The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has announced the Governors Awards, aka Special Oscars for Lifetime achievement or humanitarian acts. They are a little surprising but the Governors knew what they wanted. The least surprising is Angelina Jolie for the Jean Hersholt Award. Jolie is relatively young, but she’s shlepped all over the world and into dangerous places on humanitarian missions. She definitely deserves something. Plus her battle with cancer was a watershed moment because it opened a discussion worldwide.
The special Oscars go to Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin, and Italian director Piero Tosi. Lansbury is really a Broadway and TV icon. Her movie career, with “The Manchurian Candidate,” is good, but it’s not really a Hollywood legend. Anyway, everyone loves Angela Lansbury.
Steve Martin? He’s made a lot of good movies, he’s very funny, and has a great art collection. His selection is out of left field, but maybe he’s representing all the “Saturday Night Live” people. His best film work was in “Grand Canyon,” I thought. And he writes terrific pieces for The New Yorker.
Tosi is a famous Italian costume designer who’s worked with many key directors. He has two Oscar nominations. His first film was in 1952.
What happened to Doris Day? I don’t know if they asked again and she turned it down again. But I know from being on committees there’s a lot of politicking. In the end, the four awardees are all very talented, and certainly deserve the honor.
I'm proud to win an honorary Oscar this year. A salute to comedy and all the great people I've worked with. http://t.co/0XDAZd5pWs
— Steve Martin (@SteveMartinToGo) September 5, 2013
