Jackie Chan to receive honorary Oscar at 2017 ceremony
Action movie star Jackie Chan will going to receive an honorary Oscar, the Academy said Thursday, to recognize a glittering career that has seen him become a cultural icon. The 62-year-old martial artist, known for his comic timing and acrobatic fighting style, has appeared in more than 150 movies since becoming a child actor in his native Hong Kong in the 1960s. Film editor Anne Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman will also be awarded Oscar statuettes at the Academy’s 8th Annual Governors Awards in November.
Chan’s Hollywood breakthrough came with Rumble in the Bronx in 1996, and he has gone on to be become a global star through the Rush Hour movies, Shanghai Noon, The Karate Kid and the Kung Fu Panda series of animated films.
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.Previous winners of honorary Oscars include Lauren Bacall, Francis Ford Coppola, Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie and Spike Lee.