Legendary Comic Creator, Hollywood Icon, and Chairman of Pow! Entertainment, Stan Lee, to be Honored at 2012 Catalina Film Festival

Los Angeles, CA, April 04, 2012 --(PR.com)-- Catalina Film Festival (CFF) today announced that POW!’s Stan Lee will be honored at the second annual film festival. The Festival will be held May 4-6, 2012 on the famed Catalina Island - a storied Hollywood stomping ground that has been featured in over 500 films, television programs and commercials since 1912. Lee will receive the "Great Communicator” Award - an honor bestowed by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation - during the Opening Night ceremonies Friday, May 4. On Saturday, May 5, Lee will host the island premiere of the documentary based on his life, “With Great Power - The Stan Lee Story,” at 12:30 p.m., then participate in the panel “The Anatomy of POW!,” along with Gill Champion, Co-Founder and CEO of POW! Entertainment. Lee will also introduce a special screening of “The Avengers®” on its opening weekend during the film festival and host a VIP brunch with special guests and fans attending.

“I am very honored to be recognized for this prestigious accolade by the Catalina Film Festival, and to be in the company of other such past notable award recipients,” said Lee. “I am keen to advance comic book storytelling on multiple platforms this year and looking forward to collaborating with some of the brightest talent in each space.”

The Ronald Reagan “Great Communicator” Award was created to recognize films and filmmakers that give a voice to a philosophy of individual opportunity, optimism and pride. President Reagan will forever be linked to Catalina, the island where he began his film career in 1936 and kick-started a successful Hollywood career before ultimately reaching the White House.

Lee, who is currently creating dozens of new characters for POW! Entertainment, is known for creating compelling stories and fostering imagination through iconic comic books and memorable characters, such as Spider-Man®, The Hulk®, X-Men®, Fantastic Four®, Iron Man® and Thor®. Lee was cited by Reagan himself as an entertainer who “communicates important ideas to young people.” Reagan helped launch Lee’s “Entertainers for Education” initiative in 1991 and once said he began each day reading Spider-Man comics.

The Catalina Film Festival is a competitive festival with awards across multiple categories including feature, documentary, animation, student, short, screenplay and more. Lee, known to millions as the man whose superheroes propelled Marvel Comics to its preeminent position and has exerted more influence over the comic book industry than anyone in history, will present the CFF Animation Award to the winning filmmaker(s) following his “With Great Power - The Stan Lee Story” Q&A.

Catalina Island, a fixture in Hollywood’s motion picture industry, celebrates its Centennial in 2012. Guests of CFF can experience the West Coast’s only resort island while taking in more than 75 feature and short-length domestic and international features, documentaries, experimental and student films. The Festival also features nightly parties, special events and an exclusive awards ceremony. To secure passes now, visit www.catalinafilm.org/attend.

About Catalina Film Festival
Catalina Film Festival, an annual celebration of film on the only West Coast resort island, features more than 75 films, nightly events and entertainment. From Charlie Chaplin to Marilyn Monroe, celebrities and filmmakers have flocked to Catalina for inspiration. Clear blue water and coastal breezes provide the perfect backdrop for unparalleled premieres, yacht and mansion parties, industry networking and discovering everything that the island has to offer— just 22 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. Films are screened at multiple venues around the island, including the iconic, art deco, 1,200-seat Avalon Theatre— the world's first sound theatre. Catalina Film Festival is a competitive festival with awards in up to 10 categories, including the prestigious Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation "Great Communicator" Award and the ISLA Earth Award; an honor presented by the Festival's beneficiary, the Catalina Island Conservancy. For more information, visit www.CatalinaFF.org or follow us on twitter: www.twitter.com/CatalinaFilm or Facebook: www.facebook.com/CatalinaFilm. The 2012 Catalina Film Festival runs May 4-6, 2012, with a special screening of “The Avengers®” with Stan Lee.

About POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, Inc.
POW! Entertainment, Inc., a multi-media and entertainment company, was founded by noted comic book and entertainment figure Stan Lee, together with award-winning producer Gill Champion and intellectual property specialist Arthur Lieberman. POW!’s principals have extensive backgrounds in the entertainment industry encompassing the creation, production and licensing of original intellectual properties, including some of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time. POW! is capitalizing on this combined expertise, specializing in creating and developing both the legacy and digital media components of the entertainment industry. This includes animation and live-action feature films, plus television, DVDs, multi-media, merchandising and related ancillary markets, all of which contribute to global expansion. POW! partners with other individuals and entities of entertainment’s top echelon, including studios and networks in the creation, licensing and distribution of new POW! character franchises. www.powentertainment.com.