Ed Zwick Filmmaker Acceptance Speech at 2014 CAS Awards

“It seems fitting that in celebration of 50 years of the CAS we are honoring Edward Zwick, a producer/director/writer of both award winning film and television,” CAS President David E. Fluhr said in a statement. “His projects on both the big and small screen have consistently demonstrated a commitment to quality in story and craft, particularly sound.”

The Academy Award-winning producer first gained prominence as a Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute in 1975 with his short film “Timothy and the Angel” and later teamed up with Marshall Herskovitz to create the Emmy Award-winning TV series “Thirtysomething.”

Zwick’s feature film career began when he helmed the 1986 flick “About Last Night” starring Rob Lowe and Demi Moore. He then went on to direct popular films including “The Last Samurai” and “Blood Diamond” as well as the Oscar-winning “Glory” and “Legends of the Fall.” Zwick also received an Academy Award as the producer of 1999 Best Picture “Shakespeare in Love.”

Over the course of his career, Zwick has won three Emmys, two Humanitas Prizes, three Writer’s Guild of America Awards, two Peabody Awards, a Director’s Guild of America Award and the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Award from the American Film Institute.

Zwick will join past honorees including Quentin Tarantino, Gil Cates and Paul Mazursky as the ninth CAS Filmmaker Honoree.