2024 Governors Awards

[Big Magilla]

I don't remember that happening with the honorary awards although I do recall it happening once or twice with the scientific awards.

They waste a lot of time at the Oscars with nonsense like selfies with the host, wandering tourists, and this year, drinks for the attendees. Worst of all, the opening sequences are boring and interminable, followed by the host roasting not toasting, the nominees. All of that should be cut with the host, whoever they are, coming out, saying something like "Good evening, it's nice to see you all. We've got quite a show, so let's get started."

If that did that, they might have time for an extended, more dignified memoriam sequence and room for a recap of the honorary awards that lasts at least a minute for each of the honorees, followed by the bows.

[anonymous1980]

I agree that these honorees should be given more time at the main Oscar ceremony. They could create and show a short film demonstrating—with clips,etc.—why the awards are deserved.

They used to do that in the first couple of years, I think. Then it devolved into just mentioning it on the telecast and telling people to just check out their acceptance speeches on YouTube.

There are advantages to the separate telecast: they can honor more people who are unknown to the general public like craftspeople and people like Kevin Brownlow and Michelle Satter and there’s no time limit to their acceptance speeches.

But I do agree they really should devote more time to it on the telecast and entice more people to see their presentations on YouTube.

[danfrank]

Wim Wenders would also be a good choice

Agreed!

[mlrg]

Wim Wenders would also be a good choice

[danfrank]

Yes, thanks for posting those, Reza. Mostly solid choices, I would say, with a smattering of questionable ones. I think Donald Sutherland was an excellent choice, as he is the kind of highly skilled actor who hasn’t won that many awards (I still think he should have been nominated for Ordinary People), but has often given really beautiful performances.

I agree that these honorees should be given more time at the main Oscar ceremony. They could create and show a short film demonstrating—with clips,etc.—why the awards are deserved.

[Big Magilla]

How about Willem Dafoe? I know he’s very active and could get nominated again, but if it’s limited to retired actors it really limits the pool.

It's not limited to retired actors, but the reason most of the awards go to retired actors or those who hardly work anymore is because the thought is that they may not have much time left, whereas working actors are presumed to have many more chances of being honored in the future.

Thank you, Reza, for the list of recipients of the last fourteen years. I'd forgotten most of the non-actors who were honored. It's interesting that there have only been three Thalberg awards given in all that time, and both in years when the Hersholt wasn't given out. There were two years in succession when neither was given. Perhaps it will be Thalberg again this year instead of the Hersholt.

I agree with Tee that the shunting off of the recipients to, at best, a wave from a box seat at the Oscars is appalling. It's no wonder so few of them deign to show up. It might be more appropriate to show a brief clip of their acceptance speeches to give the Oscar audience a brief idea of why they were honored and then have the ones who are there take a bow. Without that, the award has no meaning other than to think that it's nice that a Maureen O'Hara or Angela Lansbury at long last had received one.

[Reza]

A look-back at who won at the Governors Awards.

1st Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman, and Gordon Willis
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: John Calley

2nd Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Kevin Brownlow, Jean-Luc Godard, and Eli Wallach
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: Francis Ford Coppola

3rd Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: James Earl Jones and Dick Smith
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Oprah Winfrey

4th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: D. A. Pennebaker, Hal Needham and George Stevens Jr.
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Jeffrey Katzenberg

5th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin and Piero Tosi
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Angelina Jolie

6th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Jean-Claude Carrière, Hayao Miyazaki, and Maureen O'Hara
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Harry Belafonte

7th Annual Governors Awards
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)

8th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Jackie Chan, Anne V. Coates, Lynn Stalmaster and Frederick Wiseman

9th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Agnès Varda, Charles Burnett, Donald Sutherland and Owen Roizman

10th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Cicely Tyson, Lalo Schifrin and Marvin Levy
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award: Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall

11th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: David Lynch, Wes Studi, and Lina Wertmüller
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Geena Davis

12th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May, and Liv Ullmann
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Danny Glover

13th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Peter Weir, Diane Warren and Euzhan Palcy
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Michael J. Fox

14th Annual Governors Awards
Academy Honorary Award: Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Michelle Satter

[Mister Tee]

I’m not keen on honoring either Ford or Cruise. They’re both been enormously successful (which is perhaps reward enough), but they’re both fairly limited as actors. Ford is good at playing grumpy and Cruise is sometimes good at playing earnest, when he’s not overdoing it pouring on the smiley charm.

