American filmmaker David Lynch received an honorary Academy Award for his services to the film industry. The award took place during the Governors Awards ceremony on Sunday, October 27, in Los Angeles.

On that day, director Lina Wertmüller (“Taken by an extraordinary fate to the azure sea in August”) and actor Wes Stuydy (“Foes”) also became laureates of the Oscar. Actress Gina Davis (“Involuntarily Tourist”) was honored with the Jean Hersholt Award, one of the chairmen of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1945 to 1949, for developing the cause of humanism.

Lynch, receiving the award, said: “You have a very interesting taste.”

Filmmakers have already congratulated colleagues. The first were the Twin Peaks stars of the series Laura Dern and Kyle McLoclen.

“David (Lynch. - RT ) is a truly versatile person,” said Dern.

. @ LauraDern honors David Lynch. # HonoraryOscarspic.twitter.com / lm4qQI38Ut

- The Academy (@TheAcademy) October 28, 2019

The director and the Blue Velvet star, Italian actress Isabella Rossellini, also congratulated the director, noting that "David's muse is a mystery."

Surreal esthete

A two-time winner of the Cannes Film Festival and a three-time Academy Award nominee, David Lynch is considered one of the most important directors of the current era.

He studied as an artist, then became a animator and director of short animated sketches, and then received a grant to shoot the first full meter. In the 1990s, Lynch also created authoring commercials for fashion houses, including Yves Saint Laurent and Calvin Klein. His surreal aesthetics did not leave indifferent the leadership of the fashion house Giorgio Armani.

Surrealism and Symbolism migrated to Lynch’s films. An important role in the formation of the director’s worldview became his hometown of Missoula, Montana. The fictional Twin Peaks and the city of Lamberton from Blue Velvet are echoes of the childhood experiences of a filmmaker who grew up in a forested American town.

  • Frame from the series "Twin Peaks" (1990)
  • © kinopoisk.ru

Some motives in the original work of the director (insects, forests, provincial cities, shimmering highways, singing women and red curtains) are repeated from time to time. There is a theory that Lynch’s paintings exist in one universe.

The director pays special attention to the musical component. For many years he remains faithful to composer Angelo Badalamenti (it was Badalamenti who created one of the most recognizable tunes for Twin Peaks). Lynch also demonstrates constancy in the casting: some of the actors of Twin Peaks moved from Blue Velvet, and then starred in Wild at Heart.

In total, the filmography of the director totals more than ten films. In addition to cinema, Lynch is fond of literature and design. He also participated in several musical projects. And to this day, Lynch continues to paint - his work is often exhibited in museums and art spaces of different countries.

Honorary Oscar

The honorary award of the Academy is given from the 23rd ceremony (1950), although similar prizes under different names also existed earlier. The number of winners varies from year to year, while the prize was not always awarded.

An honorary Oscar can be awarded to filmmakers who do not fall under any annual nomination (for example, choreography), as well as organizations and companies - among the winners are 20th Century Fox, Eastman Kodak and other corporations, foundations and museums.

The Honorary Award is one of the three Academy Awards (Governors Awards). In addition to it, during the Governors Awards ceremony, the Irving Talberg Commemorative Award (for producers) and the Gene Hersholt Humanitarian Award can be awarded. In 2009, the board united the celebration of all the winners in these nominations as part of the gala dinner, with the names of the winners known in advance.

“Annually presenting Governors Awards, the Academy honors people who have dedicated their lives to creativity and have made an outstanding contribution to the film industry and beyond,” said President of the Film Academy John Bailey.

The winners of special awards are awarded separately because of the need to comply with the time frame of the main Oscars. However, the names of the awarded are also mentioned during it.

Interestingly, the honorary award is not always a figurine. This can be a lifetime membership in the Academy, a medal, a diploma, a plaque, a scroll or something else. The form of each award is chosen by the Academy board.

  • Shot from the movie "Wild at Heart" (1990)
  • © kinopoisk.ru

Over the years, the honorary Oscar winners have been such actors as Gary Cooper, Kirk Douglas, Sophia Loren, Charles Chaplin, Angela Lansbury, Mary Pickford and Jackie Chan. Four times the award went to Bob Hope - actor, comedian, television and radio presenter.

The award also received animators - Walt Disney (three times: for the creation of Mickey Mouse, the animated films “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “Fantasy”) and Hayao Miyazaki. The recognition of the academy has repeatedly been sought by composers - including Ennio Morricone, Fred Astaire and others.

Among the directors awarded the honorary Oscar are Michelangelo Antonioni, Andrzej Wajda, Jean-Luc Godard, Akira Kurosawa and Spike Lee.