Honestly, I don't think there's a blog entry that I've been happier to write.
For years, I've been saying that Roger Corman, who gave career starts to so many talented people that would later go on to become Hollywood powerhouses (Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Jonathan Demme, Joe Dante, Jack Nicholson, Robert Towne, the list goes on), as well as creating an incredible body of work as a producer and director in his own right, deserved an honorary Oscar. I shouted this in vain at many a horror convention late-night rap session, to the tune of many nodding heads around me. It seemed like such a no-brainer, but because horror is the bastard stepchild of the film world, we assumed this would never happen. Or worse, that it would happen after the great man had passed on.
Guess what, folks? Oscar sometimes gets it right.
Last night, The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to present and Honorary Awards to Corman, actress Lauren Bacall, and cinematographer Gordon Willis, with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to be given to producer-executive John Calley.
All four awards will be presented at the Academy’s inaugural Governors Awards event on Saturday, November 14, at the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center.
It's about freaking time. But it's a time that has come at last, and I, for one, would like to thank the Academy.