John Mulaney Audition for Maggie Gyllenhaal Movie

An evening stuffed with legends, tears and an incredible audition to be the subsequent Oscars host, the 14th annual Governors Awards introduced all of this yr’s award contenders out to have a good time 4 business titans on Tuesday contained in the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles.

Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton obtained honorary Oscars, whereas the Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter was bestowed with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Along with honoring legends, the Governors Awards are a possibility for contenders to make an impression forward of voting with the Board of Governors and different AMPAS members in attendance. The room was overflowing with A-listers corresponding to Leonardo DiCaprio (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”), Ava DuVernay (“Origin”), Eva Longoria (“Flamin’ Sizzling”), Colman Domingo (“Rustin”), Natalie Portman (“Could December”), Margot Robbie (“Barbie”) and extra.

The evening kicked off with a shock for attendees within the type of a bunch for the night, one thing the Academy had by no means accomplished beforehand for the Governors Awards. Comic and not too long ago Emmy-awarded author John Mulaney took the reigns because the emcee, and if this was his “audition” as a future host for Hollywood’s largest evening, he greater than handed with flying colours. Kudos to ceremony producer Jennifer Todd.

With jokes about placing himself on tape for the position of “Younger Cop” in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s untitled film at Warner Bros. (by which Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley are in talks to star, in response to the e-mail Mulaney learn from his WME agent) to calling the unique title of Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic “Bye, Felicia,” if the Academy can faucet him for a future ceremony, the Oscars (and the scores) might be in good palms.

Bassett, who was introduced her award by Academy Award winner Regina King, delivered a passionate speech highlighting her over 4 many years within the Hollywood enterprise.

A two-time Oscar nominee for “What’s Love Bought to Do With It?” (1993) and “Black Panther: Wakanda Perpetually” (2022), Bassett delivered a passionate speech, recalling the journey for Black girls on this business from Hattie McDaniel and naming the too few names which have come after. On the purple carpet, Selection’s Marc Malkin requested Bassett if she thought Hollywood had modified or was nonetheless the identical whereas referencing “The Coloration Purple” star Taraji P. Henson’s current feedback about pay inequality.

“Each business can all the time enhance itself, and we definitely can as properly by way of pay fairness,” Bassett informed Selection. “As an actor, we all the time simply need a possibility to do nice work.”

Brooks, 97, was bestowed the respect by Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, greatest identified for working with the legend on the musical, “The Producers.” The 2 multi-hyphenates sang a seven-minute medley recalling his notable hits, together with “Springtime for Hitler” and “Excessive Nervousness.”

As Mulaney described Brooks as “one of many funniest folks ever to dwell,” Brooks gave the room one of many evening’s largest laughs throughout his speech, recalling successful an Oscar for penning the script for “Blazing Saddles,” saying, “I ought to by no means have offered it, occasions had been robust. I promise to maintain this one.”

Littleton, the esteemed editor of movies corresponding to “The Large Chill,” was introduced by eight-time nominee Glenn Shut. She devoted her award to her late husband and former AMPAS president John Bailey, “That is for each of us.”

The viewers was delivered to tears when administrators Ryan Coogler and Chloe Zhao introduced the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Satter, whose son, Michael Latt, was killed in his condo in Los Angeles in November. Zhao lovingly shared throughout her presentation, “We’re all of your kids. We love you. We’ll all the time be right here for you.”