Oscars 2024: Brooks, Bassett, Littleton, and Satter Receive Honorary Oscars at the Governors Awards

Not much in this article can fully describe the dizzying madness of attending something like the 2024 Governors Awards ceremony for the very first time.

Likely because it isn’t televised, there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of pressure on Governors Awards attendees. Initiated in 2009, the Academy Board of Governors consolidated the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and the Honorary Awards away from the very long Oscars telecast into an intimate, focused ceremony. This year, thanks to delays associated with the WGA/SAG strikes, the Governors Awards landed just before the 2024 Oscar voting window. So, in my only experience at the event, there were obviously a lot of current Oscar-contending actors, writers, directors, and more in attendance. It’s like a giant family reunion where literally almost every person in attendance is wealthy and famous.

And what an event it was.

One thing everyone should know about the Academy: they know how to throw a party. Everything felt completely under control and well taken care of. After a lightning round check-in, I was whisked to the fifth floor and to an exterior balcony area just outside the Ray Dolby Ballroom, technically part of the Loews Hollywood Hotel. There, waiters swarmed the increasingly crowded space with trays of appetizers, and open bars flanked each side of the space. My favorite appetizer was the tiny cheeseburger that resembled a real-life “Krabby Patties” gummy (IFKYK).

I quickly discovered that the best thing to do in a situation like this is to tether myself to someone who knew the ropes better than I did. That person was Variety’s Clayton Davis who knew nearly everyone in the room. I took a picture with Academy CEO Bill Kramer. I met two time Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter (Black Panther). I had a deep conversation with one of my favorite 2024 Oscar season interviews David Hemingson, the screenwriter of the great The Holdovers. Glenn Close sauntered in and made a beeline for the ballroom while I was chatting with America Ferrera. Oscar-nominated screenwriter Kemp Powers talked about making One Night In Miami with such an incredible cast and director in Regina King. I met the directors of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. The list goes on and on, and I wasn’t even in the room yet.

“The season” did come up a few times, mostly in terms of things people haven’t seen yet (The Zone of Interest seemed to top that list in the small sample I took). They also discussed the recent Golden Globes ceremony and what it meant for Barbie. Would the Best Picture Comedy or Musical miss galvanize Oscar voters to rank it higher on their ballots? And what really was the point of the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category? Also, a few people imagined an Argo-like scenario where Barbie wins picture if Greta Gerwig wasn’t nominated for Best Director, but only if she were overlooked for a male director.

When it came time to enter the main event, the big stars started pouring into the ballroom. There’s Margot Robbie talking to Bradley Cooper! There’s Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson! Dominic Sessa zoomed into the room, leaving Paul Giamatti to race behind him. Angela Bassett smiled at me as she hugged Clayton! I finally introduced myself to Ariana DeBose whose mother taught history/civics to both of my children. I told Chris Messina that I’d recently seen his new film I.S.S. (also with DeBose) and found it very fun. Emma Stone swept past me to find her seat, and I was starstruck. I saw Christopher Nolan make a beeline for his table (which apparently cost the studios a rumored $120k).

It was complete and total madness, and I found myself sitting down just to take it all in.

My favorite encounter of the evening, though, had to have been taking the much-delayed selfie with Claire Foy. Now, before you ask, the Governors Awards reception doesn’t really feel like a “celebrity selfie” scene. There were professional photographers navigating the space, but almost no one had an iPhone brandished for quick photos. However, when I introduced myself to Claire Foy (and Andrew Haigh), I mentioned that we’d briefly met before at the Telluride Film Festival for Women Talking. There, I’d asked if she wouldn’t mind grabbing a quick photo, but she begged off doing the “pee pee dance” because she had to go to the “loo.” When I mentioned it, she fully remembered meeting me and Sasha Stone and insisted on immediately making up the missed photo. You can find that on my Instagram page.

As for the ceremony itself, it was a beautiful, classy, and cinema-focused session. I’ll include videos of the speeches below, but John Mulaney 100 percent has my vote to host the Oscars any and every year. Mel Brooks gave a very quick speech and regretted selling his Oscar for The Producers (I hope he was kidding?). Angela Bassett gave a powerful, emotional call to action about Black actresses in Hollywood and at the Oscars. The Color Purple’s Fantasia Barrino called out in support multiple times as she was so moved by the experience. Editor Carol Littleton talked about working on The Big Chill and E.T. while also paying tribute to her recently departed husband, cinematographer and former Academy president John Bailey. And there was not a dry eye in the house as Sundance mainstay Michelle Satter received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Her son was tragically murdered in a senseless act of violence last November, and several in the audience visibly shared her grief.

All in all, it was an incredible evening. There were dozens of names in attendance that I didn’t even see, but I left the evening filled with joy and in awe of the entire experience.