Angela Bassett and Mel Brooks
Acting legends have received honorary Oscars
Winners of honorary Oscars were: Carol Littleton, Mel Brooks, Angela Bassett and Michelle Satter (from left).
© Kevin Winter/Getty Images
This year’s honorary Oscars were awarded in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening. Mel Brooks and Angela Bassett are among the honorees.
Two months before the Oscars, the Hollywood film academy, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Arts, awarded its honorary Oscars. At the Governors Awards in Los Angeles on Tuesday evening (January 9th), three award winners were honored for their life’s work.
In addition to the comedian legend Mel Brooks (97) and the US actress Angela Bassett (65), the film editor Carol Littleton (81) also received the Academy Honorary Award. In addition, film executive Michelle Satter, director of the Sundance Film Festival, was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her charitable work.
Numerous filmmakers are celebrating
At the gala in the ballroom of the Dolby Theater, where the official Oscar ceremony will also take place on March 10th, there were, among others, actresses such as Robert Downey Jr. (58), Cillian Murphy (47), Lily Gladstone (37), Emma Stone (35), Margot Robbie (33) and Emily Blunt (40) are there. Leonardo DiCaprio (49), Bradley Cooper (49), Martin Scorsese (81) and Willem Dafoe (68) were also there. Directors Wim Wenders (78) and Ilker Catak (39) as well as actor Franz Rogowski (37) and actress Leonie Benesch (32) traveled from Germany.
The honorary Oscar ceremony has been held as an independent event since 2009; previously it was part of the regular Oscar ceremony. Due to the SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike, the ceremony was moved from November 2023 to January 2024.
Honorary Oscar after two unsuccessful nominations for Angela Bassett
For Angela Bassett it is the first Academy Award after two unsuccessful nominations. The actress first appeared in 1993 for her portrayal of Tina Turner (1939-2023) in “Tina – What’s Love Got to Do with It?” in the race.
Her second nomination didn’t follow until 2023. She was even considered the favorite for her supporting role in “Black Panther – Wakanda Forever”, but surprisingly lost to Jamie Lee Curtis (65) in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”.
Mel Brooks is already an EGOT winner
Mel Brooks already has a regular Oscar to his name. The comedian won for his first feature film, “Spring for Hitler” (1968), and was honored for his screenplay. Since Brooks also won the Emmy, Grammy and Tony, he is one of the few entertainers who can call themselves an EGOT winner.
The third name in the group of honorees is the least known. Carol Littleton was nominated for an Oscar for editing Steven Spielberg’s (77) “ET – The Extra-Terrestrial”. The film editor worked closely with director Lawrence Kasdan (74), including on the westerns “Silverado” and “Wyatt Earp”.