MTV’s Movie Awards

Posted on June 4, 2012 at 9:13 am

They are brash, rude, silly, immature, and disrespectful, but the MTV Movie Awards are a lot of fun.

Over at the NPR blog Monkey See, Linda Holmes writes:

At the same time, there’s something to be said for these loose, largely fan-voted awards that dispense with awards like Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay (fans are not great at knowing what elements of a movie come from the director versus the screenwriter anyway) in favor of awards like … Best Kiss. Best Fight. And in some years, Best Scared-As-S—t Performance. (I kind of love the fact that last year, they nominated Ryan Reynolds in Buried in that category, because no, that movie isn’t great, but it’s creepy, and yes, he is scared.) And this year, they’re giving out Best Dirtbag. Well — it’s actually Best On-Screen Dirtbag. It’s probably easier to get somebody on stage to accept an award if the chyron doesn’t just say “Best Dirtbag: .”

While the Oscars are great at recognizing movies that have certain admirable qualities – distinctive and energetic acting, say, or beautifully stylized dialogue – they have never been nearly as good at recognizing the value of the entertainment side of moviegoing. They have been reticent to acknowledge on an institutional level that people go to the movies, much of the time, to experience something exhilarating. They go to laugh, to weep and swoon, to look at beautiful places, to be scared and excited and surprised. They don’t always go in order to see the most skilled artists at work. Sometimes they just want to be made to react.

It was a big year for “The Hunger Games.” Emma Stone was a highlight with her exceptionally thoughtful and gracious acceptance of the Trailblazer award and its message about blazing your own trails, and Fun. was a great choice for the kick-off song. This year’s winners are:

Movie of the Year
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Best Male Performance
Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games

Best Female Performance
Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games

Breakthrough Performance
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Cast
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Best On-Screen Transformation
Elizabeth Banks, The Hunger Games

Best Fight
Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson vs. Alexander Ludwig, The Hunger Games

Best Kiss
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Best On-Screen Dirtbag
Jennifer Aniston, Horrible Bosses

Best Music
“Party Rock Anthem,” LMFAO (21 Jump Street)

Best Comedic Performance
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Most Gut-Wrenching Performance
The cast of Bridesmaids

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And the Oscars Go To…..

Posted on February 27, 2012 at 10:37 am

There were no big surprises but there were many touching and inspiring moments in the midst of the glamour at the Oscar ceremony. Billy Crystal returned for the ninth time as the modern era’s most adept host, making gentle fun of the stars and of the theater’s losing its name in the midst of a bankruptcy proceeding. Stay tuned for my Gallery on the best and the worst of the Oscar broadcast. In the meantime, here’s a look at the winners:

Best Picture: The Artist

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Short Film (Animated): The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Short Film (Documentary): Saving Face

Short Film (Live Action): The Shore

Writing (Original Screenplay): Midnight In Paris

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): The Descendants

Music (Original Song): “Man Or Muppet,” The Muppets

Music (Original Score): The Artist

Visual Effects: Hugo

Animated Feature: Rango

Documentary Feature: Undefeated

Sound Mixing: Hugo

Sound Editing: Hugo

Film Editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Makeup: The Iron Lady

Costume Design: The Artist, Mark Bridges

Art Direction: Hugo

Cinematography: Hugo

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Awards: Golden Globes

Posted on January 16, 2012 at 8:24 am

And now, the Golden Globes. “The Artist,” “The Help,” Christopher Plummer. and Octavia Spencer are moving ahead in the race to the Oscars. The Globes give out twice as many awards by including television and having separate categories for comedy/musical and drama. Who do you think was the best presenter? Who gave the best acceptance speech?

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Best Actress TV Series – Comedy: Laura Dern, “Enlightened”
Best Miniseries: “Downton Abbey”
Best Actress – Miniseries: Kate Winslet, “Mildred Pierce”
Best Actor TV Series – Drama: Kelsey Grammer, “Boss”
Best TV Seres – Drama: “Homeland”
Best Original Score: Ludovic Bource, “The Artist”
Best Original Song: “Masterpiece,” Madonna from “W.E.”
Best Actor – Miniseries: Idris Elba, “Luther”
Best Actress – Musical or Comedy: Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”
Best Supporting Actor – TV Series, Miniseries, Movie: Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
Best Animated Feature: “The Adventures of Tintin”
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Best Actress TV – Drama: Jessica Lange, “American Horror Story”
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Separation”
Best Actress TV – Drama: Claire Danes, “Homeland”
Best Actor TV – Comedy: Matt LeBlanc, “Episodes”
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, “The Help”
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”
Best Comedy Series: “Modern Family”
Best Actor – Musical or Comedy: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Best Actress – Drama: Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Best Picture – Musical or Comedy: “The Artist”
Best Actor – Drama: George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Best Picture – Drama: “The Descendants”

