Heath Ledger Scholarship Awards

Heath Ledger & winners : Matt Levett , Emilie Cocquerel and Lily Sullivan

  Matt Levett was announced the winner of the prestigious 2015 Heath Ledger Scholarship Award and Emilie Cocquerel and Lily Sullivan were named the runners up.
For the high calibre judging panel at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles the choice was not an easy one to make. Emmy award winning casting director, Laray Mayfield (Fight Club, Gone Girl, House of Cards, The Social Network), who joined the panel for the first time this year said, ‘It was inspiring to be on a judging panel where every person was passionate and invested in the result. The decision was not easy as each of the applicants are talented and unique and we are sure they will have long and lovely careers."
At the awards: 

at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles : Denise Roberts, Phil Noyce, Luke Hemsworth & Mark Morrisey

Playwright David Williamson Honoured at US film Festival

With less than three weeks to go to the Academy Awards, tributes continue to flow in for Australian film identities.

Jackie & Hailee at Santa Barbara AP

On Sunday at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival David Williamson (right) was part of the team that received the prestige Panavison Spirit Award for Independent Cinema for the film he wrote, Face to Face directed by Michael Rymer-the first time in the festival's history a non-mainstream Hollywood film has received the award .  

Face to Face stars Vince Colisimo, Matthew Newton , Sigrid Thornton and Luke Ford.

And at the same festival Jackie Weaver received a Virtuoso Tribute Award for her performance in Animal Kingdom.

Phil Noyce & Jackie Weaver AP

Also honoured with a Virtuoso Award was newcomer Hailee Steinfeld for her role in True Grit. Both Jackie and Hailee will be competing for the Best Supporting Actress award at the Oscars.

On Monday Jackie was the guest of honour at a lunch at a Santa Monica restaurant with a host of Hollywood types-director Phil Noyce and actors John Lithgow and Billy Baldwin with director Quentin Tarantino paying a flying visit.