Governors Awards
| The Governors Awards | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Lifetime achievement in film |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |
| First awarded | 2009–present |
| Website | Official website |
The Governors Awards presentation is an annual award ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California.[1] Three awards that signify lifetime achievement within the film industry – the Academy Honorary Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award – are presented at this ceremony. The first Governors Awards ceremony was held on November 14, 2009. Prior to this, these three awards were formally presented during the main Academy Awards ceremony, which now conducts a short mention and appearance of the awards recipients after displaying a montage of the Governors Awards presentation. In the years since, the awards have gained prominence as a major red-carpet destination and industry event.
Description and history
[edit]The Governors Awards are one of five award ceremonies hosted by AMPAS, along with the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards, Academy Student Academy Awards, the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, and the main Oscars.[2]
The Academy Honorary Award (every year), Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (some years), and Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (some years) are presented at the ceremony. The Governors Awards are held the November or December before the main Academy Awards ceremony, usually held in February or March the following year.[1] The Awards are not voted upon but, rather, are presented at the discretion of the Academy.
The Academy Honorary Awards and Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Awards are both Oscar statuettes, while the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award is a small bust of Thalberg on a plinth.
The Academy Honorary Award is given for "extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy". The Thalberg Award is given to "a creative producer whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production".[3]
The board members of AMPAS had previously been concerned about awarding more than one or two Honorary Academy Awards each year for fear of lengthening the main Academy Awards presentation but, in most iterations of the Governors Awards to date, they have awarded three Honorary Academy Awards. So far in the history of the Governors Awards, the Hersholt Award and the Thalberg Award have always been given on separate years.
The smaller presentation of the Governors Awards was designed to invoke the feel of the early Academy Award ceremonies.[4] During the event, several notable colleagues of the awardees give them tributes before they make an acceptance speech. Though the event has not been televised, thus far, the Academy posted most of the speeches for the 2013 and 2014 events online.
Since its inception, the event has become a major red-carpet stop for many prospective Oscar hopefuls, including actors and filmmakers, and is, in some ways, the first major stop of the seasonal Awards Circuit.[5]
Ceremonies and honorees
[edit]1st Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 1st Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 14, 2009. The following awards were presented.
- Academy Honorary Award: Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman, and Gordon Willis[6]
- Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: John Calley
Tributes:
- Lauren Bacall: Annette Bening and Kirk Douglas.
- Roger Corman: Jonathan Demme, Quentin Tarantino, and Ron Howard
2nd Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 2nd Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 13, 2010. The following awards were presented.
- Academy Honorary Award: Kevin Brownlow, Jean-Luc Godard, and Eli Wallach[3]
- Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: Francis Ford Coppola
Tributes:
- Kevin Brownlow: Kevin Spacey
- Jean-Luc Godard: Vincent Cassel, Mark Johnson, Charles Fox
- Eli Wallach: Clint Eastwood, Robert De Niro, Anne Jackson
- Francis Ford Coppola: George Lucas, Robert De Niro, Roman Coppola
3rd Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 3rd Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 12, 2011. The following awards were presented.
- Academy Honorary Award: James Earl Jones and Dick Smith[7]
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Oprah Winfrey
Tributes:
- James Earl Jones: Glenn Close, Ben Kingsley, Courtney B. Vance, and Alec Baldwin
- Dick Smith: J.J. Abrams, Linda Blair,
- Oprah Winfrey: John Travolta
4th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 4th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on December 1, 2012. The following awards were presented.
