The 15th^th The Governors Awards took place on November 17 at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood. This year’s recipients – composer Quincy Jones, casting director Juliet Taylor, producer and director Richard Curtis, and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli – were honored at the ceremony.

“This year’s Governors Award winners have set the bar incredibly high throughout their distinguished careers, and the Academy’s Board of Governors is delighted to award them with Academy Awards,” said Academy President, Janet Yang.

Legendary music composer Quincy Jones, who died on November 3, received this honorary award. It was accepted, on Jones’ behalf, by his family. Jones, who knew he would receive the honor in June, had prepared a speech, read by his daughter, actress Rashida Jones. “I share this award and tonight’s honor with all the extraordinary directors, legendary actors and of course the exceptional authors, composers and musicians,” the speech read.

Quincy Jones’ family accepts his award | Reuters

Jones is best known for composing music for films The magician And The color purple. He also served as musical director and conductor of the 43rd Academy Awards in 1971.

Juliet Taylor also received an honorary award. She is an American casting director who has participated in more than 100 films, most of them in collaboration with director Woody Allen. Taylor chose to Annie Hall, Hannah and her sisters, Match point, Manhattan and many more. She is also known for giving veteran actress Meryl Streep her first film role.

Juliette Taylor

Taylor said she is extremely happy that the Academy will include a category for casting directors in 2026, adding that “this has been a long time coming.” She continued, “I can’t help but think of all the casting directors who have come before me and who deserve this honor.”

Richard Curtis received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, an award given, according to the Academy’s official website, to “an individual in the world of motion picture arts and sciences whose humanitarian efforts have brought honor to the industry by promoting human well-being”.

Richard Curtis

Curtis is known for his hit romantic comedies like About Time, Notting Hill, Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral. The director also mentioned that the award belonged not only to him but also to his wife. “When I get home, I have to melt it and share it, and the person I would share this with the most is Emma.”

Half-siblings Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, best known for their production of the iconic Bond films, have received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. This award is given to producers “whose body of work reflects a consistent and high quality of film production.”

Half-siblings Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli

Wilson and Broccoli are the children of Albert “Cubby” Broccoli. He was a producer of the James Bond films and handed over responsibility to his children before his death. “I am deeply grateful and deeply moved to have seen my father accept this award in 1981, a farm boy who made it in Hollywood,” Broccoli said.