Ridley Scott Will Miss Academy’s Governors Awards, Accept Honorary Oscar Remotely (Exclusive)

The legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott, who was tapped to receive an honorary Oscar at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 17th annual Governors Awards on Sunday night, will not be able to attend the ceremony in Hollywood to accept the honor in-person, The Hollywood Reporter can exclusively report.

Scott, who is based in London and will turn 89 on Nov. 30, underwent a minor medical procedure last week and has been advised not to fly while he is still healing, sources tell THR. However, Scott’s entire family — his wife, children and grandchildren — will be making the trip to L.A. for this celebration.

Scott pre-taped his acceptance speech last week, and it will be played during the ceremony, at which actress Glenn Close and animator Floyd Norman will also receive honorary Oscars and producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler will be presented with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.

Scott has had a career unlike any other. He was nearly 40 when he made his directorial debut with 1977’s The Duellists, having spent his early career making high-end commercials in partnership with his brother Tony. But he has made up — and continues to make up — for lost time, consistently pumping out action-packed blockbusters (his films have collectively grossed some $5 billion), many of them landmarks of cinematic achievement.

Indeed, he is behind two of the most significant sci-fi films of all time, 1979’s Alien and 1982’s Blade Runner, as well as 1991’s Thelma & Louise (for which he received a best director Oscar nomination), 2000’s Gladiator (which won the best picture Oscar, while he lost best director), 2001’s Black Hawk Down (for which he received his most recent best director Oscar nom), 2007’s American Gangster, 2015’s The Martian and 2024’s Gladiator 2.

He has also produced many of his films — among them Thelma & Louise, Black Hawk Down, American Gangster, The Martian (for which he personally received a best picture Oscar nom) and Gladiator 2 — as well as a ton of TV series including The Good Wife, The Man in the High Castle, The Good Fight and Dope Thief.

Though he projects the image of the most masculine of males, and has featured tough-guy characters in films like Blade Runner and Gladiator, he is also behind truly feminist films like Alien and Thelma & Louise. His works collectively have been nominated for 45 Oscars (including seven for performances), winning nine (including one for a performance), but he has never taken home a statuette.

BAFTA awarded him with two high honors for career achievement: its Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award in 1994 (shared with Tony, who died in 2012) and its Fellowship in 2018.