Here's the List of This Year's Honorary Oscar Recipients

Kathleen Kennedy

As with every year, one of the most exciting parts of Oscar season is when they announce the recipients of this year's Honorary Oscars. They're voted on by the Board of Governors and presented to people in the arts that have done significant work. In this case, it seems like a doozy of a year featuring five people on the list. The people this year include publicist Marvin Levy, composer Lalo Schifrin, and actress Cicely Tyson. Also receiving the Irving G. Thalberg award is two producers Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, the latter of whom is the first woman to win said award. With this impressive line-up comes recognition for a lot of great talent in the industry.

This afternoon, The Academy released a public statement commemorating the announcement. In this statement they go into detail about how they voted as well as brief biographies on each recipient. There's a lot to be excited about with these five individuals, and Kennedy's award comes after a long and storied career working with Steven Spielberg, as well as helping to revive the Star Wars franchise with The Force Awakens. The others have provided impressive careers, though the attention will be on Kennedy for becoming the first woman to win the Irving G. Thalberg Award. Still, the careers of everyone involved are worth looking into (read the statement in the link for biographies) and will make for another exciting ceremony.

The line-up this year is also particularly interesting in that it not only features the typical mix of high-end names like Kennedy and Marshall, but is paying tribute to others in the field who didn't have an opening for Oscar consideration. Levy in particular is integral to the history of film, but advertising rarely gets the respect it deserves. Likewise, Schifrin is a great composer who often doesn't get much recognition in spite of scoring such hits as the TV series Mission: Impossible theme song. As a whole, there's a lot of crossover here, with Kennedy, Marshall, and Levy all having worked on various Steven Spielberg movies throughout the decade. It just goes to show that there's a lot of great people behind the scenes who are needed to make even the most iconic movies pop. 

To commemorate the Honorary Oscars, the celebration will be held on November 18 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, CA. While there will be no formal broadcast of the event (as of this date), you can expect them to release highlights on their YouTube channel in the days to come. When that happens, please come back and join me in looking at all of the great moments from this year's ceremony. It's one of the best parts of every awards season, if just because it's commemorative without being competitive. It's also a chance when actors and artists get up and give memorable speeches about the winners. It's always a good time and well worth checking out.

What do you think of this year's nominees? Who are you most excited to see on this list?