Macon Mayor Robert Reichert and Bibb County Commission Chairman Sam Hart will declare today, Thursday, February 18, 2010, Melvyn Douglas Day in Macon, GA, at a 1:30 p.m. press conference at the Cox Capitol Theatre. Actress Illeana Douglas, Mr. Douglas’ granddaughter, will be on hand to accept the proclamation and to dedicate the festival’s Best In Show Award, that has been renamed the Melvyn Douglas Award.

Like her grandfather, Illeana was born a Hesselberg, and like her grandfather, she adopted his Scottish mother’s maiden name, Douglas, as her stage name. Melvyn Douglas was born in Macon on April 5, 1901. His career began on Broadway in 1928 and alternated between stage and screen for the rest of his life. He won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in Hud and Being There (for which he also won a Golden Globe) and he was nominated for Best Actor for his work in I Never Sang for My Father. He had memorable roles in The Changeling, The Seduction of Joe Tynan, Death Takes a Holiday, Ninotchka (opposite Greta Garbo) and Ghost Story. He won an Emmy Award for a CBS Playhouse performance and was nominated for his turn in Inherit the Wind, and he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for The Best Man. His wife of 50 years, Helen Gahagan Douglas, was a 3-term Congresswoman in California and served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Kennedy.

The first Melvyn Douglas Award is an original piece of sculpted metal art created by Central Georgia artist, Zoe Alexandra. It will be given to the 2010 Best In Show filmmaker at the awards ceremony this Sunday, February 21, at 7 p.m.

Kathryn Dennis of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia and Beverly Blake of the Knight Fund for Macon, will announce the first Macon Film Festival Workshop series that was created with support from the Knight Neighborhood Challenge Grant. Six free workshops on various aspects of filmmaking will be held on the Mercer University campus and are open to visiting filmmakers, students and the community.

After the press conference the film festival will begin with a screening of a rare 35 mm film print of The Candidate starring Melvyn Douglas and Robert Redford. This film was secured through a Macon connection to Warner Brothers, through City Councilman Rick Hutto who will explain the connection. Ms. Douglas will also be available for approved interviews following the press conference.

Her name is familiar to film buffs, but others will recognize Illeana Douglas from the numerous memorable roles in films like Message in a Bottle, Cape Fear, Goodfellas, To Die For, Grace of My Heart, Stir of Echoes, The Perfect Woman, and Happy, Texas; and recurring roles on television series including Ugly Betty, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Action, and Six Feet Under, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. In addition to acting she has written, directed and produced for film.

Ms. Douglas brings her innovative web-based film series, Easy to Assemble, to MaGa. She starred in, wrote, and produced the comedy about an actress who “quits Hollywood” and goes to work at Ikea. The series co-starred Justine Bateman and a list of special guests that reads like a who’s who in Hollywood independent film, including Jane Lynch, Jeff Goldblum and Robert Patrick. Easy to Assemble Producer Dominik Rausch will join Illeana at the screening and Q&A at the Cox Capitol Theatre tonight at 7:45 p.m.