Hollywood’s awards season can start to feel a little gratuitously self-congratulatory, but Tuesday night some of the biggest movie stars in the industry are gathering to celebrate someone other than themselves. Mel Brooks, Angela Bassett and film editor Carol Littleton will collect honorary Oscar statuettes at a private, untelevised dinner Tuesday night in Los Angeles that has often been even starrier than the Oscars themselves.
Michelle Satter, a founder and director of the Sundance Institute’s artist programs, will also receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The annual event is put on by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize contributions to the industry and a life’s achievement. It used to be part of the Oscars telecast but shifted to a separate occasion in 2009, with heartfelt tributes from some of the honorees' dearest collaborators and no time constraints on the speeches.
