Congratulations to Roger Corman, Lauren Bacall and Gordon Willis, who received honorary Oscars Saturday night at the Academy's Governors Ball. The trio (plus producer John Calley, who was too ill to attend and accept his Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award) was the first to be so honored outside the regular Oscar ceremony.
The three-hour plus event was not televised, but! The Academy's Web site has videos of all their introductions and acceptance speeches, as well as toasts to each by respected peers. Set aside seven minutes for cinematographer Caleb Deschanel's tribute to Willis, a hilariously candid taxonomy of "flamethrower" DP's, "dump truck" directors and other Hollywood species for whom the irascible Willis had little patience during his career. Hooray, and hats off to all.
[Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]
ยท AMPAS