Give Bruce Willis An Honorary Oscar
My younger, more cynical self did not like honorary awards. They weren’t real, I would argue. They just give them to anyone. They were less competitive, and therefore lacked value. But on reflection, I have seen that this is obviously not true. At the most recent Oscars, Samuel L. Jackson was presented with an honorary Academy Award, and he is not just ‘anybody’, he’s the highest grossing actor in the history of cinema. Bruce Willis went his whole career without winning an Oscar, and following his retirement, he needs to be right at the front of the line for an honorary award next year.
First, let’s deal with the naysayers over honorary awards. The idea that they are just given to anyone is flagrant cynicism displacing logic. They didn’t drag someone off the streets of Los Angeles to hold up an award to fill in some ceremony time. They didn’t decide to call me. They gave it to Jackson in recognition of his legendary body of work. Samuel L. Jackson may not have won more votes than four other specific actors for four other specific performances, but he earned that Oscar.
Related: The Oscars Were Better When Only The Film Geeks Cared
While less competitive in the immediate sense, some fine actors (and writers, directors, producers…) have gone their whole career without an Oscar, honorary or otherwise. You have to produce something special in order to win an Oscar, but for a competitive Oscar, you have to produce it once. For an honorary Oscar, you need to produce it over a career.
Then there’s the fact that sometimes actors are unfairly cast aside because they have not ‘earned’ an Oscar through their wider career yet. Kodi Smit-McPhee may feel that cost him this year. Lady Gaga might feel her prior win in Best Original Song
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