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Awards: Broadcast Film Critics

Posted on January 12, 2012 at 11:00 pm

The Critics Choice Award broadcast was great fun tonight with a brilliantly edited tribute to Martin Scorsese, who received a special award for his treatment of music in his movies. Viola Davis, in my opinion the finest actor who isn’t Meryl Streep, brought me to tears with her acceptance speech for the Best Actress award she received for “The Help.” Her Entertainment Weekly cover co-star George Clooney won Best Actor for “The Descendents.” “The Artist” won Best Picture and Director, and all of these are now front runners for the upcoming Golden Globes, SAG awards, and the Oscars. Stay tuned!
BEST PICTURE
“The Artist”

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – “The Descendants”

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis – “The Help”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Thomas Horn – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
“The Help”

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“Moneyball” – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (TIE)
“The Tree of Life”
AND
“War Horse”

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Hugo”

BEST EDITING
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Artist”

BEST MAKE-UP
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

BEST SOUND
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Rango”

BEST ACTION MOVIE
“Drive”

BEST COMEDY
“Bridesmaids”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“A Separation”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“George Harrison: Living in the Material World”

BEST SONG
“Life’s a Happy Song” – The Muppets
Performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter
Written by Bret McKenzie and The Muppets

BEST SCORE
“The Artist”

JOEL SIEGEL AWARD
Sean Penn

CRITICS’ CHOICE MUSIC+FILM AWARD
Martin Scorsese

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Alliance of Woman Film Journalists Awards

Posted on January 10, 2012 at 10:28 am

More awards are rolling in as we get ready for the big three — this week’s Critics Choice Movie Awards this Thursday night on VH1 (Twitter hashtag #ccma), the Golden Globes on Sunday, and of course the Oscars coming next month on February 26. I’m honored to be a member of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists and very proud of this year’s honorees. “The Artist” continues to build momentum for the top award but the unusual number of tie votes shows that in many of the categories, the competition is very tough. I love the AWFJ’s categories like “best animated female character” and “most egregious love interest.” Be sure to read through to the end!

Best Film:

The Artist

Best Director:

Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist

Best Screenplay, Original:

Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen

Best Screenplay, Adapted: (TIE)

The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash

Moneyball – Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin

Best Documentary:

Buck

Best Animated Film:

Rango

Best Actress:

Viola Davis as Abileen in The Help

Best Actress in a Supporting Role: (TIE)

Janet McTeer as Hubert Page in Albert Nobb and Octavia Spencer as Minny Jackson in The Help

Best Actor:

Michael Fassbender as Brandon Sullivan in Shame

Best Actor in a Supporting Role:

Christopher Plummer as Hal Fields in Beginners

Best Ensemble Cast:

Bridesmaids

Best Editing:

Hugo – Thelma Schoonmaker

Best Cinematography:

The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki

Best Film Music Or Score: (TIE)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, Original Score

Hanna – The Chemical Brothers, Original Score

Best Non-English-Language Film:

A Separation – Ashgar Farhadi, Iran

EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS

Best Woman Director:

Lynne Ramsey – We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Woman Screenwriter:

Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo – Bridesmaids

Kick Ass Award For Best Female Action Star: (TIE)

Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Saoirse Ronan as Hanna in Hanna

Best Animated Female:

Isla Fisher as Beans in Rango

Best Breakthrough Performance:

Elizabeth Olsen as Martha in Martha Marcy May Marlene

Female Icon Award:

Glenn Close as Albert Nobbs in Albert Nobbs

Actress Defying Age and Ageism:

Helen Mirren as Rachel Singer in The Debt

This Year’s Outstanding Achievement By A Woman In The Film Industry:

Jessica Chastain for performances in four highly acclaimed films

AWFJ Award For Humanitarian Activism:

Angelina Jolie for UN work and making In The Land of Blood and Honey to raise awareness about genocide.

EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS

AWFJ Hall Of Shame Award:

The Hollywood Reporter for failing to invite any women to join the Directors Roundtable

Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent:

All actresses in New Year’s Eve

Movie You Wanted To Love But Just Couldn‘t:

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Unforgettable Moment Award:

The Artist – The sound of the glass clinking on the table.

Best Depiction Of Nudity, Sexuality, or Seduction: (TIE)

Melancholia – Justine in the moonlight and Shame – Opening sequence on the subway train.

Sequel Or Remake That Shouldn’t Have Been Made Award:

The Hangover Part II

Most Egregious Love Interest Age Difference Award: (TIE)

Albert Nobbs – Glenn Close (64) and Mia Wasilkowska (22)

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I – Bella (18) and Edward (Over 100)

* * * * * * * * * * * *

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists is very grateful to our 2011 sponsors for their ongoing support of the EDA Awards and our organization.

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