Mel Brooks, Angela Bassett receive honorary Oscars at starry, untelevised event
By LINDSEY BAHR
AP Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood’s awards season can feel a little gratuitously self-congratulatory, but Tuesday night some of the biggest movie stars in the industry gathered to celebrate someone other than themselves. Mel Brooks, Angela Bassett and film editor Carol Littleton collected honorary Oscar statuettes at a private, untelevised dinner Tuesday night in Los Angeles that has often been even starrier than the Oscars themselves. Michelle Satter, a founder and director of the Sundance Institute’s artist programs, also received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. The event is also a de facto campaign stop for the current season’s awards hopefuls. Voting for the 96th Oscars begins Thursday.