Governors Awards Delivers Emotional Tribute to Quincy Jones

The Academy’s annual Governors Awards is often a favorite event for Hollywood insiders, as it allows industry icons who have been otherwise overlooked for Oscars to finally get their due. The event, which is not televised, has a warm and leisurely pace, giving the honorees and those who are honoring them time to properly look back on their careers, and thank the many people who got them to that stage.

This year’s gala, held on Sunday, Nov. 17 in a packed ballroom in Hollywood, was more emotional than most years because Quincy Jones, the iconic music producer whose film scores include In the Heat of the Night, In Cold Blood, The Wiz, and The Color Purple, passed away just two weeks before the event was set to take place. His family took the stage to accept the award in his honor, delivering a touching tribute. “In some ways it was a difficult decision for our family to be here tonight,” said his daughter Rashida Jones onstage. “But we felt we wanted to celebrate his beautiful life and career.”

Jones and her siblings took the stage after a powerful performance of “Maybe God Is Tryin' To Tell You Somethin'” from The Color Purple by Jennifer Hudson. Jones read from a draft of the acceptance speech her father had been working on for the event, before adding her own ending to it. “The real thread in his music is that his music is all infused with his love,” she said onstage. “That was his real legacy – love.”

Along with honoring Quincy Jones’s legacy, the Governors Awards also bestowed honorary Oscars to casting director Juliet Taylor, writer/director Richard Curtis, and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. The night had many emotional moments – several attendees, including Selena Gomez and Kerry Washington, shed tears during Rashida Jones’ speech—but there were also plenty of lighter moments earlier in the night as well.

The Governors Awards not only honor industry icons, but also serve as a popular awards campaign stop during the peak of the Oscar race. This year’s collection of Oscar hopefuls includes big names like Angelina Jolie, Nicole Kidman, and Jennifer Lopez, along with some of the season’s biggest breakouts like Mikey Madison, Paul Mescal, Margaret Qualley, and Lily-Rose Depp.