John Mulaney Surprises Governors Awards as Host, Recalls Failed Audition for Maggie Gyllenhaal

January 2024 · 6 minute read

Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks, Carol Littleton and Michelle Satter were honored by the Academy at the 14th annual ceremony.

A night full of legends, tears and an amazing audition to be the next Oscars host, the 14th annual Governors Awards brought all of this year’s award contenders out to celebrate four industry titans on Tuesday inside the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles.

Angela Bassett, Mel Brooks and Carol Littleton received honorary Oscars, while the Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satter was bestowed with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

In addition to honoring legends, the Governors Awards are an opportunity for contenders to make an impression ahead of voting with the Board of Governors and other AMPAS members in attendance. The room was overflowing with A-listers such as Leonardo DiCaprio (“Killers of the Flower Moon”), Christopher Nolan (“Oppenheimer”), Ava DuVernay (“Origin”), Eva Longoria (“Flamin’ Hot”), Colman Domingo (“Rustin”), Natalie Portman (“May December”), Margot Robbie (“Barbie”) and more.

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The night kicked off with a surprise for attendees in the form of a host for the evening, something the Academy had never done previously for the Governors Awards. Comedian and recently Emmy-awarded writer John Mulaney took the reigns as the emcee, and if this was his “audition” as a future host for Hollywood’s biggest night, he more than passed with flying colors. Kudos to ceremony producer Jennifer Fox.

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With jokes about putting himself on tape for the role of “Young Cop” in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s untitled movie at Warner Bros. (in which Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley are in talks to star, according to the email Mulaney read from his WME agent) to calling the original title of Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic “Bye, Felicia,” if the Academy can tap him for a future ceremony, the Oscars (and the ratings) will be in good hands.

Bassett, who was presented her award by Academy Award winner Regina King, delivered a passionate speech highlighting her over four decades in the Hollywood business.

A two-time Oscar nominee for “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” (1993) and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (2022), Bassett delivered a passionate speech, recalling the journey for Black women in this industry from Hattie McDaniel and naming the too few names that have come after. On the red carpet, Variety’s Marc Malkin asked Bassett if she thought Hollywood had changed or was still the same while referencing “The Color Purple” star Taraji P. Henson’s recent comments about pay inequality.

“Every industry can always improve itself, and we certainly can as well in terms of pay equity,” Bassett told Variety. “As an actor, we always just want an opportunity to do great work.”

Brooks, 97, was bestowed the honor by Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, best known for working with the legend on the musical, “The Producers.” The two multi-hyphenates sang a seven-minute medley recalling his notable hits, including “Springtime for Hitler” and “High Anxiety.”

As Mulaney described Brooks as “one of the funniest people ever to live,” Brooks gave the room one of the night’s biggest laughs during his speech, recalling winning an Oscar for penning the script for “Blazing Saddles,” saying, “I should never have sold it, times were tough. I promise to keep this one.”

Littleton, the esteemed editor of films such as “The Big Chill,” was presented by eight-time nominee Glenn Close. She dedicated her award to her late husband and former AMPAS president John Bailey, “This is for both of us.”

The audience was brought to tears when directors Ryan Coogler and Chloe Zhao presented the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Satter, whose son, Michael Latt, was killed in his apartment in Los Angeles in November. Zhao lovingly shared during her presentation, “We are all your children. We love you. We will always be here for you.”

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