American record producer and songwriter Quincy Jones has been announced as the recipient of an honorary Oscar at this year’s Governors Awards.
British screenwriter Richard Curtis, American casting director Juliet Taylor and James Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli will also be honoured by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences at this year’s ceremony.
Jones, 91, who was given the Hersholt Award in 1994, will receive the Honorary Award, an Oscar statuette that is given “to honour extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy”.
The veteran songwriter has earned a total of seven Oscar nominations for his work on movies that include neo-noir crime film In Cold Blood (1967).
Taylor, whose credits include Taxi Driver (1976), The Exorcist (1973), Sleepless In Seattle (1993) and Schindler’s List (1993), will receive the same award.
Love Actually filmmaker and Notting Hill screenwriter Curtis, 67, will pick up the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for his charitable efforts, while producers Wilson and Broccoli will receive the Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award.
Curtis is a co-founder of Comic Relief and has co-produced the Red Nose Day live night of TV for the BBC since 1988 which has now made over £1 billion for projects in Africa and the UK.
Academy president Janet Yang said: “The recipients of this year’s Governors Awards have set the bar incredibly high across their remarkable careers, and the Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to recognise them with Oscars.
“The selection of Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli is a testament to their success as producers of the fan-favorite Bond series and their contribution to the industry’s theatrical landscape.
“Richard Curtis is a brilliant comedic storyteller whose tremendous charitable efforts embody the meaning of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
“Quincy Jones’s artistic genius and relentless creativity have made him one of the most influential musical figures of all time.
“Juliet Taylor has cast iconic and beloved films and paved a new path for the field.
“Their profound love of cinema and indelible contribution to our art form make these five individuals truly deserving of these honours.”
The Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 15th Governors Awards on November 17 in the Ray Dolby Ballroom, Hollywood, close to the Dolby Theatre where the Oscars takes place.
