As Hollywood struggles with the continuing actors’ and writers’ strikes, the Governors Awards banquet, at which honorary Oscars are given for lifetime accomplishment, has been postponed from November to January, organizers announced Wednesday.
The Oscars event was originally scheduled for November 18 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with US comedian Mel Brooks and actress Angela Bassett receiving honors.
However, the Academy only stated that the event had been “rescheduled” on Wednesday while announcing the new date.
It was the most recent high-profile victim on Hollywood’s calendar as the debilitating industry-wide strikes continue without an end in sight.
The Emmy Awards, the Oscars of television, were moved up nearly four months to January, and the release dates of numerous notable movies, notably “Dune: Part Two,” were also moved up.
Actors struck in July after writers left their jobs in May. In addition to improved pay, both unions want assurances that artificial intelligence won’t take their jobs or money.
The honorees would probably be unable to attend the Governors Awards because to the current walkout by both actors and writers, which is the first in more than 60 years.
Because of the strikes, numerous studio movies and television shows have been put on hold. Most actors have also been prevented from walking the red carpet at film festivals and other events.
The 97-year-old Brooks a prolific actor, producer and lyricist memorably sent up Adolf Hitler in his seminal Oscar-winning satire “The Producers,” exposed racial bigotry in “Blazing Saddles,” and lampooned horror flicks in “Young Frankenstein.”
He is already one of the few entertainers to win an Oscar, Emmy, Tony, and Grammy collectively called an “EGOT” across a career spanning eight decades.
Bassett, 65, has been nominated twice for Oscars she earned a nod for portraying Tina Turner in “What’s Love Got to Do with It,” and earlier this year became the first actor ever nominated for a Marvel superhero film, with “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”
In order to clear up the crowded schedule of the main Oscars banquet, the Governors Awards were split off into a distinct occasion in 2009.
Michael J. Fox won the Jean Hersholt statuette in November, which is given to individuals in the film industry who have performed humanitarian work.
This year’s recipient of that honor is Michelle Satter, founding senior director of the Sundance Institute’s Artist Programs, which support the early careers of filmmakers, particularly those from marginalized areas.
Editor Carol Littleton of “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” will receive a fourth honorary Oscar.