I would reserve these awards for truly outstanding actors who never captured the competitive Oscar, e.g., people like Peter O’Toole. Of still-living, older actors I would prefer Samuel L. Jackson or Glenn Close.

Samuel L. Jackson was honored in 2022

Ah, yes. Now that they honor everyone on a separate show I can hardly remember who the honorees are.

I had the same thought when I read this exchange. I used to mostly recall the people who received honoraries, because they provided big moments in the show -- way back, it was Cary Grant, Groucho, Myrna Loy; even in later years, Deborah Kerr, Robert Altman. It was a true career salute.

Now, they get (if they choose to take up the offer) 5 seconds attention in a luxury box. It's very easy to lose track of the many many people receiving them every year. They've stripped away the meaning of them.

[danfrank]

I’m not keen on honoring either Ford or Cruise. They’re both been enormously successful (which is perhaps reward enough), but they’re both fairly limited as actors. Ford is good at playing grumpy and Cruise is sometimes good at playing earnest, when he’s not overdoing it pouring on the smiley charm.

I would reserve these awards for truly outstanding actors who never captured the competitive Oscar, e.g., people like Peter O’Toole. Of still-living, older actors I would prefer Samuel L. Jackson or Glenn Close.

Samuel L. Jackson was honored in 2022

Ah, yes. Now that they honor everyone on a separate show I can hardly remember who the honorees are.

How about Willem Dafoe? I know he’s very active and could get nominated again, but if it’s limited to retired actors it really limits the pool.

[mlrg]

I’m not keen on honoring either Ford or Cruise. They’re both been enormously successful (which is perhaps reward enough), but they’re both fairly limited as actors. Ford is good at playing grumpy and Cruise is sometimes good at playing earnest, when he’s not overdoing it pouring on the smiley charm.

I would reserve these awards for truly outstanding actors who never captured the competitive Oscar, e.g., people like Peter O’Toole. Of still-living, older actors I would prefer Samuel L. Jackson or Glenn Close.

Samuel L. Jackson was honored in 2022

[danfrank]

I’m not keen on honoring either Ford or Cruise. They’re both been enormously successful (which is perhaps reward enough), but they’re both fairly limited as actors. Ford is good at playing grumpy and Cruise is sometimes good at playing earnest, when he’s not overdoing it pouring on the smiley charm.

I would reserve these awards for truly outstanding actors who never captured the competitive Oscar, e.g., people like Peter O’Toole. Of still-living, older actors I would prefer Samuel L. Jackson or Glenn Close.

[Reza]

What about Tom Cruise?

He does not fit the Academy's usual choice of honoring doddery old actors.

Yes, they gave one to Angela Bassett but then we all know the reason behind that absurd choice.

[Reza]

While Harrison Ford's place in film history is unquestionable, I'm not sure he is as popular with the Academy's board of governors as he is with the general public.

Why is he unpopular with the Academy's board of governors?

[CalWilliam]

What about Tom Cruise? I’m startled that he’s not in the conversation every year. Every bit as deserving as Harrison Ford for an honorary. Neither one is winning a competitive Oscar. I’d also add Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Pfeiffer at this point.

[Big Magilla]

While Harrison Ford's place in film history is unquestionable, I'm not sure he is as popular with the Academy's board of governors as he is with the general public.

At the risk of sounding like Patrick's fiancé Gloria recalling an amusing event involving a friend to the delight of no one in Auntie Mame, I have a recent one of my own in reference to one of Ford's films.

As you may or may not know, I am, among other things, the editor of my 55-plus community's newsletter and administrator of its HOA website where one of my jobs is to keep residents informed of upcoming events.

One of the things the Fun and Games committee does is show movies in the clubhouse. These once or twice per month showings are popular with the older women. The March offering was the 1995 remake of Sabrina starring Harrison Ford in the Humphrey Bogart role from the 1954 version best remembered for Audrey Hepburn's glowing performance. I told one of the women who makes the selections that the residents might come out for the Audrey Hepburn version but not the remake. The response was that "we like Harrison Ford, not Audrey Hepburn". The result was that for the first time ever the event had to be cancelled because no one signed up for it. The next scheduled film is Sister Act which should be a bigger hit with the old ladies.