Sid Ganis Will Oversee Academy's Highest Honors

Sid Ganis with 80th Anniversary Poster

Producer Sid Ganis, junior past president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences®, will produce the 2nd annual Governors Awards for the Academy. Ganis currently represents the public relations branch on the Board of Governors. His producer credits include AKEELAH AND THE BEE, BIG DADDY and MR. DEEDS

The honorary awards are no longer presented as a segment during the Oscar® Gala Broadcast when the elected awards are presented. One or more of the Academy’s highest honors – the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award – will be presented at the Governors' Ball, set for Saturday, November 13, 2010. These awards are not voted upon by the Academy membership, nor are they mandated annual awards, but are presented when the Academy's Board of Governors deems a member of the Academy worthy of a certain award.

The 2010 honorees will be selected at a specially convened meeting of the Academy’s Board in late August. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and the Honorary Award are Oscar statuettes. The Irving G. Thalberg Award is a bust of its namesake.

The most recent recipients of Honorary Awards are Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman and Gordon Willis. John Calley is the most recent recipient of the Thalberg Award.