After almost seven decades in the acting business, Lauren Bacall is finally getting the Oscar she deserves. Along with director Roger Corman and cinematographer Gordon Willis, Bacall will be receiving an Honorary Oscar to honor her “extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement”.
Bacall, who has been making movies since her debut in 1944′s “To Have and Have Not”, is still in show business with three new movies (“Wide Blue Yonder”, “Carmel”, and “Firedog”) slated to come out in 2010.
The downside is that the public might not be able to see the awards, as the honorary Oscars will be awarded at an “inaugural Governor’s Ball gala” on November 14. Hopefully we will be able to see the ceremony. Otherwise the public will miss out on seeing a montage containing countless and priceless Bacall clips from such greats as “To Have and Have Not”, “The Big Sleep”, “Designing Woman”, “Key Largo”, “How to Marry A Millionaire”, and “The Mirror Has Two Faces”, in which her role earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
We would also miss what is sure to be a great acceptance speech from Bacall. With her wit I can only imagine what she’ll come up with. Of course I hope I won’t have to imagine it and that I’ll be able to watch it.
The honorary awards have been separated from the March broadcast to minimize the “time crunch” of the telecast. The Academy seems to be most concerned with fitting everything into a time block (understandable) but seems to be forgetting the importance of classic films and their amazing actors. The Oscars are all about the current movies, which is understandable, but when a honorary Oscar is awarded to someone from the Golden Era of film and film montages are shown, it seems to remind everyone of how the business used to be. The montages are also a chance for a new generation to become interested in classic films. Taking them away would be depriving the telecast, and it’s viewers, of something essential to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: the golden history of film.
Let’s hope the Academy puts things together in time for us to view the talented and successful Bacall accepting the award that she has deserved for so long. I, for one, am looking forward to it immensely.
