Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall will receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award on November 18.
Frank Marshall (The Other Side of the Wind, A Final Cut For Orson) and wife Kathleen Kennedy, president of Lucasfilm, will receive the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The Thalberg award, a bust of the motion picture executive, is presented to creative producers “whose body of work reflects a consistently high quality of motion picture production.”
Kennedy is the first woman to receive the Thalberg award.
“Kathy and I are deeply honored to be recognized by the Academy with the Irving Thalberg Award and congratulate Marvin Levy, Lalo Schifrin and Cicely Tyson on their well deserved honorary Oscars. Thanks for all the good wishes, it will be a grand celebration!,” Marshall tweeted.
Darryl F. Zanuck, David O’Selznick and Walt Disney were among the first luminaries honored with a Thalberg award. The couple are just the 40th and 41st recipients in the award’s 80-year history. It was last presented in 2010.
The Kennedy/Marshall producing partnership, formed in 1991, has generated Best Picture nominations for The Sixth Sense (1999), Seabiscuit (2003), Munich (2005) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). Kennedy/Marshall Company productions also include Congo, all five Bourne films, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Prior to forming Kennedy/Marshall, the duo co-founded Amblin Productions with Steven Spielberg, sharing a Best Picture nomination for The Color Purple (1985). Additionally, Marshall received a Best Picture nomination for Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), while Kennedy was nominated in the same category for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), War Horse (2011) and Lincoln (2012).
Marshall and Kennedy, who have been married for more than 30 years, will be honored at the Academy’s 10th Annual Governors Awards on Sunday, November 18, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center.
The Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted on September 4 to also present Honorary Awards to publicist Marvin Levy, composer Lalo Schifrin and actress Cicely Tyson.
“Choosing the honorees for its awards each year is the happiest of all the Board of Governors’ work. And this year, its selection of five iconic artists was made with universal acclaim by the Academy’s 54 spirited governors.” said Academy President John Bailey in a statement.
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