Mel Brooks and Angela Bassett receive honorary Oscars at Governors Awards

Mel Brooks and Angela Bassett received honorary Oscars at the Governors Awards on Tuesday night.

The comedian and filmmaker was honoured by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles in front of a star-studded audience including Leonardo DiCaprio, Bradley Cooper, Margot Robbie and Natalie Portman.

After a musical introduction by Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, who starred in Brooks' stage show and film The Producers, the 97-year-old funnyman joked that he wouldn't be selling his honorary Oscar statuette like he did his competitive one.

"I miss it so much. I never should have sold it," he said of the Best Original Screenplay Oscar he won in 1968 for The Producers. "I won't sell this. I swear to God."

The Young Frankenstein filmmaker called the award "terrific" and gushed, "I got to tell you, this means a lot to me. It really means a lot."

According to People, he added, "When your peers appreciate your work and they salute you with this golden statue, it means a great deal."

Bassett, who has been nominated for two competitive Oscars during her career, named all 10 Black women who have won Academy Awards and expressed her hope that Hollywood would give more opportunities to people of colour.

"My prayer is that we leave this industry more enriched, forward-thinking and inclusive than we found it," she said, reports Reuters. "At the end of the day, we all just want to have the opportunity to do great, meaningful work."

During the ceremony, film editor Carol Littleton also received an honorary Oscar, while Sundance Film Festival executive Michelle Satter was presented with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

The 14th annual Governors Awards were postponed from November due to the actors' strike.