With the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences set to announce this year’s recipients of the Governors Awards in the coming weeks, speculation is swirling, and allies are lobbying for those who have been overlooked.

Instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Oscars (then called the “Special Award), the Honorary Award, given annually by the Board of Governors, is “to honor extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or outstanding service to the Academy,” and has often served as a retrospective salute to some of cinema’s most impactful yet less-recognized talents.

Over the past few decades, the statuette has served as a way to bestow honors on legends such as actor Samuel L. Jackson (2021), director Lina Wertmül

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