Quincy Jones and Juliet Taylor are among those who will receive honorary Oscars at this year's Governors Awards.
Quincy Jones is finally getting an Oscar statuette!
Jones has composed more than 2,900 songs that span genres and generations, and though the 91-year-old music icon has received seven Oscar nominations -- and is the first Black composer to be nominated in the Original Song category -- throughout his impressive career, he has yet to land an Academy Award. That is until now.
On Wednesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Jones, 91, and legendary casting director Juliet Taylor will receive honorary Oscars at this year's Governors Awards. The ceremony will also honor screenwriter Richard Curtis with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, as well as James Bond film series producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.
The 15th annual Governors Awards is set to take place on Sunday, Nov. 17 in Los Angeles.
“The recipients of this year’s Governors Awards have set the bar incredibly high across their remarkable careers, and the Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to recognize them with Oscars,” Academy President Janet Yang said in a press release.
Highlighting each of the honorees, Yang continued, “The selection of Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli is a testament to their success as producers of the fan-favorite Bond series and their contribution to the industry’s theatrical landscape. Richard Curtis is a brilliant comedic storyteller whose tremendous charitable efforts embody the meaning of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Quincy Jones’s artistic genius and relentless creativity have made him one of the most influential musical figures of all time. Juliet Taylor has cast iconic and beloved films and paved a new path for the field. Their profound love of cinema and indelible contribution to our art form make these five individuals truly deserving of these honors.”
Jones, "the hitmaker," has an expansive body of work and illustrious musical career spanning seven decades. His film credits include In the Heat of the Night (1967) and he has earned seven Oscar nominations for his work on films such as In Cold Blood (1967), The Wiz (1978) and The Color Purple (1985), receiving a Best Picture nomination for the latter. He's worked with Lesley Gore, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, among others. Jones received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1994.
Notable casting credits from Taylor's 50-year career include Taxi Driver (1976), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Schindler’s List (1993), Interview with the Vampire (1994), and Midnight in Paris (2011). She has worked with major directors including James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Mike Nichols, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
Curtis, who is receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, has a film career that's been marked by stand-out screenplays for movies such as Notting Hill (1999), Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Love Actually (2003) and About Time (2013). He's also the co-founder of Comic Relief UK and USA, and his fundraising work over 40 years has helped raise more than $2 billion and supported over 170 million people. In 2005, he co-created Make Poverty History and helped produce the Live 8 concerts. Most recently, he co-founded the group Project Everyone, giving practical support to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and established the ethical investment campaign Make My Money Matter, which has helped transfer £1.3 trillion into sustainable pensions.
The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award will go to EON Productions’ Wilson and Broccoli, whose 007 credits include Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021).
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