Outfest to honor Alan Poul, Clear Channel

Hollywood Reporter
Outfest to honor Alan Poul, Clear Channel
Producer-director’s credits include ‘Six Feet Under,’ ‘Rome’
By Gregg Kilday
Sept 16, 2009, 07:06 PM ET

Producer-director Alan Poul and Clear Channel Los Angeles will be honored at Outfest’s annual Legacy Awards on Sept. 30 at the Directors Guild of America.

Laura Linney will present the award to Poul, who exec produced “Six Feet Under” and was nominated for both an Emmy and DGA Award for directing the episode “Nobody Sleeps.” He’s also directed episodes of such other HBO series as “Rome” and “Big Love.” He is making his feature directorial debut with CBS Films’ romantic comedy “The Back-Up Plan,” starring Jennifer Lopez.

His producing credits include the features “Woman on Top,” “Thursday,” “Till There was You,” “The Interview,” “Candyman” and the three miniseries based on Armistead Maupin‘s “Tales of the City” books.

Poul currently serves on the board of directors of Film Independent. He has previously served on the boards of the Producers Guild of America, GLAAD and Outfest.

Jim Murphy, vp, business affairs, will accept on behalf of Clear Channel, the media company that includes radio and billboard displays.

Announcing the honorees, Outfest exec director Kirsten Schaffer said, “Since the mid-90’s Alan Poul has been championing LGBT images through his inspired work as a director and producer and as an Outfest board member and long-time major donor. Clear Channel Los Angeles has been an incredible supporter of the LGBT community and of Outfest. They are a leader in both their internal policies and external dedication to LGBT equality.”

Bruce Vilanch will host the evening, which will include a screening of the restored film “Queens of Hearts,” a mid-1960s documentary about pre-Stonewall transgender life.

The event is a fundraiser for the Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation, a collaboration between Outfest and the UCLA Film & Television Archive to preserve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender moving images.