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Fair Long Beach Film Festival to honor 'Rocky' actor Burt Young at Madison Theatre
LBIFF to host ‘Taste of the Oscars' on Feb. 28; scholarship being established in Young's name
The Long Beach International Film Festival will host an Academy Awards party and food tasting event at the Madison Theatre in Rockville Centre on Feb. 28.
This year, the LBIFF is raising funds for a student to attend the Madison Theatre Summer Film Intensive, and a scholarship is being established in the name of actor Burt Young, who played the iconic character of Paulie in the “Rocky” films. Young, a Port Washington resident, will be honored at the event for his dedication and life as a filmmaker and supporter of the arts.
Young was Sylvester Stallone's co-star in the "Rocky" movies. Stallone, of course, received a Best Supporting Actor nomination this year for the movie "Creed" — where he again reprised the character of Rocky Balboa — 40 years after the release of the original film, for which he earned nominations for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay and Young earned a Best Supporting Actor nod.
Stallone walked away with the screenplay prize, according to People magazine, and in one of the biggest upsets in Oscar history, the film ended up winning Best Picture over such heavyweights as "Taxi Driver," "Network," "All the President's Men" and "Bound for Glory."
At the 2013 Long Beach International Film Festival, Young and UFC champion Chris Weidman presented an award to the City of Long Beach in recognition of the community's perseverance after Hurricane Sandy. When he addressed the crowd, Young used Stallone's famous quote from the 2006 film "Rocky Balboa" — “It ain’t about how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”
General admission to the Feb. 28 LBIFF Academy Awards event is $50 for theater seating. VIP admission is $100 per ticket, which includes access to the stage and a lounge area featuring champagne, movie trivia and dessert tasting while the Oscars are shown on a 30-foot movie screen. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Madison Theatre’s box office at (516) 323-4444. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/LongBeachInternationalFilmFestival or www.longbeachfilm.com.
Schedule of Events
5:30 to 7:30 p.m. — Experience Taste of The Oscars with local and regional restaurants, wineries and cocktail vendors. Red Carpet will be open as well as the “Red Door Spa Primping Station.” Kravit Jewelers celebrity designer Idayne Kaye will also be on hand with some incredible red carpet bling. Celebrity chef Jonathan Scinto from Master Chef will be at the tasting as well.
7:30 to 8 p.m. — Presentation of the annual “LBIFF Do A Good Deed Contest,” presentation of scholarship, honoring actor Burt Young.
8 to 8:30 p.m. — Live red carpet coverage
8:30 to 11 p.m. — Viewing party
