Spike Lee and Others Set to Receive Academy’s Governor Awards

This Years Honorary Oscars Go To…

On November 14, 2015 the Seventh Annual Governor’s Awards will be honoring famed and highly controversial director Spike Lee along with actress Gena Rowlands and famed golden age actress Debbie Reynolds (mother of Carrie Fisher) with the Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The event will not be televised.

Spike Lee is one of the most famous directors of the past few decades with many of the director’s fans still crying foul that his “Do The Right Thing” lost to “Driving Miss Daisy.” Despite this, he has stayed a major figure in independent filmmaking. True, in the past couple of years he has gotten into controversies over and over but his effect on popular culture cannot be understated. Gena Rowlands has had a steady presence on television, stage, and film since the 1950s. Most younger audiences might remember her best from “The Notebook.” And finally Debbie Reynolds will be honored for her work with helping found the Thalians, a charity organization dedicated to helping and raising awareness for those with mental health issues. She even served as the group’s president from 1957 to 2011 off and on as well as being an iconic actress from some truly iconic movies like “Singin’ In The Rain.”

The Governor’s Awards used to be apart of the Oscars ceremony but in 2009 broke into its own event immediately becoming a major institution in Hollywood. This is also the first time in 4 years where the Academy only nominated three people. They have the option of nominating 4 figures they feel deserving of the honorary Oscar, one person for the humanitarian award and the forth for the Irving Thalberg Award for producers and their whole filmography. Last year’s recipients were Hayao Miyazaki, Harry Belafonte, Maureen O’Hara, and Jean-Claude Carrière. The regular Oscars ceremony will be held February 28, 2016.

Who else do you think is deserving of this award?

This was first reported by Oscars.org