Angela Bassett and Mel Brooks to receive honorary Oscars
Angela Bassett and Mel Brooks are among those who will receive honorary Oscars at this year’s Governors awards.
Joining Bassett, 64 and Brooks, 96, will be Carol Littleton, 81, the editor of films including Body Heat, ET the Extra-Terrestrial and The Big Chill. The Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter will also receive the Jean Hersholt humanitarian award.
Academy president Janet Yang said: “Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting. Mel Brooks lights up our hearts with his humour, and his legacy has made a lasting impact on every facet of entertainment.
“Carol Littleton’s career in film editing serves as a model for those who come after her. A pillar of the independent film community, Michelle
Satter has played a vital role in the careers of countless film-makers around the world.”Bassett has been nominated for Oscars twice before: 30 years ago for her leading role in Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It? and last year for her performance as Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
That nomination broke two records: the first actor from a Marvel film to receive an acting nod, and the first woman from a superhero movie (the first Black Panther film was the first superhero movie nominated for best picture).
She was also part of the cast of 1991’s seminal Boyz N the Hood, for which John Singleton became the first Black film-maker, and youngest person ever, nominated for best director.
Bassett has also featured in films including Malcolm X (1992), How Stella
Got Her Groove Back (1998), and Pixar’s Soul (2020).
Brooks won his first Oscar for his screenplay for The Producers (1967), which he also directed. He was also nominated for Young Frankenstein, which was released in the same year as comedy favourite Blazing Saddles. Brooks has also won an Emmy, Grammy and Tony over his career, making him one of only 18 people to achieve EGOT status.
The Governors awards take place on 18 November in Hollywood.
• This article was amended on 27 June 2023 because Mel Brooks directed The Producers, but did not star in the film as an earlier version said.