Tag: George Stevens Jr.

The Academy Salutes Honorees At The 2012 Governors Awards – Photos And Video Highlights

Iconic filmmakers and A-list stars attended the 2012 Governors Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, CA, Saturday, December 1. The biggest names in Hollywood gathered to celebrate the indelible contributions of honorees D.A. Pennebaker, George Stevens Jr., Hal Needham, and Jeffrey Katzenberg to filmmaking and the world. The guest list included Seth MacFarlane, host of the upcoming 85th Academy Awards ceremony, as well as the show’s producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Also on hand were Richard Gere, Amy Adams, Helen Hunt, Bradley Cooper, Will Smith, Ewan McGregor, David O. Russell, Kathryn Bigelow, John Lasseter, Robert Zemeckis, Judd Apatow, Leslie Mann, Kristen Stewart, Christopher Nolan and many more.

Writer/director/producer George Lucas (left), Oscar-winning director/producer Steven Spielberg (center) and Oscar-winning director/writer/producer Robert Zemeckis.

LINCOLN filmmakers – Oscar®-nominated writer Tony Kushner, Oscar®-winning director/producer Steven Spielberg and Oscar winning cinematographer Junusz Kaminski.

A video clip kicked off the evening saluting the history of the Academy’s Honorary Award, which was begun in 1948 to honor achievements outside the categories of the existing Oscars. This year, three honorees received Honorary Awards for their work, which ranged from Needham’s death-defying stunts to Pennebaker’s groundbreaking documentaries and Stevens’ landmark film preservation, while Katzenberg was recognized for his trailblazing philanthropic efforts.

The Academy blogged the ceremony live and concluded with, “As the night’s four honorees reunited for a group photo on the stage at the close of the evening, each man’s words continued to resound and providing an inspiring example to future generations of filmmakers and benefactors to come.”

Here’s a glimpse of the awards presentations in these various videos below.

The Governors Awards ceremony was produced by Don Mischer, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Charlie Haykel, and Julianne Hare, and highlights from the evening will also be presented when the recipients appear as part of the 85th Academy Awards on February 24, 2013.

Actress Kristen Stewart and Actress Quvenzhane Wallis.

Oscar®-nominated director/writer/producer David O. Russell (left), Oscar-winning actor Warren Beatty (center) and journalist Tom Brokaw.

Actor Dwight Henry (left), Governors Awards producer Cheryl Boone Isaacs (center) and actress Quvenzhane Wallis.

Oscar®-winning director/producer Steven Spielberg (left) and Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper.

Actress Leslie Mann (left), Oscar®-nominated writer Tony Kushner (center) and producer/writer/director Judd Apatow.

Oscar®-winning director/producer Steven Spielberg (left), Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper (left center), actor Badley Cooper (right center) and Oscar-winning producer Bruce Cohen (center).

Oscar®-winning actor Kirk Douglas (left) with wife Anne (right) and Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks.

Oscar®-winning actress Annette Bening (left), Honorary Award recipient George Stevens Jr. (center) and actor Richard Gere.

Oscar®-nominated composer Alexandre Desplat (left), Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (left center), actor
Édgar Ramírez (right center) and Oscar-winning writer/producer Mark Boal.

Oscar®-nominated actress Amy Adams.

Oscar®-winner Helen Hunt.

Oscar®-nominated actress Jackie Weaver (left), Oscar-nominated director/writer/producer David O. Russell (center) and actor Bradley Cooper.

Actress Emayatzi Corinealdi (left) and actor David Oyelowo.

Oscar®-nominated actress Virginia Madsen.

Actor Ewan McGregor.

85th Academy Awards host Seth MacFarlane.

Oscar®-winning writer/director Quentin Tarantino.

Oscar®-winning actor Tom Hanks, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Jeffrey Katzenberg and Oscar®-nominated actor Will Smith.

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Jeffrey Katzenberg and Oscar®-nominated actor Will Smith.

Oscar®-nominated actor John Hawkes.

Oscar®-nominated Director Michael Mann and Oscar®-nominated writer/director/producer Christopher Nolan.

Oscar®-winning director/producer John Lasseter (right) and wife Nancy.

85th Academy Awards producers Neil Meron (left) and Craig Zadan.

Photos: Matt Petit and Richard Harbaugh / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hal Needham, D.A. Pennebaker, George Stevens, Jr. To Receive The Academy’s Governors Awards

The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted tonight to present Honorary Awards to stunt performer Hal Needham, documentarian D. A. Pennebaker and arts advocate George Stevens, Jr., and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to philanthropist Jeffrey Katzenberg. All four awards will be presented at the Academy’s 4th Annual Governors Awards dinner on Saturday, December 1, at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center®.

Hal Needham is a legendary stunt performer and coordinator who has worked on more than 300 feature films including “The Spirit of St. Louis,” “How the West Was Won,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Little Big Man” and “Chinatown.” A pioneer in improving stunt technology and safety procedures, Needham also co-founded Stunts Unlimited, and is known for mentoring young stunt performers. In 1986, the Academy presented Needham with a Scientific and Engineering Award for the design and development of the Shotmaker Elite camera car and crane, which allows filmmakers greater versatility in shooting action sequences. Needham made his directorial debut with “Smokey and the Bandit.“ He went on to direct such features as “Hooper” and the “Cannonball Run” films.

D. A. Pennebaker, a pioneer of modern nonfiction film, has directed more than 20 feature-length documentaries, including “Don’t Look Back,” “Monterey Pop,” “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” “Moon over Broadway,” “Kings of Pastry” and “The War Room,” for which he received an Oscar® nomination. During his career of more than six decades, Pennebaker has inspired generations of filmmakers with his “you are here” style. He is considered one of the founders of the cinéma vérité movement, beginning with his collaboration on the seminal 1960 film “Primary.”

George Stevens, Jr. has spent a lifetime celebrating and preserving the heritage of motion pictures. After several years at the United States Information Agency, where he championed the work of young documentary filmmakers and was Oscar-nominated for producing the documentary short subject “The Five Cities of June,” Stevens went on to become the founding director of the American Film Institute. Under his leadership, the AFI established the Center for Advanced Film Studies, created the AFI Life Achievement Award and embarked on a host of educational initiatives. In 1977, Stevens co-founded the Kennedy Center Honors, which he has produced for the past 34 years.

A studio executive, film producer and philanthropist, Jeffrey Katzenberg has been instrumental in raising money for education, art and health-related causes, particularly those benefiting the motion picture industry. During more than two decades as chairman of the board for the Motion Picture and Television Fund, he helped to raise $200 million for the organization, created “The Night Before” event and worked to expand the MPTF campus. He also serves on the boards of such organizations as the California Institute of the Arts, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Geffen Playhouse, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Katzenberg currently serves as CEO of DreamWorks Animation.

The Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette, is given to an individual for “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, an Oscar statuette, is given to an individual in the motion picture industry whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.

The Governors Awards presentation will be produced for the Academy by marketing executive Cheryl Boone Isaacs with the Don Mischer Production team led by Don Mischer, Charlie Haykel and Juliane Hare.

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