The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced this year’s Honorary Oscar recipients, to be presented at the fifth annual Governors Awards in November.
Actress Angela Lansbury, a perennial possibility for this honor each year, will finally get an Oscar, alongside comedian Steve Martin and, in keeping with a recent dedication to the crafts branches, costume designer Piero Tosi. Actress Angelina Jolie will receive the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Of immediate note is that not one but two women are being honored this year. The Academy received criticism last year for handing all four awards to men, but with the recent influx of diversity within the membership’s ranks, as well as the hire of Cheryl Boone Isaacs as Academy president, today’s announcement is indicative of an organization looking to change the way it has been perceived.
“The Governors Awards pay tribute to individuals who”ve made indelible contributions in their respective fields,” Isaacs said via press release. “We couldn”t be more excited for this year”s honorees and look forward to bringing their peers and colleagues together to celebrate their extraordinary achievements.”
Lansbury has received three Academy Award nominations throughout her career, each for Best Supporting Actress: 1944’s “Gaslight” (her debut), 1945’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and 1962’s “The Manchurian Candidate.” Martin, who has hosted the Oscars on a number of occasions, has never been nominated for his feature work, but he starred in 1977 Best Live Action Short nominee “The Absent-Minded Waiter.” Piero Tosi, meanwhile, is a five-time nominee, for 1963’s “The Leopard,” 1971’s “Death in Venice,” 1972’s “Ludwig,” 1978’s “La Cage aux Folles” and 1982’s “La traviata.”
I’m proud to win an honorary Oscar this year. A salute to comedy and all the great people I’ve worked with. https://t.co/0XDAZd5pWs
– Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) September 5, 2013
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Jolie won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in 1999’s “Girl, Interrupted” and has been a passionate advocate for humanitarian causes throughout her career. She has traveled widely to promote organizations and social justice efforts such as the Prevent Sexual Violence Initiative and has worked for global advocacy groups such as the Council on Foreign Relations and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Her dedication to these causes has bubbled up into her work as an actress and filmmaker in movies such as “A Mighty Heart” and “In the Land of Blood and Honey”
The fifth annual Governors Awards will be held on Nov. 16, 2013.