The board of
governors met Tuesday night (Aug. 27) and voted on matters associated with the awards. Lee, Rowlands and Reynolds will be honored at a dinner Nov. 14 at the Dolby Theatre. This will be the seventh time the award presentation will be on its own.
This is the 7th Annual Governors Award in this format. Of course, the awards themselves go back a long way.
“The Board is proud to recognize our honorees’ remarkable contributions at this year’s Governors Awards,” said Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
Now, it was also learned that Reynolds will be honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which is different than the ones Lee and Rowlands will receive. This time around, there are two honorary awards, which Lee and Rowland get, and one humanitarian award, which will be given to Reynolds.
The Honorary Award, an Oscar
statuette, is given “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.”
The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, also an Oscar
statuette, is given “to an individual in the motion picture arts and sciences whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.”
So, they are different and both highly coveted among movie-makers. At times there are more than just three, as well. For example, Harry Belafonte, Jean-Claude Carriere, Hayao Miyazaki O'Hara received the honors last year. It was Belafonte who nabbed the humanitarian honor. Meanwhile, many honorees have not won a competitive Oscar in their lifetimes. That fits in this year as these honorees have not won an Oscar. All three, however, have been nominated in the past.
“We’ll be celebrating their achievements with the knowledge that the work they have accomplished – with passion, dedication and a desire to make a positive difference – will also enrich future generations,” she added, in a
release.
Although Lee has not won a an Oscar, he did win a a related honor. He was awarded with a Student Academy Award® for "Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads" in 1983.
