Awards: Independent Spirit and Razzies 2015

Posted on February 22, 2015 at 12:17 pm

Tonight’s the big night. The Oscars. And that means that yesterday two of the other most significant movie awards were announced. The Independent Spirit awards are given to the people who make movies outside the studio system. These are passion projects. As Julianne Moore, tonight’s likely Best Actress winner for “Still Alice,” said when she accepted her Independent Spirit award for that same role, the budget for the film was so small that she brought her own food and underwear to the set and they didn’t have equipment to film indoors at night time. Keep in mind that her other film in 2014 was the no-chance-of-any-award-ever “Non-Stop.” Independent films are where stories are told because people want to tell them, not because they will make the most money. And the awards show is a hoot. Where else would you see an award winner take time out of thanking everyone to insult the airline that lost his luggage and also happened to be one of the event’s sponsors?

Here are the winners of this year’s Independent Spirit awards.

Copyright 2014 Fox Searchlight
Copyright 2014 Fox Searchlight

BEST FEATURE
Birdman
Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole

BEST MALE LEAD
Michael Keaton, Birdman

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Julianne Moore, Still Alice

BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SCREENPLAY
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras
Producers: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Ida (Poland), Director: Pawel Pawlikowski

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Nightcrawler
Director: Dan Gilroy; Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak

copyright 2014 Lionsgate
copyright 2014 Lionsgate

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Justin Simien, Dear White People

BEST EDITING
Tom Cross, Whiplash

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Land Ho!
Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens; Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy

LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
The Kill Team, Director: Dan Krauss

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Chris Chison

KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
H., Directors: Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia

And then there are the Razzies, given to each year’s worst movies. Bravo to the Razzies for adding a new “Razzie Redeemer” category to recognize a previous winner who has gone on to do great work.

WORST PICTURE: “Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas”
WORST ACTOR: Kirk Cameron, “Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas”
WORST ACTRESS: Cameron Diaz, “The Other Woman”/”Sex Tape”
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Kelsey Grammer, “Expendables 3″/”Legends of Oz”/”Think Like a Man Too”/“Transformers: Age of Extinction”
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Megan Fox, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”
WORST DIRECTOR: Michael Bay, “Transformers: Age of Extinctions”
WORST SCREENPLAY: “Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas”
WORST SCREEN COMBO: Kirk Cameron & his ego, “Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas”
WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF, OR SEQUEL: “Annie”
THE RAZZIE REDEEMER AWARD: Ben Affleck — from “Gigli” to “Argo” and “Gone Girl”

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Awards

Critics Choice Awards 2015

Posted on January 16, 2015 at 9:45 am

Copyright Rachel Apatoff 2015
Copyright Rachel Apatoff 2015

Sweetest moment of the Critics Choice Awards last night: when Emily Blunt was accepting her award for Best Actress in an Action/Sci-Fi Movie, her husband John Krasinski ran out from backstage, where he was waiting to present an award, to give her a congratulatory kiss. I also loved her comment that it was good to be in an action movie where she was not a damsel in distress. Other highlights included the special awards to “MVP” Jessica Chastain, for her work in four films in 2014, and to Kevin Costner and Ron Howard for their body of work. Chastain spoke movingly of the need for more diversity in filmmaking. Coster’s speech was a touching tribute to the unsung heroes of the film work, the crew who make it possible. And Ron Howard was inspiring in his fearless engagement with changing technologies and distribution systems.

The most satisfying part was that on the same day that the Oscars snubbed some of my most-loved films, performers, and directors of 2014, the Broadcast Film Critics came through. “The LEGO Movie” won best animated film and “Life Itself” won best documentary.  It was wonderful to be back in the historic Hollywood Palladium and we were thrilled to be on the wonderful A and E Channel for the first time.  They took great care of us.

But the best part was enjoying the dazzling event, surrounded by glamorous stars, with my daughter, Rachel, a costume designer who works in Hollywood.  Here we are in our vintage gowns and furs.

BEST PICTURE
Boyhood

BEST ACTOR
Michael Keaton, Birdman

BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, Still Alice

BEST DIRECTOR
Richard Linklater, Boyhood 

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Birdman

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman

BEST COMEDY
The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Jenny Slate, Obvious Child

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Michael Keaton, Birdman

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST SONG
“Glory,” Common/John Legend, Selma

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Lego Movie

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Bradley Cooper, American Sniper

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood

BEST SCI FI/HORROR MOVIE
Interstellar

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Life Itself

BEST CINEMATOGRAPY
Birdman, Emmanuel Lubezki

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

BEST EDITING
Birdman, Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Adam Stockhausen/Production Designer, Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Grand Budapest Hotel, Milena Canonero

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP
Guardians of the Galaxy

BEST SCORE
Antonio Sanchez, Birdman

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure (Sweden)

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Awards

Online Film Critics Awards 2014

Posted on December 15, 2014 at 10:15 am

Copyright 2014 Fox Searchlight
Copyright 2014 Fox Searchlight
I am proud to be a member of the Online Film Critics Society, and very pleased to announce this year’s awards:

Best Picture: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Animated Feature: The Lego Movie
Best Film Not in the English Language: Two Days, One Night
Best Documentary: Life Itself
Best Director: Richard Linklater – Boyhood
Best Actor: Michael Keaton – Birdman
Best Actress: Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl
Best Supporting Actor: Edward Norton – Birdman
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Best Original Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Adapted Screenplay: Gone Girl
Best Editing: Birdman
Best Cinematography: The Grand Budapest Hotel

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Washington Area Film Critics Awards 2014: Birdman, Boyhood, Roger Ebert’s Life Itself and the Best DC Movie of the Year

Posted on December 8, 2014 at 8:01 am

I’m proud to announce the winners of the 2014 awards from the Washington Area Film Critics. It is especially meaningful to me that we chose Roger Ebert’s story, “Life Itself,” as our top documentary of the year. It’s not about movies. It’s about life, and Steve James made a movie that Ebert would definitely honor with two thumbs up.

THE 2014 WAFCA AWARD WINNERS:

Best Film:
Boyhood

Best Director:
Richard Linklater (Boyhood)

Best Actor:
Michael Keaton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))

Best Actress:
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)

Best Supporting Actor:
J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

Best Supporting Actress:
Patricia Arquette (Boyhood)

Best Acting Ensemble:
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Best Youth Performance:
Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)

Best Original Screenplay:
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., Armando Bo (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))

Best Animated Feature:
The LEGO Movie

Best Documentary:
Life Itself

Best Foreign Language Film:
Force Majeure

Best Art Direction:
Production Designer: Adam Stockhausen, Set Decorator: Anna Pinnock (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))

Best Editing:
Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione, ACE (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance))

Best Original Score:
Mica Levi (Under the Skin)

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

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Awards
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