Photo: Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images
The Oscar Awards are one of the few events that did not stop being held the previous two years despite the pandemic. But other celebrations of the Film Academy, such as the Governors Awards, have had to adjust to the new times .
The gala that usually kicked off the awards season was held earlier in October or November. In addition to honoring the careers of four historical filmmakers, the Governors Awards were used by the studios to present their candidates for nominations
. The cocktail and subsequent dinner at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood became a meeting of celebrities excited about the dream of a statuette a few months later. But the covid forced this year to find an unusual date for the ceremony. At first they were going to be held in January, but Ómicron frustrated the plans and finally this Friday was chosen 12 from previous March to the Oscars to honor Danny Glover, Samuel L. Jackson, Liv Ullmann and Elaine May.
No need to promote yourself to seek an Oscar nomination or votes ( voting closed days ago) and with the threat of the virus still latent, the film industry held its most intimate and austere Governors Awards tonight in recent years.
“It is the event most intimate, that is not televised, that we all love, perhaps the closest to our hearts”, assured David Rubin, president of the Film Academy, who added that this year the meeting of governors to choose the winners was much faster than normal, since the men angry were incontestable.
The setting was the same as on other occasions, the Ray Dolby Ballroom where the official party is also held after the ceremony. the Oscars, but only half of the available space was used. And the number of celebrities was much less than usual.
One of the first to arrive was Earvin “Magic” Johnson with his wife Cookie, who quickly gained attention for his height and personality. The former NBA star is a good friend of Samuel L. Jackson and wanted to be there to celebrate his honorary Oscar with the actor. Just like Quentin Tarantino, who directed Jackson in several films, including the iconic “Pulp Fiction”. In the video with which the actor’s career was reviewed, several scenes from the film appeared.
Before, after a quick cocktail, those around 250 guests stood at round tables to share in a brief dinner. Dessert served, Bill Murray, in charge of presenting the first prize of the night to the mythical director, actress and screenwriter Elaine May, did not miss the opportunity to make a joke.
“I will be brief, because I know that most of you have reservations for dinner somewhere else tonight”, joked the actor.
May received her honorary award as a pioneer of female and transgressive comedy . “It enlightened us all”, read the brochure with the program of the night that awaited each diner at the table.
The actress of 89 years she continued with the jokes commenting that she hoped to be introduced by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, but in the end “only” Bill Murray had gone.
Then Denzel Washington was in charge of presenting the honorary Oscar to Samuel L Jackson: “$27 one billion in the box office, more than any other actor in history”, Washington said of the amount raised by the films Jackson appeared in during his career, before reading through a long list of organizations to which the 73 years support financially.
After John Lithgow presented the award to Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress from 83 years who acted in 10 films by Swedish director Ingmar Bergman.
“ Many say that Liv Ullmann’s career has not it would be the same without Bergman,” Lithgow said. “But I say that Bergman’s career would not be the same without Liv Ullmann.”
The actress recalled her beginnings in the theater in New York , where once he chased Greta Garbo down the street, who fled when he saw that he was approaching her and could not reach her. She also commented on how the historical composer Richard Rodgers wrote a musical for her. “And I don’t sing or dance! He wrote 7 songs for me on Broadway!, he recalled to the laughter of the audience, which he would later move with the story of his trips in support of refugees around the world.
The last prize of the night, The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award went to Danny Glover, actor of 73 years with titles as popular as “Lethal Weapon” or “The Color Purple”, but who has also stood out as an activist.
The actress Alfre Woodard, who worked with Glover on “Mandela ”, he introduced him by saying that he “always appears” and summarized his activism for the civil rights of African-Americans in the United States and also in South Africa during the apartheid era.
“Nelson Mandela saw him as a fellow sufferer”, assured Woodard.
Glover closed the night thanking the Academy and telling how the inspiration of his life was his mother, who in Louisville, Georgia, was the first person in the community and family to be graduated from university.
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