Months after weathering the tumultuous #OscarsSoWhite controversy — and just days after an earth-shaking and deeply divisive presidential election — Hollywood insiders largely set aside politics Saturday evening at the motion picture academy’s eighth Governors Awards to pay tribute to four very different talents: editor Anne V. Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster, documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman and action-comedy star Jackie Chan.
A chance to honor filmmaking luminaries for their lifetime contributions to the art form and a key early stop on the awards season campaign circuit, the ceremony at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in the Hollywood & Highland Center brought together many of the industry’s biggest power players as well as actors and filmmakers looking to gain traction in this year’s Oscar race.
While questions about Donald Trump’s ascension to the presidency abounded on the red carpet, despite the controversies that have roiled the industry and the country at large over the last year, the mood at the non-televised ceremony was generally relaxed and upbeat.
Director Judd Apatow and actress Leslie Mann were all smiles as they mingled with Broadway star Lin-Manuel Miranda. Damien Chazelle, director of the much buzzed-about romantic musical “La La Land,” chatted warmly with 20th Century Fox Chairman and Chief Executive Stacey Snider. Young stars like Felicity Jones, Emma Stone and Greta Gerwig rubbed elbows with older ones like Helen Mirren, Bruce Dern and Warren Beatty.
