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Governors Awards 2024: Richard Curtis and late Quincy Jones receive honourary Oscars

Mon 18 November 2024 9:11, UK

Many of Hollywood’s biggest names turned out for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Governors Awards on November 17th. Honorary Oscars are awarded to a small handful of recipients each year, and in 2024, the honorees included the late composer and record producer Quincy Jones, casting director Juliet Taylor, James Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, and writer-director Richard Curtis.

Jones passed away on November 3rd, and his children accepted the award on his behalf. His daughter, actor Rashida Jones, tearfully read the acceptance speech he had written and paid tribute to her late father.

Taylor is only the second casting director to receive an award at the ceremony. She is best known for her work with Woody Allen, but she has also served as a casting director on films such as Sleepless in Seattle, Interview with the Vampire, and The Birdcage.

Broccoli and Wilson received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, which is given to producers who have had a significant impact on the industry. Named after the producer who helped shape Hollywood in the early part of the 20th century, the award has been given to luminaries such as Walt Disney, Ingmar Bergman, and Stephen Spielberg.

Curtis, who is best known for romantic comedies like Love Actually and Notting Hill, received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, which goes to members of the film industry who have made significant contributions to humanitarian causes. The filmmaker is the co-founder of Comic Relief and has helped raise more than $2 billion over the years for more than 170 million people.

Hugh Grant, who starred in many of Curtis’s most beloved films, presented the director with the award, bringing some levity to the proceedings by revealing that Curtis had almost vetoed him from being cast in Four Weddings and a Funeral. “The only person who didn’t want me, and who took an instant and violent dislike to me, was the writer, and it is this asshole that we honour tonight,” the actor said (via The Hollywood Reporter).

When are the Oscars set to take place?

The Governors Awards may honour a select few industry veterans, but they also serve as the beginning of the Oscars race. Among the attendees each year are the actors tipped to be nominated for the Academy Awards. This year, the ceremony will take place on March 2nd, 2025.

Hopefuls at the Governors Awards included Angelina Jolie, who is expected to be nominated for her role in the Maria Callas biopic Maria, Demi Moore, who came roaring back into the spotlight with Coralie Fargeat’s body horror film The Substance, Selena Gomez, who appears in a supporting role in Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, Gladiator II star Paul Mescal, and The Brutalist star Adrien Brody.

Comedian Conan O’Brien was recently announced as the host of the ceremony following back-to-back years from fellow comedian and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.