Chan to receive an honorary Oscar
Jackie Chan will be honored with his first Oscar as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced Thursday that the actor is among its 2016 Governors Awards recipients.
Others to receive the award are film editor Anne V. Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. The entertainment industry mainstays will be presented with their honorary Academy Awards on Nov. 12 when the eighth annual Governors Awards is held in Hollywood.
In a news release announcing the honorees, Chan was heralded for “his dazzling athleticism, inventive stunt work and boundless charisma” throughout his long acting career. Coates is best known for her work on classic films such as “Lawrence of Arabia,” “The Elephant Man” and “Erin Brockovich,” as well as her most recent project, “Fifty Shades of Grey.”
Stalmaster is being honored for his hand in guiding the careers of such actors as John Travolta, Jon Voight and Christopher Reeve, while Wiseman’s documentaries have lifted the veil on multiple marginalized subcultures.
The inaugural Governors Awards were held in 2009, after many expressed that the Academy Awards telecast was too long when the aforementioned honorary awards were included in the annual festivities. Previous Governors Award recipients include Angelina Jolie, Debbie Reynolds, Spike Lee and Steve Martin.