Academy Award-winning director/ producer/ actor Clint Eastwood will receive the Hollywood Director of the Year Award on 27 October at the Hollywood Film Festival Awards Gala Ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Eastwood will be honoured for his work on his two new films, Changeling (starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich) and Gran Torino, in which Eastwood also stars. He plays an iron-willed veteran living in a changing world, who is forced by his immigrant neighbors to confront his own long-held prejudices.

Past honourees of the Hollywood Director of the Year Award are Ron Howard, Michael Mann, Sam Mendes, Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone.

Other previously announced honorees for this year’s Hollywood Awards include: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven and Emma Thomas for the Producers Award; James Franco for the Breakthrough Actor Award; Sally Hawkins for the Breakthrough Actress Award; John Patrick Shanley for both the Screenwriter Award, and the Breakthrough Director Award; Dustin Lance Black for the Breakthrough Screenwriter

Award; Disney/Pixar’s Wall-E and director Andrew Stanton for the Hollywood Animation Award; Paramount Pictures’ Iron Man and visual effects supervisors John Nelson and Ben Snow for the Hollywood Visual Effects Award; Danny Elfman for Film Composer Award; Mandy Walker for Cinematographer Award; Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill for Editor Award; Sarah Greenwood for Production Designer Award; and Deborah Hopper for Costume Designer Award.