Star Wars' Kennedy, Tyson to get lifetime awards

"Star Wars" producer Kathleen Kennedy and veteran actress Cicely Tyson will receive honorary awards this year, recognising their lifetime achievements in the movie industry, the Motion Picture Academy said on Wednesday.

Kennedy, who will be honoured with her producer husband Frank Marshall, will be the first woman to receive the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award that is given to film producers annually for their body of work.

Kennedy and Marshall co-founded Amblin Entertainment with director Steven Spielberg in 1981, producing box office hits that went on to become movie favorites including "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Jurassic Park" and "The Color Purple."

In 2012, Kennedy became president of Lucasfilm, reviving the "Star Wars" space saga and producing new hits "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."

New York-born Tyson, 93, is one of most respected African-American actresses in show business, appearing in films, plays, and television, including recent roles in "The Help", and "Diary of a Mad Black Woman." Tyson will be awarded an honorary Oscar.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organises the annual Oscars, said in a statement the honorary awards would be presented at a gala dinner in Los Angeles in November.

Meanwhile, Argentinian composer Lalo Schifrin, best known for his "Mission: Impossible" theme song, is to receive an honorary Oscar along with publicist Marvin Levy.

"Choosing the honorees for its awards each year is the happiest of all the Board of Governors work," John Bailey, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hands out the Oscars, said in a statement.

"And this year, its selection of five iconic artists was made with universal acclaim by the Academy's 54 spirited governors," he added.

Levy, the first publicist ever to receive an honorary Oscar, has long worked with Steven Spielberg and spearheaded the advertising campaigns for such films as "Kramer vs. Kramer", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Schindler's List."

Schifrin, 86, who has written scores for more than 100 films, including "Bullit" and "Dirty Harry", is perhaps most famous for the theme he wrote for the television series "Mission: Impossible," which has also been a hallmark of the films that followed.

The honorary Oscars are handed out every year "to honour extraordinary distinction in lifetime achievement, exceptional contributions to the state of motion picture arts and sciences, or for outstanding service to the Academy."

The Governors Awards were created as a separate event in 2009 to allow more space for the honorees to accept their statuettes and to declutter the main show's packed schedule.