The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its list of honorees for the 2024 Governors Awards on Wednesday, highlighting the illustrious careers of music producer Quincy Jones, casting director Juliet Taylor, “Love, Actually” director Richard Curtis and producers by James Bond Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
The awards will be presented at the academy's 15th annual Governor's Awards on Nov. 17 in Los Angeles.
In recognition of his seven-decade career in film and music, Jones will receive an honorary Academy Award. Jones began his career as a jazz arranger and conductor, working with legends such as Ray Charles and Dizzy Gillespie, before moving into film music in the 1960s in films such as “The Pawnbroker” and “In the Heat of the Night.” ”. In addition to his pioneering musical achievements, including collaborations with Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, whose hit albums “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad” he produced, Jones was the first black songwriter nominated for an original song. Oscar for “The Eyes of Love” from the 1967 film “Banning.” Throughout his career, Jones has received seven nominations for his work in films such as “In Cold Blood,” “The Wiz” and “The Color Purple.” ”, but never won a competitive Oscar.
Taylor, whose keen eye for talent has shaped the casts of numerous acclaimed films, will also receive an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement in Hollywood. In addition to starring in seminal films such as “The Exorcist,” “Taxi Driver” and “Schindler's List,” Taylor is perhaps best known for her frequent collaborations with Woody Allen, for whom she cast 43 films, beginning with “Love and Death.” from 1975. and includes “Annie Hall”, “Manhattan”, “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “Midnight in Paris”. Taylor is only the second casting director to win an honorary Oscar after Lynn Stalmaster, honored in 2016. Earlier this year, the academy announced the creation of a new casting Oscar, which will begin awarding in 2026.
British filmmaker Curtis, who will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, is celebrated not only for his witty and much-loved romantic comedies like “Notting Hill” and “Love, Actually,” but also for his extensive charitable work. In 1985, Curtis co-founded Comic Relief, a charity that has raised more than $2 billion by harnessing the power of comedy to help address poverty, food insecurity and other social causes. In 2005, he co-created Make Poverty History and helped produce the Live 8 concerts. More recently, he co-founded the group Project Everyone to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and established the Make My Money Matter ethical investment campaign.
Wilson and Broccoli, the masterminds behind the James Bond franchise, will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, which is given to creative producers “whose work reflects a consistently high quality in film production.” Under his direction, the long-running 007 series has not only remained relevant but has also produced many of its biggest box office hits, including “Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace,” “Skyfall,” “Spectre” and “No Time to Die.” Wilson and Broccoli have produced and executive produced independent film projects such as “Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool,” “Nancy” and “Till.” Broccoli, whose father, Albert R. “Cubby Broccoli, who received the Thalberg Prize in 1981, is only the second woman to receive the Thalberg Prize after Kathleen Kennedy, who won it in 2018.
In a statement, Academy President Janet Yang said this year's winners “have set the bar incredibly high throughout their remarkable careers. …Their deep love of film and their indelible contribution to our art form make these five individuals truly deserving of these honors.”
