Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks to receive honorary Oscars

Angela Bassett
| Photo Credit: AP

Actress Angela Bassett, writer-director-actor-songwriter Mel Brooks and film editor Carol Littleton will receive honorary Oscars at this year’s Governors Awards, announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The 14th annual honours will be presented at a ceremony at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on November 18, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

“The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honour four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” Academy president Janet Yang said in a statement. “Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting. Mel Brooks lights up our hearts with his humour, and his legacy has made a lasting impact on every facet of entertainment. Carol Littleton’s career in film editing serves as a model for those who come after her. A pillar of the independent film community, Michelle Satter has played a vital role in the careers of countless filmmakers around the world.

Mel Brooks
| Photo Credit:
AP/PTI

“Honorary Oscars are presented each year to recognize “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences or for outstanding service to the Academy.” They tend to go to people who practice a variety of film-related disciplines, some household names and others not, and some of whom have previously been recognized with competitive Oscars and others whom have not. Bassett was twice nominated for but lost competitive Oscars, most recently earlier this year when she was up for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

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Her prior nom came 30 years earlier, for her star-making turn as Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It. Other major credits include Boyz N the Hood, Malcolm X, Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Black Panther. Brooks has won a competitive Oscar — 54 years ago, for the screenplay of The Producers. He also received Oscar nominations for a song from Blazing Saddles and the screenplay for Young Frankenstein, which, like The Producers, he also directed and cameoed in. Other major credits include Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World— Part I and Spaceballs. And he is still working at 96 years old.