Who are the winners of the 2024 Honorary Oscars?
Back in January, a select group of individuals received honorary Oscars. Join us for a look at who they are and what they did to deserve the honor.
Despite weeks of delays due to the actors’ and writers’ strikes, the academy’s Governors Awards did in fact take place back in January, and a small group of talented people were honored for their work in the film industry.
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Angela Bassett & Mel Brooks headline the list of honorary Oscars
Earlier this year, actress Angela Bassett received recognition for a number of exemplary roles that she has played in films over the years. From her incredible performance as Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” to her reverent portrayal of the queen in “Black Panther” and its sequel “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”, Basset has long been regarded as one of the top-tier actresses in Hollywood. On the night, veteran comedian and filmmaker Mel Brooks also received a golden statuette at the event that is commonly known as the annual Governors Awards, while stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper, and Natalie Portman were in attendance.
As she took to the stage to accept her award, Basset made a point to pay tribute to the 10 Black women who have won Academy Awards in the past - naming each one - while outlining her hope that the film industry would provide more opportunities for people of color. “My prayer is that we leave this industry more enriched, forward-thinking, and inclusive than we found it,” Bassett, 65, said. “At the end of the day, we all just want to have the opportunity to do great, meaningful work.” If you didn’t know Bassett has been nominated for two Oscars in her career. The first of those for the above-mentioned Tina Turner biopic in 1993 and the second for playing Queen Ramonda in 2022′s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
Where Brooks is concerned, the now 97-year-old writer, director, and actor saw his body of work honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences after a literal lifetime of effort in the film industry. Indeed, it was back in the 1950s when he began writing comedy routines for Sid Caesar’s TV shows in the 1950s before making films such as the now-infamous “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein.” Incidentally, Brooks actually won an Oscar in 1967 for his work on the screenplay of “The Producers”, a film that later became a hit Broadway play. As his way, Brooks joked upon accepting that statuette from Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick - the stars of The Producers - that he would sell his Oscar, having sold his first. “I won’t sell this one, I swear to God,” he said. The academy also honored film editor Carol Littleton and Sundance Film Festival executive Michelle Satter.