By Mary Ann Bourbeau
They may have been robbed of a 2014 Oscar nomination for best animated feature film, but Chris Miller and Phil Lord are still receiving accolades for “The LEGO Movie.” The writing and directing duo will receive the 6th Monmouth Award for Communication Excellence (MACE) on Oct. 26 from the university’s department of communication.
“We are so thrilled to be recognized by Monmouth University for this honor,” said Lord.
MACE recipients must meet certain criteria – achieving remarkable success in a professional communications career, having the respect of their peers and being good, strong role models for Monmouth University students, said Jim Hickey, chair of the Monmouth University Communication Council.
“We thought Phil Lord and Chris Miller filled these criteria terrifically,” said Hickey. “They met while they were college students and formed a friendship and partnership. They went on to become successful Hollywood writers and producers. We want to show our students how friendships and alliances formed in college can be very strong examples of success later in life.”
The event will be moderated by Monmouth University communications professor Robert Scott, and will include a discussion with Lord and Miller about their filmmaking techniques. The pair, who met as students at Dartmouth College, is the writing and directing team behind several successful films, including “22 Jump Street” and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” Their films have received numerous awards including the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Producers Guild of America (PGA) and Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) Critics’ Choice Awards for Best Animated Feature; the National Board of Review award for Best Original Screenplay and the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing for an Animated Feature. “The LEGO Movie” was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Film and was named one of the top 10 films of 2014 on more than 75 critics’ lists. And it was, in fact, nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Original Song category, for “Everything is Awesome.”
“What we’re most excited about is the chance to spend some time with the students and share what we’ve learned, and are still learning, with another generation of creative people, and then remind them of this in 15 years when we’re washed up and begging them for a job,” Lord said in a prepared statement. “And since Monmouth is where John Huston filmed Daddy Warbucks’ house in “Annie,” we’re hoping they will adopt us and we can live there forever.”
Lord and Miller will spend the day touring the campus and meeting with students in script writing and film production classes. After being interviewed by the university’s media outlets, they will attend a cocktail reception prior to the ceremony that evening.
The MACE is given to individuals who have made significant lifetime contributions in the field of communications. Previous honorees include White House correspondent Helen Thomas; newspaper publisher Jules L. Plangere Jr.; Myron Kandel, founding financial editor of CNN; CBS sports commentator Jim Nantz, and Brian Williams of NBC News.
“The Monmouth University Communication Council is proud to join with the Monmouth University department of communication to present the MACE to these two young, exciting and admired film producers,” said Hickey. “Chris Miller and Phil Lord hold to the highest traditions of the MACE. It is our honor to host Mr. Miller and Mr. Lord on the Monmouth University campus.”
Up next for Lord and Miller is an as-yet untitled Star Wars anthology series focusing on a young Han Solo, slated for a May 2018 release.
The MACE Award ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Pollak Theatre, 400 Cedar Ave., West Long Branch. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. A cocktail reception will be held at 6 p.m. in the Pollak Theatre Gallery. Tickets to the reception are $75. Proceeds benefit the Monmouth University department of communication.
For more information, contact Nicole Frame at 732-571-3473 or nframe@monmouth.edu.
Arts and entertainment writer Mary Ann Bourbeau can be reached at mbourbeau@tworivertimes.com.
