Oscars: Governors Awards Presented To Diane Warren, Euzhan Palcy, Peter Weir, Michael J. Fox At Inspiring Ceremony

20.11.2022 - 13:05 / deadline.com

The 13th Annual Governors Awards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences on Saturday night came in with a vengeance, perhaps the biggest crowd of industry notables, Oscar contenders, and others I can ever remember at one of these events where AMPAS hands out honorary Academy Awards. It is a non-televised event which means the recipients can go on as long as they like with their acceptance speeches, and so for that matter can the presenters. The good news is this particular foursome of honorary winners, Peter Weir, Euzhan Palcy, Diane Warren, and Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award recipient Michael J. Fox each made some of the most heartfelt and compelling speeches ever heard at the Governors Awards. It was an evening to remember.

Of course those who know this event which basically kicks off the Oscar season and bookends it with the actual Academy Awards ceremony (coming up next year on March 12), knows that in its prime it is going to be something that is a must-stop for every Oscar hopeful, the irresistible opportunity to schmooze in what is undoubtedly the largest gathering of voters outside of the big night itself. This year the Governors Awards held at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Century City (where street construction made getting into the venue challenging to say the least) came back to full force and any signs of a pandemic that has affected it in major ways the past couple of years was invisible (it was actually cancelled in 2021 and reduced drastically in size in earlier this year when it was held March 25, a couple of days before the Oscars). It might as well have been 2019. Nobody looked concerned about Covid in this crowd. It was party time all the way and people seemed genuinely excited to