- Academy Honorary Award: D. A. Pennebaker, Hal Needham and George Stevens Jr.[8]
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Jeffrey Katzenberg
Tributes:
- D.A. Pennebaker: Michael Moore
- Hal Needham: Quentin Tarantino
- George Stevens Jr.: Sidney Poitier
- Jeffrey Katzenberg: Tom Hanks
5th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 5th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 16, 2013. The following awards were presented.[9]
- Academy Honorary Award: Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin and Piero Tosi
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Angelina Jolie
Tributes:
- Angela Lansbury: Robert Osborne, Geoffrey Rush, and Emma Thompson
- Steve Martin: Tom Hanks, Martin Short, and Bill Taylor
- Piero Tosi: Jeffrey Kurland and Milena Canonero
- Angelina Jolie: George Lucas and Gena Rowlands
6th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 6th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 8, 2014. The following awards were presented.[10]
- Academy Honorary Award: Jean-Claude Carrière, Hayao Miyazaki, and Maureen O'Hara
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Harry Belafonte
Tributes
- Jean-Claude Carriere: Philip Kaufman
- Hayao Miyazaki: John Lasseter
- Maureen O'Hara: Liam Neeson and Clint Eastwood
- Harry Belafonte: Chris Rock and Susan Sarandon
7th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 7th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 14, 2015. Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs gave a speech in support of France following the November 2015 Paris attacks the day before. The following awards were presented.[11]
- Academy Honorary Award: Spike Lee and Gena Rowlands
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Debbie Reynolds (who was not able to attend; her granddaughter Billie Lourd accepted on her behalf)
Tributes:
- Spike Lee: Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, and Wesley Snipes
- Gena Rowlands: Cate Blanchett, Laura Linney and Nick Cassavettes
- Debbie Reynolds: Meryl Streep and Jane Fonda
8th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 8th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 12, 2016, and presented the following awards:[12]
- Academy Honorary Award: Jackie Chan, Anne V. Coates, Lynn Stalmaster and Frederick Wiseman
Tributes:
- Jackie Chan: Chris Tucker, Michelle Yeoh and Tom Hanks
- Anne V. Coates: Nicole Kidman, Richard Gere and Michael Tronick
- Lynn Stalmaster: Bruce Dern, Laura Dern, Jeff Bridges, and David Rubin
- Frederick Wiseman: Ben Kingsley, Don Cheadle, and Rory Kennedy
9th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 9th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 11, 2017, and presented the following awards:[13]
- Academy Honorary Award: Agnès Varda, Charles Burnett, Donald Sutherland and Owen Roizman
Tributes:
- Agnès Varda: Angelina Jolie, Jessica Chastain, Kimberly Pierce and Kate Amend
- Charles Burnett: Ava DuVernay, Chadwick Boseman, Tessa Thompson, Sean Baker and Reginald Hudlin
- Donald Sutherland: Whoopi Goldberg, Jennifer Lawrence, Colin Farrell, and Ron Meyer
- Owen Roizman: Dustin Hoffman and Lawrence Kasdan
10th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 10th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 18, 2018, and presented the following awards:[14]
- Academy Honorary Award: Cicely Tyson, Lalo Schifrin and Marvin Levy
- Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall
Tributes:
- Cicely Tyson: Ava DuVernay, Quincy Jones and Tyler Perry
- Lalo Schifrin: Clint Eastwood
- Marvin Levy: Tom Hanks and Laura Dern
- Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall: Steven Spielberg
11th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 11th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on October 27, 2019, and presented the following awards:[15]
- Academy Honorary Award: David Lynch, Wes Studi, and Lina Wertmüller
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Geena Davis
Tributes:
- David Lynch: Isabella Rossellini, Laura Dern, Kyle MacLachlan
- Wes Studi: Q'orianka Kilcher, Joy Harjo, and Christian Bale
- Lina Wertmüller: Jane Campion, Greta Gerwig, and Sophia Loren
- Geena Davis: Tom Hanks and Constance Wu
12th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 12th Annual Governors Awards ceremony in on March 25, 2022.[16][17] The following awards were presented:[16][17][18]
- Academy Honorary Award: Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May, and Liv Ullmann
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Danny Glover
Tributes:
- Samuel L. Jackson: Denzel Washington
- Elaine May: Bill Murray
- Liv Ullman: John Lithgow
- Danny Glover: Alfre Woodard
On December 22, 2021, the AMPAS announced that due to COVID-19 pandemic-related concerns—involving the widespread surge of the Omicron variant in the United States—that it "made the decision to change plans for hosting the ceremony in person on January 15, 2022," with a new date to be announced.[19] The ceremony would afterwards be held on the newly scheduled date of March 25, 2022.[16][17][20]
13th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 13th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 19, 2022.[21][22]
- Academy Honorary Award: Peter Weir, Diane Warren and Euzhan Palcy[23]
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Michael J. Fox[24]
Tributes:
- Peter Weir: Jeff Bridges
- Diane Warren: Cher
- Euzhan Palcy: Viola Davis
- Michael J. Fox: Woody Harrelson
14th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy planned to hold its 14th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 18, 2023.[25] However, on September 6 it was moved to January 9, 2024 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.[26] The ceremony was hosted by comedian John Mulaney.[27]
- Academy Honorary Award: Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton[25]
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Michelle Satter[25]
Tributes:
- Mel Brooks: Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane
- Carol Littleton: Glenn Close
- Angela Bassett: Regina King
- Michelle Satter: Ryan Coogler and Chloé Zhao
15th Annual Governors Awards
[edit]The Academy held its 15th Annual Governors Awards ceremony on November 17, 2024. The recipients had been announced on June 12, 2024. Academy Honorary Award recipient Quincy Jones died two weeks before the ceremony and his daughter Rashida Jones accepted the award on his behalf.[28] The ceremony was hosted by actor Colman Domingo. The following awards were presented.[29]
- Academy Honorary Award: Quincy Jones and Juliet Taylor
- Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson
- Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Richard Curtis
Tributes:
- Quincy Jones: Jamie Foxx
- Juliet Taylor: Nicole Kidman
- Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson: Daniel Craig
- Richard Curtis: Hugh Grant
Associated events
[edit]- Academy Awards (February or March)
- Academy Scientific and Technical Awards (about two weeks before the Academy Awards ceremony)
- Academy Student Academy Awards
- Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Governors Awards". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- ^ "Oscars". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- ^ a b "Latest Academy News". 10 September 2014.
