Academy’s honorary awards exclude ornery movielovers

The New York Times Michael Cieply reports the Academy Board of Governors is planning to have a wonderful party, nyah nyah.

“It’s like a film buff’s dream come true,” said Mr. Cohen, who has also helped to stage an annual awards presentation by the Producers Guild of America.

Bruce Cohen, a film producer (“Milk,” “American Beauty”) who is joining Don Mischer, who has produced the Emmy Awards, in organizing the presentation, said he expected the evening to combine personal reminiscence, film clips, performance comedy and anything else that helps to capture the magic of four very different Hollywood careers.

“It’s like a film buff’s dream come true,” said Mr. Cohen, who has also helped to stage an annual awards presentation by the Producers Guild of America.

One objective, he said, was to recreate the intimacy that informed early Academy Awards ceremonies, before the advent of television turned what had been a night for industry insiders into a public spectacle. Whether even snippets of the Governors Awards will be seen by the public, for instance through postings online, has yet to be decided…

“You’re going to say, ‘Wow,’ ” promised Tom Sherak, the academy’s president. “If you don’t say, ‘Wow, boy am I glad I was there,’ then we haven’t done our job.”

And by “you” he means “us insiders” and “not you commoners.”

They get Lauren Bacall and Gordon Willis. We get Bruce Vilanch and Jonah Hill.