USC and "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Will Ferrell.

Steven Spielberg, USC alumnus Brian Grazer and Michael Seligman will executive produce the invitation-only event, to be held Sept. 26 at USC’s Bovard Auditorium.

“As one of today’s most gifted comedic talents, Will certainly is going to make this evening the perfect diamond jubilee party,” Daley said. “We are delighted that he’s also a USC alum.”

One of the highlights of the evening will be the presentation of a specially commissioned award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the school’s founding partner, honoring CNTV for being the first educational institution of its kind in the country.

The school’s 75-year tradition of leadership in entertainment education was launched in Bovard Auditorium in 1929 when Douglas Fairbanks Sr. gave the first lecture to the university’s (and the country’s) first film students.

In addition to celebrating the School’s history, this gala event is a homecoming for USC’s cinema-television alumni, and is expected to draw more than 1,200 prominent guests.

Ferrell appeared on “Saturday Night Live” for seven seasons. His films include “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy,” “Old School,” “Zoolander,” “A Night at the Roxbury,” “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” and “Elf.”

Ferrell’s latest project, the comedy “Kicking and Screaming” with Robert Duvall for Universal Pictures, has just begun production in Los Angeles.

For media inquiries only, contact Emmy Chang of The Angellotti Company at (818) 506-7887.