SHORT TAKES : Peck to Be Host of Lean Tribute

Actor Gregory Peck will be the host of next month’s American Film Institute tribute to movie director David Lean, picked to receive the prestigious Life Achievement Award for his four decades of remarkable movies.

“We are delighted that Gregory Peck has agreed to host the first Life Achievement Award salute of the new decade,” said George Stevens Jr., producer of the March 8 tribute at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The evening will honor Lean for such film classics as “Brief Encounter” in 1945, “Great Expectations” in 1946, “The Bridge on the River Kwai” in 1957, “Lawrence of Arabia” in 1962, “Dr. Zhivago” in 1965 and “A Passage to India” in 1984.