- ^ Gray, Tim (25 August 2010). "AMPAS chooses Governors' Awards winners".
- ^ Cieply, Michael; Barnes, Brooks (17 November 2013). "Governors Awards Becomes a Red-Carpet Stop". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
- ^ "The 2009 Governors Awards | 2009". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- ^ "The 2011 Governors Awards | 2011". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- ^ "The 2012 Governors Awards | 2012". Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
- ^ Whipp, Glenn (17 November 2013). "Oscars honors Angelina Jolie, Steve Martin, Angela Lansbury". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Academy Unveils 2014 Governors Awards Recipients". Variety. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
- ^ "Academy President Kicks Off Governors Awards With Show of Support for France". Variety. 14 November 2015. Retrieved 15 November 2015.
- ^ "ACADEMY ANNOUNCES JACKIE CHAN, ANNE COATES, LYNN STALMASTER, AND FREDERICK WISEMAN WILL RECEIVE 2016 GOVERNORS AWARDS". Oscar. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ "THE 2017 GOVERNORS AWARDS". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "The Academy Fetes Tyson, Kennedy, Marshall at 10th Annual Governors Awards". Backstage. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- ^ "THE ACADEMY TO HONOR GEENA DAVIS, DAVID LYNCH, WES STUDI AND LINA WERTMÜLLER AT 2019 GOVERNORS AWARDS". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ a b c Beckett, Lois (March 26, 2022). "'This is going to be cherished': Samuel L Jackson and Elaine May receive honorary Oscars". The Guardian. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c Willis, Courtney (March 26, 2022). "Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Glover honored at Governors Awards". The Grio. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ "Oscars to honor Elaine May, Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson". ABC News. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
- ^ Hammond, Pete (December 22, 2021). "Motion Picture Academy Postpones January's Governors Awards; No New Date Yet". Deadline. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ Dury, Sharareh (March 24, 2022). "Academy Honors Legacy Troupe Ahead of Governors Awards". Variety. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
- ^ Hammond, Pete (June 21, 2022). "Governors Awards: Michael J. Fox, Diane Warren, Peter Weir & Euzhan Palcy Set For Academy Honors".
- ^ "Michael J Fox among stars recognised with honorary Oscars at Governors Awards". Belfasttelegraph.
- ^ Feinberg, Scott (June 21, 2022). "Academy's Governors Awards: Michael J. Fox Tapped for Hersholt Award, Diane Warren, Peter Weir and Euzhan Palcy Set for Honorary Oscars". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Davis, Clayton (June 21, 2022). "Peter Weir, Diane Warren, Euzhan Palcy and Michael J. Fox to Receive Honorary Oscars at Governors Awards".
- ^ a b c "The Academy to honor Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton with Academy Honorary Awards and Michelle Satter with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award". 28 June 2023.
- ^ "Governors Awards Move to January Amid Strikes". 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Governors Awards - Let John Mulaney Host Everything". vulture.com. 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Rashida Jones delivers the speech late father Quincy wrote to accept his honorary Oscar". Los Angeles Times. June 18, 2024.
- ^ "The Academy to honor Richard Curtis, Quincy Jones, Juliet Taylor, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. June 12, 2024.
