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.

Academy Governors Awards Tonight

The first ever Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences'® Governors Ball was held tonight. The Governors Awards were presented in a ceremony at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center®.

Oscar® winners Jonathan Demme, Anjelica Huston and Quentin Tarantino, along with past Honorary Award recipient Kirk Douglas, were among those presenting to Lauren Bacall, Roger Corman and Gordon Willis, who were present to receive their Oscar statuettes. John Calley was not present to receive the statuette for the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award due to health reasons.

These awards, usually given at the Academy Awards® Television Gala, were given out, instead, at this inaugural Governors Ball. I suspect there may be a brief mention at the 82nd awards in March, but perhaps not.

For each of the 2009 Governors Honorary Award winners, see bios, filmographies and audio testimonials on the official Website at Oscars.org -- click title of post. Also, highlight video clips from the Academy’s inaugural Governors Awards ceremony will be posted on the Website after 6 a.m., PT, Sunday, 15 November.

MARTIN AND BALDWIN TO HOST OSCAR® SHOW

Actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will serve as co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards®, Oscar® telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman announced yesterday.

Martin hosted the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards shows, earning an Emmy nomination for the first stint. He has also served as a presenter on the show several times, most recently at the ceremony in February when he appeared with Tina Fey. He is currently touring with the bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers in support of his latest album “The Crow: New Songs for the Five String Banjo.” In 1977 and 1978 Martin won Grammys for Best Comedy Recording. He earned a third Grammy in 2001 in the Best Country Instrumental Performance category. In 2007 Martin earned a Kennedy Center Honor.

Baldwin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his supporting role in “The Cooler.” That year also marked his most recent appearance as a presenter on the show. Baldwin currently stars as Jack Donaghy on the comedy “30 Rock,” a role for which he has won two Emmys (in 2008 and 2009). Baldwin earned a Tony nomination in 1992 for his performance in “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

There will be no honorary awards given at televised gala on 7 March. They have been moved to a new event, the Governors Ball, which will be held in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center® 14 November. The event is by invitation only, and the event will not be televised. However, look for a quick filmed nod to the recipients on the Oscar broadcast.

The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award will be presented to John Calley for a consistently high quality of motion picture production. Actress Lauren Bacall will receive an Honorary Award in recognition of her central place in the Golden Age of motion pictures. Other Honorary Awards will go to filmmaker Roger Corman for his rich engendering of films, and Gordon Willis for unsurpassed mastery of light, shadow, color and motion.