Spike Lee and Gena Rowlands will receive honorary Academy Awards on Nov. 14 at the 7th annual Governors Awards ceremony.
Actress Debbie Reynolds will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award as well.
All three artists have been nominated for Oscars before. Spike Lee has two nominations: best writing for Do the Right Thing and best documentary for 4 Little Girls. Debbie Reynolds was nominated for best actress in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Gena Rowlands has been nominated for best actress twice, for Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence.
[seealso slug="spike-lee-movie-soundtrack"]
Congratulations to our #GovAwards winners Gena Rowlands, @SpikeLee & @DebbieReynolds1! http://t.co/dBzI6xT4VJ pic.twitter.com/SodI5pJ7Re— The Academy (@TheAcademy) August 27, 2015
All three artists are still acting and directing. Lee is currently working on the musical Chiraq, which will be Amazon's first original movie. Last year, Rowlands starred in the films Parts Per Billion and Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks. Reynolds recently stunned audiences in HBO movie Behind the Candelabra, looking nearly unrecognizable as Liberace's Polish mother.
Many thanks to everyone @TheAcademy https://t.co/csQIFOjGen— Debbie Reynolds (@DebbieReynolds1) August 27, 2015
Lee's honorary win comes 25 years after a perceived snub for Do the Right Thing in the best picture and best director category. The absence was even noted during the 1990 ceremony, when presenter Kim Basinger gave an impromptu speech about the film's exclusion.
"There is one film missing from this list that deserves to be on it, because ironically, it might tell the biggest truth of all," she said.
In a previous interview with Mashable, Lee admits he doesn't really keep up with awards shows.
"You can’t give people the power to validate your work," he said.