Academy Sets Governors Awards for Oscar Weekend in March

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a new March 25 date for the 12th Governors Awards, two days before the Oscar telecast in Los Angeles.

The event, which had been slated to occur on January 15 until the Omicron surge scuttled plans for a live event, will present Honorary Oscars to Samuel L. Jackson, Elaine May and Liv Ullmann, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Danny Glover.

The Academy also announced that the rescheduled event, produced by Jennifer Fox, will be scaled down in size from what had initially been planned.

Since 2009, the Academy has been handing out its Honorary Oscars at the Governors Awards, an annual event designed both to give the honorees a fuller, more lavish presentation and to shorten the Oscar show by moving the honorary awards to a night of their own.

When the honorees were announced last summer, Academy president David Rubin said in a statement: “Sam Jackson is a cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide, while Elaine May’s bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress, reverberates as loudly as ever with movie lovers. Liv Ullmann’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals, and Danny Glover’s decades-long advocacy for justice and human rights reflects his dedication to recognizing our shared humanity on and off the screen.”