A cadre of Oscar hopefuls showed up in their red carpet best on Sunday to fete Geena Davis, Lina Wertmuller, David Lynch and Wes Studi.
When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences established its annual Governors Awards 11 years ago, many movie buffs vocally protested the move, suggesting that it was treating the honorees like second-class citizens by giving them awards at a non-televised standalone event. But guess what? They were wrong.
The Governors Awards is a gala dinner at which the Academy now presents its special awards — an honorary Oscar, a Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award or an Irving Thalberg Award — to industry veterans, as opposed to rushing them on and off of the stage of the actual Oscars ceremony to keep the telecast from running long. And it has also become a pivotal stop for talent currently in awards contention.
Indeed, the Governors Awards falls right in the thick of the awards season — after the Telluride, Toronto and New York film fests get buzz started, but two months before Oscar nomination voting begins — when the whole town is looking to rub shoulders with Academy members. Accordingly, distributors buy up a huge portion of the tables each year and fill them with talent from their Oscar hopefuls.
The result? The room winds up packed with the entire field of Oscar contenders — far more notables than attend the Oscars, by which time their ranks have been significantly winnowed down by nominations. Sure, most of these folks would not be at the Governors Awards, one of a dwindling number of Hollywood events that brings together old Hollywood and new Hollywood, if they didn't have something to sell. But you know what? I think that's just fine, because once they are in the room, cool things happen, as I witnessed from my seat at Amazon's
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Governors Awards: Lina Wertmuller Feted by Fellow Female Best Director Oscar NomineesLina Wertmuller feted by fellow female best director Oscar nominees at Sunday's GovernorsAwards
Read more »
Governors Awards: Famed director starts chant for female Oscar
Read more »
Geena Davis receives honorary Oscar for work against gender biasActress Geena Davis urged Hollywood filmmakers to take new steps to address an o...
Read more »
Ice-T Is Ready for Eddie Murphy’s Oscar RunAt a special screening of Dolemite Is My Name in New York City, Ice-T, Tracy Morgan, and Jeff Ross came out to celebrate Murphy’s comeback—and the legacy of Rudy Ray Moore.
Read more »
Governors Awards: Geena Davis, David Lynch, Wes Studi, Lina Wertmüller Get Top PrizesDavid Lynch, Wes Studi and Lina Wertmüller will receive honorary Oscars, and Geena Davis will be honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences a…
Read more »
Academy’s Governors Awards Puts Spotlight on Gender ParityLina Wertmüller wants to see a big change for the Oscars. The 91-year-old Italian director had Isabella Rossellini acting as her translator while accepting her honorary Oscar on Sunday night at the…
Read more »