LOS ANGELES (AP) – Since creating a separate ceremony for its honorary Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has recognized a broad range of artists, including a stunt coordinator, a B-movie master and a longtime studio chief.
The tradition continues Saturday night at the eighth annual Governors Awards, the academy’s kickoff celebration of the Oscar season. Action star Jackie Chan, film editor Anne V. Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentarian Frederick Wiseman will accept honorary Oscars for their career achievements.
Honorary Oscars used to be presented during the annual Academy Awards and generally recognized well-known talents. Establishing the untelevised Governors Awards ceremony has allowed for more comprehensive presentations and more diverse recipients.
For example, Stalmaster – whose casting credits include “West Side Story,” ”The Graduate,” and “The Right Stuff” – will become the first to receive an Oscar for casting. No casting category exists at the Academy Awards.
“This is exactly what the Governors Awards are meant to do,” said David Rubin, who is producing the this year’s ceremony at Hollywood & Highland’s Ray Dolby Ballroom. “It’s a look at entire careers.”
Chan has said that as an action star, despite his decades in film, he never expected to win an Oscar.
Previous recipients have included stuntman Hal Needham, independent filmmaker Roger Corman and studio chief John Calley, as well as Steve Martin, Spike Lee and Lauren Bacall.
The Governors Awards ceremony has also become an early stop on the awards-season campaign trail for 2017 Oscar hopefuls.
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