The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present honorary Oscars to acclaimed actress Glenn Close and filmmaker Ridley Scott at the 17th Governors Awards this fall, recognizing two of cinema’s most influential figures after decades of celebrated work. Veteran animator Floyd Norman will also receive an Honorary Award, while producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler will be honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
The Governors Awards honor lifetime achievement and exceptional contributions to the motion picture industry and are traditionally held separately from the annual Oscars telecast.
Announcing the recipients, Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor said, “The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to five remarkable individuals whose groundbreaking work has forever shaped the art of filmmaking.”
Close, an eight-time Academy Award nominee, has long been regarded as one of Hollywood’s most accomplished performers without a competitive Oscar victory. Her nominations span films including The World According to Garp, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, Albert Nobbs, The Wife and Hillbilly Elegy. The Academy praised her career for bringing depth and emotional complexity to some of film’s most memorable characters.
Scott, whose filmmaking career has helped shape modern cinema, is being recognized for a body of work that includes Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and The Martian. Despite multiple Oscar nominations as a director and producer, the British filmmaker has never received a competitive Academy Award. The honorary Oscar acknowledges his lasting impact on filmmaking and visual storytelling.
Norman, Disney’s first regular Black animator, is being honored for a career spanning more than six decades and contributions to animated classics such as Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book and Robin Hood, as well as projects for Hanna-Barbera and Pixar. Meanwhile, Vachon and Koffler are being recognized for their work through Killer Films, the independent production company behind acclaimed titles including Boys Don’t Cry, Carol, May December and Past Lives.
The ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 15 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Ovation Hollywood.
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