Melissa McCarthy will be honored for her role in the film, Can You Ever Forgive Me? with the Spotlight Award at the 30th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Jan. 3.
The award will be presented by her co-star in the film Richard E. Grant. The Film Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart and Entertainment Tonight and presented by American Express, will be held at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The festival runs Jan. 3-14.
“Melissa McCarthy delivers a heartbreaking performance as author Lee Israel, perfectly portraying Israel’s loneliness as she struggles with her own relevance in society,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “McCarthy’s dramatic turn is truly captivating and deserving of awards recognition.”
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McCarthy joins previously announced honoree Glenn Close and Rami Malek. Past recipients of the Spotlight Award include Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Andrew Garfield, Helen Hunt, Allison Janney, Rooney Mara, Julia Roberts and J.K. Simmons. All recipients received Academy Award nominations in the year they were honored, with Simmons winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and Janney receiving an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
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In Fox Searchlight’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? McCarthy stars as Lee Israel, the best-selling celebrity biographer, and cat lover, who made her living in the 1970s and '80s profiling the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and Dorothy Kilgallen. When Lee found herself unable to get published because she had fallen out of step with the marketplace, she turned her art form to deception, abetted by her loyal friend Jack (Richard E. Grant). The film is directed by Marielle Heller and also stars Dolly Wells, Jane Curtin, Ben Falcone, Anna Deavere Smith and Stephen Spinella.
McCarthy received an Academy Award, BAFTA, Critics’ Choice and SAG Award nominations for her role in Bridesmaids. Her other film credits include Life of the Party, The Boss, St. Vincent, Tammy, The Heat, Identity Thief, This is 40, The Hangover Part III, Ghostbusters, The Back-Up Plan, Life As We Know It, Pretty Ugly People, Just Add Water, The Nines, White Oleander, Pumpkin, Go and The Life of David Gale. Her TV credits include Mike & Molly, Gilmore Girls, Samantha Who? and Nobodies. Her upcoming films include The Kitchen and Superintelligence.