Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award is awarded periodically by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to "creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production". The award is named for Irving Thalberg, head of the Production Division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who developed the company's reputation for sophisticated films. The trophy itself was originally a bust of Thalberg rather than the familiar Oscar statuette. However, it is still counted as an "Honorary Oscar".