screenings accompanied by a discussion with Hollywood talent, scheduled during the Jan. 4-13 proceedings.

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On Jan. 5, the awards contender The Impossible will be screened, and star Naomi Watts, who will recieve the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the festival, will participate in a discussion moderated by The Hollywood Reporter's awards analyst Scott Feinberg. 

There were three other Talking Pictures events announced. 

On Jan. 4, Peter Greenaway will speak at a program entitled "The Death of Cinema -- A Lecture With Pictures," where the writer-director of Goltzius and the Pelican Company will explain how "our reliance of text in film is creating a populace of 'visual illiterates,'" according to a release. 

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Les Misérables director Tom Hooper -- who will receive the Sonny Bono Visionary Award at the festival's gala -- and actor Eddie Redmayne will discuss the musical drama Jan. 6. Alan Cumming, the star of Any Day Now, will take part in a program discussion about the film Jan. 12. 

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Tom Hooper and Mychael Danna to Receive Palm Springs Festival Honors

Director Tom Hooper and composer Mychael Danna will both be honored at the 24th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) on Jan. 5.

Hooper, whose Les Miserables has already been nominated for four Golden Globe awards, including best picture, and four SAG Award nominations, will receive the Sonny Bono Visionary Award at the annual film festival. Hooper won an Academy Award for directing the 2010 Oscar-winning film, The King’s Speech. Hooper has also worked on several award-winning HBO projects throughout his career, including John Adams, Longford and Elizabeth I. His other work includes The Damned United, Red Dust, Prime Suspect 6, Daniel Deronda, Love in a Cold Climate, Cold Feet and EastEnders.

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Past recipients of the Sonny Bono Visionary Award include Danny Boyle, Quentin Tarantino, Michel Hazanavicius, Baz Luhrmann and Gus Van Sant.

Danna, who created the score for Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, will receive the Frederick Loewe Award for Film Composing.

Danna has worked with Lee on and off for 15 years, and received a Golden Globe nomination for his original score for Life of Pi. He has scored two of Lee’s other films --The Ice Storm and Ride with the Devil.  

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Danna also co-wrote the film’s original song “Pi’s Lullaby” with singer/songwriter Bombay Jayashri, who performs the song in her native Tamil language.  

Past recipients of the Frederick Loewe Award for Film Composing include T Bone Burnett, Alexandre Desplat, Danny Elfman, Randy Newman and Diane Warren.

Hosted by Mary Hart, the gala will honor previously announced recipients including Richard Gere, Bradley Cooper, Helen Mirren, Sally Field, Helen Hunt, Naomi Watts, Robert Zemeckis and the cast of Argo. The Palm Springs Film Festival runs Jan. 3-14.

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