Though there's the occasional Elia Kazan moment, where someone with a troubled Hollywood past has to step up and accept an award amid a crowd of detractors, the honorary awards at the Oscars and the Golden Globes are usually just a chance to catch up with some Hollywood legend you might not have seen in a while. So while Martin Scorsese's latest film Shutter Island has been pushed out of this year's Oscar race by virtue of release date, according to Variety we'll get to see him anyway as he accepts the Cecil B. DeMille award at the January 17 Golden Globe Awards.

The DeMille is a generic lifetime achievement award, having been received by mostly actors (Harrison Ford and Warren Beatty are recent recipients) but also directors-- Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar, but he's got one of these. Remember that the Golden Globes, however much they are touted as Oscar precursors and a significant awards ceremony, mostly exist to gather together as many celebrities as possible and get as many of us at home to watch. They are giving the award to Scorsese not necessarily because of his achievements (of which there are many, of course), but because they know we'll want to see him. Don't you hate it when they turn out to be right?