\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMaking films is not what I do, it is who I am,\u201d said Tom Cruise<\/strong>, the veteran actor\/producer and consummate movie star, as he accepted an honorary Oscar, in recognition of his body of work, during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences\u2018 16th Governors Awards on Sunday night. Cruise was one of four film artists feted at this year\u2019s ceremony, the seventh produced by Jennifer Fox<\/strong>, which took place in the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood.<\/p>\n \n\tProduction designer Wynn Thomas<\/strong> and actress\/producer\/choreographer Debbie Allen<\/strong> also received honorary Oscars, while\u00a0actress\/singer\/songwriter Dolly Parton<\/strong> collected \u2014\u00a0in absentia \u2014 the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in recognition of her philanthropic work.<\/p>\n \n\tAs always, the Governors Awards took place in front of dozens of current Oscar hopefuls. In addition to supporting the ceremony\u2019s honorees, they turn out to see and be seen by the many Academy members in the room and following along on social media. Among those in attendance this year: Die My Love<\/em>\u2019s Jennifer Lawrence<\/strong>, One Battle After Another<\/em>\u2019s Leonardo DiCaprio<\/strong>, Wicked: For Good<\/em>\u2019s Ariana Grande<\/strong>, Frankenstein<\/em>\u2019s Jacob Elordi<\/strong>, Christy<\/em>\u2019s Sydney Sweeney<\/strong>, The Secret Agent<\/em>\u2019s Wagner Moura<\/strong>, Hamnet<\/em>\u2019s Jessie Buckley<\/strong>, Jay Kelly<\/em>\u2019s Adam Sandler<\/strong>, Hedda<\/em>\u2019s Tessa Thompson<\/strong>, Sentimental Value<\/em>\u2019s Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd<\/strong> and Weapons<\/em>\u2019 Amy Madigan<\/strong>. (See photos from the red carpet here.)<\/p>\n \n\tThough the black-tie affair is a long event at the end of a grueling weekend in Hollywood, most attendees this year stayed to the bitter end, since Cruise\u2019s Oscar was saved for last. Alejandro Gonz\u00e1lez I\u00f1\u00e1rritu<\/strong>, the Mexican filmmaker who directed Cruise in a not-yet-titled 2026 film, delivered a powerful tribute in which he declared, \u201cTom Cruise doesn\u2019t just make movies, he is<\/em> movies,\u201d and added, \u201cThis may be his first Oscar, but from what I have seen and experienced, it will not be his last.\u201d Then, following a lengthy montage of Cruise\u2019s work over the past 45 years, the 63-year-old, who has been Oscar-nominated three times for acting and once for producing, walked to the podium as the Mission: Impossible<\/em> theme music blared, and was greeted with a lengthy standing ovation.<\/p>\n \n\tCruise thanked \u201cthe studios, the agencies, the artists and the storytellers,\u201d as well as stunt teams, theater owners and, above all, audiences, of whom he said, \u201cWithout you, none of this has meaning for me.\u201d He asked that anyone in the room who has worked with him please stand up, and many did \u2014 including his tablemates Steven Spielberg<\/strong> (Minority Report<\/em>), Jerry Bruckheimer<\/strong> (the Top Gun<\/em> movies), Christopher McQuarrie<\/strong> (the Mission: Impossible<\/em> franchise) and CAA agent Kevin Huvane<\/strong> \u2014\u00a0as he applauded them. \u201cI want you to know \u2014\u00a0please know \u2014 that I carry you with me \u2014\u00a0each of you \u2014\u00a0and you are a part of every frame of every film that I have ever made or ever will make. And I want you to know that I will always do everything I can for this artform \u2014 to support and champion new voices and to protect what makes cinema powerful, hopefully without too many more broken bones.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tLily Tomlin pays tribute to Dolly Parton.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKevin Winter\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \n\tThe evening kicked off with a tribute to Parton,\u00a0who previously said she would miss the event due to a scheduling conflict, and who also has recently battled health issues. It was led by one of her costars from the 1980 film 9 to 5<\/em>, Lily Tomlin<\/strong>, who, after being greeted with a standing ovation, struggled to read the teleprompter, which made for a funny but awkward segment. Tomlin did emphasize, \u201cShe [Parton] is one of the few people who remains in this world who everyone<\/em> respects.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tA subsequent video highlighted Parton\u2019s work on screen and off, including her charitable work through The Dollywood Foundation and the Imagination Library, which provides books to children; her financial contributions that helped to fund the development of the COVID-19 vaccine; and her longtime support of the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n \n\tParton then appeared onscreen in a pre-recorded video, with her Oscar beside her, and proclaimed: \u201cI grew up in a house with 12 kids. Now that alone teaches you how important sharing is! Don\u2019t get me\u00a0 wrong \u2014 we didn\u2019t have that much to share, but my mama and daddy showed me that the more you give, the more blessings come your way. And I\u2019ve been blessed more than I\u2019d ever dreamed possible. This award tonight, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award \u2014\u00a0it makes me want to dream up new ways to help lift people up, and isn\u2019t that hat what we\u2019re supposed to be here for?