Palm Springs International Film Festival

ZHANG: The Palm Springs International Film Festival kicked off with an awards gala attended by some of the most acclaimed stars of the year. This year's honorees, many of whom are widely considered strong Oscar contenders, included Sean Penn, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Clint Eastwood. STORY: Leonardo DiCaprio, famous for his work in Titanic, and most recently for working along side renowned director Martin Scorsese accepted the Ensemble Performance Award for the film "Revolutionary Road. DiCaprio says Palm Springs has long had a close relationship with Hollywood. [Leonardo Di Caprio, Actor]: "I just see a deep history and appreciation for movies here. It's definitely connected to Los Angeles, but it's outside the box at the same time. And it's getting more and more attention and more and more popular and I've been wanting to come here for a long, long, long time." Sean Penn, actor in the movie "Milk" and Anne Hathaway star of "Rachel Getting Married" each came to pick up a Desert Palm Achievement Award. Director and "Gran Torino" star Clint Eastwood showed up to take home the Career Achievement Award, and hinted that the film may be his last directing effort. [Clint Eastwood, Director, Actor]: "I've been doing this stuff for 55 years, I figure, maybe that's enough. It keeps me off the streets." And Dustin Hoffman, whose film "Last Chance Harvey" opened the festival, was honored with the Chairman's Award. [Dustin Hoffman, Actor]: "It's just an acknowledgment that what you're doing, people still think is worthwhile to go see." The Palm Springs International Film Festival runs through January 19.

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YouTube | January 10, 2009

Tags:. .honorees. .caprio. .scorsese. .zhang. .torino