Olivia Wilde’s The Invite to Receive Palm Springs Vanguard Award

By Daniel Okafor

The Invite will receive the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Vanguard Award on Jan. 7, 2027, with director and actor Olivia Wilde plus three co-stars confirmed to attend.

The Palm Springs International Film Awards announced the honor on Wednesday. The Palm Springs Convention Center will host the Jan. 7 ceremony, while the festival runs Jan. 7-18, 2027.

What does the Vanguard Award recognize?

The Vanguard Award functions as a group honor. According to the Palm Springs International Film Awards, it recognizes “a film’s cast and director in recognition of their collective work on an exceptional film project.” The description points to one collective citation, not separate prizes for acting and directing.

Who will accept it?

Four confirmed attendees will take the stage:

• Olivia Wilde — director and actor
• Seth Rogen — actor
• Penélope Cruz — actor
• Edward Norton — actor

Wilde will accept the honor alongside the three actors whom festival chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi specifically praised. In practical terms, the Jan. 7 presentation brings one director and three actors into a single group citation.

What does the chairman see in the ensemble?

Festival chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi said:

“With The Invite, Olivia Wilde has made a film that is both comedic and deeply human. In addition to directing, she stars alongside three of the most compelling actors working today: Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton.

Each of them brings something irreplaceable to this story, and together they’ve created something that has stayed with audiences long after the credits roll. We are thrilled to honor this incredible team with this year’s Vanguard Award.”

Chandi’s case rests on two qualities, comedy and deep humanity, plus the combined work of Wilde, Rogen, Cruz and Norton. His wording keeps the honor collective. A team verdict, not four individual campaigns.

What has The Invite earned so far?

Since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, The Invite has generated awards-season buzz, including four Gotham Award nominations. The four nominations give the Palm Springs selection an existing awards-season marker.

Rashida Jones and Will McCormack wrote the screenplay for the film, which follows two couples at a dinner party that turns into an unpredictable evening exposing messy relationships and desires.

Who shares the award’s lineage?

Past Vanguard recipients include two Best Picture Oscar winners:

• Green Book
• The Shape of Water

The list also includes eight Best Picture nominees:

• Belfast
• Emilia Pérez
• Hamnet
• Killers of the Flower Moon
• La La Land
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Fablemans
• The Trial of the Chicago 7

The Invite now joins a roll spanning two Oscar winners and eight nominated films. The mix matches an honor that recognizes collective work rather than sorting performers into separate categories.

What changes in the race?

The announcement adds a confirmed Palm Springs group win to The Invite’s four Gotham nominations. It does not settle an acting or directing race, because the Vanguard recognizes the cast and director together. For Wilde, the change is specific: she will accept alongside Rogen, Cruz and Norton on Jan. 7. Useful visibility for a film already in the awards conversation. No individual prize. No solo lane.