Cheryl Boone Isaacs started her opening speech at the Governors Awards on Saturday with a ringing call of solidary for France in the wake of Friday’s deadly terrorist attacks.
“I do feel it’s important to mention yesterday’s horrific attacks in France, and to say all of us here stand in solidarity and support of France and the French people,” said Isaacs, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
“We may be in Hollywood tonight, but the Academy celebrates filmmaking wherever it’s done…” she said, saluting France’s role in the history of filmmaking. “Waves of influence have been flowing back and forth across the Atlantic ever since the Lumiere brothers made the first movies.”
The Governors Awards are the Motion Picture Academy’s annual night at which they hand out honorary Academy Awards, including the Irving Thalberg Award and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. This year’s honorees were actresses Debbie Reynolds and Gena Rowlands and director Spike Lee.
The Governors Awards took place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland, and attracted an audience of Academy members and Oscar contenders, including actors Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Lily Tomlin, Michael Caine, Steve Carell, Jane Fonda, Rooney Mara, Saoirse Ronan and directors Ridley Scott, Jay Roach, Quentin Tarantino, Danny Boyle and Tom McCarthy.
