Zadan and Meron, the producers of Hollywood's "Chicago" and "Hairspray" and Broadway's Promises, Promises and How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying who will also produce the upcoming 85th Academy Awards, are being recognized for "their contribution to LGBT arts and media visibility."
"Thanks to Craig and Neil's all-encompassing work in movies, television and on stage, they have given a loud and clear voice to LGBT characters and issues that reaches the widest possible audience," said Kirsten Schaffer, executive director of Outfest, in a previous statement. "We are very proud to honor two friends and longtime supporters of Outfest and are grateful for their profound impact on the LGBT community."
Zadan and Meron added, "We are honored and humbled to receive the Visionary Award from an organization as important and crucial as Outfest. We hope we can help spread the word that the community needs to embrace and support this outstanding group, that does so much to enrich the art and the lives of LGBT people everywhere."
The Legacy Awards serve as a fundraiser for the Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation, a collaboration between Outfest and the UCLA Film & Television Archive that is devoted to saving and preserving LGBT moving images. Bruce Cohen ("Milk"), Nina Jacobson ("The Hunger Games") and Bryan Singer ("X-Men") co-chair this year's event.
The evening begins at 6:30 PM with a pre-party and is followed by the awards ceremony at 8 PM. Also scheduled to appear at the Legacy Awards are Michael Urie (How to Succeed...) and Sean Hayes (Promises, Promises). The centerpiece screening at the 2012 awards will feature a special sneak preview screening of the Legacy Project's most challenging restoration to date — the silent film "Different From the Others (Anders Als Die Andern)."
Directed by Richard Oswald and co-written by famed psychologist Magnus Hirschfeld, the 1919 film is "believed to be the only film from a group of gay-friendly movies made during Germany's Weimar era that escaped systematic destruction by the Nazis," according to Legacy Project.
The Legacy Awards are presented by Northern Trust and Showtime. For more information and tickets, call (213) 480-7088 or visit Outfest.org.