Two-time Academy Award nominee Angela Bassett is finally getting her much-deserved Oscar. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be honoring Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks, and editor Carol Littleton with the Academy’s Honorary Awards during the Governors Awards taking place in November 2023.
Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter will be recognized with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
“The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to honor four trailblazers who have transformed the film industry and inspired generations of filmmakers and movie fans,” stated Academy President Janet Yang. “Across her decades-long career, Angela Bassett has continued to deliver transcendent performances that set new standards in acting. Mel Brooks lights up our hearts with his humor, and his legacy has made a lasting impact on every facet of entertainment. Carol Littleton’s career in film editing serves as a model for those who come after her. A pillar of the independent film community, Michelle Satter has played a vital role in the careers of countless filmmakers around the world.”
Per the Academy: The Honorary Award Oscar statuette is given to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy.
Angela Bassett earned her first Oscar nomination for her outstanding performance as Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It. Bassett picked up her second nomination playing Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Bassett’s lengthy resume also includes Boyz N the Hood, Malcolm X, Waiting to Exhale, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Music of the Heart, Sunshine State, Black Panther, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Avengers: Endgame, and Soul.
Mel Brooks’ impressive career kicked off as a writer on Sid Caesar’s television shows. His first feature film, The Producers, was released in 1967 and earned him the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. His long list of credits includes Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, History of the World – Part I, Spaceballs, Life Stinks, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It.
Carol Littleton was nominated for an Oscar for her work editing E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Additional credits include Body Heat, The Big Chill, Places in the Heart, and The Manchurian Candidate.
