The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present Honorary Oscars to veteran actress Glenn Close, legendary director Ridley Scott and Disney’s first Black animator Floyd Norman, while producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler, longtime champions of independent film, will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award, following a vote by its Board of Governors.
The statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 17th Governors Awards on Nov. 15, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood.
For Close and Scott, the recognition arrives as a long-overdue embrace from an Academy that has nominated each of them repeatedly without ever handing over a competitive prize. Close holds eight acting nominations and no wins, tied with the late Peter O’Toole for the most acting nominations without a win in Oscar history.
Scott has three directing nominations and a producing nod for best picture, and likewise has never taken home a statuette, despite his 2000 action epic “Gladiator” winning five Oscars, including best picture. The honorary recognition finally closes that gap for two of the industry’s most revered artists.
“The Academy’s Board of Governors is thrilled to present this year’s Governors Awards to five remarkable individuals whose groundbreaking work has forever shaped the art of filmmaking,” said Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor. “Throughout her extraordinary body of work, Glenn Close’s unparalleled emotional range has brought to life some of the most complex characters in cinema. Floyd Norman is the legendary animator who has broken barriers and inspired generations of artists over his remarkable career. Sir Ridley Scott is a true visionary whose decades-long legacy has left an immeasurable impact on global cinema and culture. Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler play a central role in American independent cinema, championing bold, ambitious and distinctive storytelling.”
Close’s career spans more than five decades and more than 100 film credits. Her eight nominations began with her feature debut in the drama “The World According to Garp” and continued with “The Big Chill,” “The Natural,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Albert Nobbs,” “The Wife” and “Hillbilly Elegy.” Her additional notable credits include “Jagged Edge,” “Reversal of Fortune,” “Hamlet,” “101 Dalmatians,” “Mars Attacks!,” “Air Force One,” “The Stepford Wives” and “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.” This year, she starred in Ryan Murphy’s darkly comedic Hulu series “All’s Fair.” Later this year she will be seen in the Spanish-language drama “La Bola Negra,” which won the best director prize at Cannes, where it was acquired by Netflix, as well as the YA adaptation “The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.”
Scott is the eighth-highest-grossing director of all time, with his films totaling $5 billion worldwide. The British filmmaker, whose career stretches nearly six decades, earned directing nominations for “Thelma & Louise,” “Gladiator” and “Black Hawk Down,” plus a best picture nomination as a producer for the space survival dramedy “The Martian.” His filmography includes sci-fi and action classics such as “Alien,” “Blade Runner” and “Prometheus,” along with sweeping epics and dramas like “Kingdom of Heaven,” “American Gangster,” “All the Money in the World,” “House of Gucci,” “The Last Duel” and “Napoleon.” His next film will be an adaptation of the apocalyptic sci-fi novel “The Dog Stars,” starring Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin, for 20th Century Studios. He was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 2024 for his services to the British film industry.
Norman, an animator and storyboard artist, began his 65-year career at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1956, becoming the studio’s first Black animator. His first Disney feature was the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty,” and he went on to contribute to “The Sword in the Stone,” “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book” and “Robin Hood,” along with the short films “Donald in Mathmagic Land,” “Goliath II” and “Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree.” His other notable credits include “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Mulan,” “Toy Story 2” and “Monsters, Inc.”
Vachon and Koffler founded the New York-based independent production company Killer Films in 1995. Their credits together include the musical “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “One Hour Photo,” “Camp,” “The Company,” “The Notorious Bettie Page,” “May December” and “Materialists.” The pair earned a best picture nomination for Celine Song’s debut drama “Past Lives” in 2024. Killer Films’ broader output spans films with Todd Haynes like “Safe,” “Velvet Goldmine,” “Far from Heaven,” “I’m Not There” and “Carol,” along with indie classics such as “Happiness,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Still Alice,” “First Reformed,” “Vox Lux,” “Zola” and “A Different Man,” many of which received multiple Oscar nominations and wins.
The Honorary Award recognizes “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences in any discipline, or for outstanding service to the Academy.” The Thalberg, named for the pioneering MGM executive, goes to a creative producer whose body of work consistently reflects a high standard of motion picture production.
The 17th Governors Awards are presented in partnership with Rolex.