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThen, Andra Day<\/strong> performed Parton\u2019s iconic song \u201cJolene,\u201d as Hamnet<\/em> director Chloe Zhao<\/strong> and Buckley danced in the audience.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tWynn Thomas accepts his honorary Oscar.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKevin Winter\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \n\tThe Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer<\/strong> led the celebration of Thomas, a 40-year industry vet who, among many other projects, designed Hidden Figures<\/em>, the 2016 film in which she starred, hailing him for \u201cbuilding words from scratch.\u201d She also noted that Thomas was the first Black production designer ever to join the Art Directors Guild and to design films for major studios.<\/p>\n \n\tAmong those who lauded Thomas in a video was Spike Lee<\/strong>, with whom he has collaborated for decades dating back to 1986\u2019s She\u2019s Gotta Have It<\/em>. Subsequent team-ups have included 1989\u2019s\u00a0Do the Right Thing<\/em>, 1992\u2019s\u00a0Malcolm X<\/em> and through 2020\u2019s\u00a0Da 5 Bloods<\/em>. Lee thanked the Academy for recognizing his friend and fellow artist.<\/p>\n \n\tThomas then delivered a moving speech in which he thanked his late mother and late grandmother for supporting his dreams, even if they didn\u2019t understand \u201cthis art thing\u201d that he was pursuing, as well as \u201call of my art directors, my assistant art directors, my set designers, my set decorators and dressers, my scenic artists, my prop men and women, all the graphic designers I work with, my construction coordinators, my location managers and scouts.\u201d Of them he said, \u201cThese are the people who make me look good, and these are the people who let me be the dreamer and who turn my dreams into reality.\u201d He added, to laughter, \u201cI\u2019d like to thank some<\/em> of my directors tonight \u2014 not all, but some.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tDebbie Allen speaks onstage as Cynthia Erivo looks on.<\/span><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMICHAEL TRAN\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n \n\tMeanwhile, Wicked: For Good<\/em> star Cynthia Erivo<\/strong> led the tribute to Allen, a mentor and \u201cauntie\u201d to her, professing, \u201cHer impact on the world of film is extraordinary.\u201d Allen, who acted in 1980\u2019s Fame<\/em>, produced 1997\u2019s Amistad<\/em> and choreographed a record seven Academy Awards telecasts, described receiving her Oscar as \u201ca profound moment.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tShe thanked her late parents, who, she said, \u201craised their children believing that they were citizens of the universe, that there were no boundaries, and that anything we could see we could be\u2026 We were faced with brick walls and glass ceilings and \u2018Whites Only\u2019 signs everywhere, but we grew up believing in ourselves, we grew up understanding what fight and faith is.\u201d She also acknowledged her siblings, including the actress Phylicia Rashad<\/strong>, who were seated at her table.<\/p>\n \n\tMany attendees looked at each other with perplexity when Allen also included, among those she thanked, Bill Cosby<\/strong>, with whom she and her sister, Rashad, worked on The Cosby Show<\/em>, but who has since been disgraced by dozens of allegations of sexual assault.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cMaking films is not what I do, it is who I am,\u201d said Tom Cruise, the veteran actor\/producer and consummate movie star, as he accepted an honorary Oscar, in recognition of his body of work, during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences\u2018 16th Governors Awards on Sunday night. Cruise was one of four<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34070,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[2735,5432,10189,2286],"class_list":{"0":"post-34069","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-cruise","9":"tag-finally","10":"tag-oscar","11":"tag-tom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=34069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34069\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/34070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=34069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=34069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=34069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}