The awards season launched with the presentation of the Hollywood Film Awards on Sunday evening (11/4), emceed by actress and comedian Awkwafina at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. In the Hollywood Film Awards’ 22-year history, more than 320 stars and filmmakers have been recognized and 130-plus honorees have gone on to garner Oscar nominations and/or wins.
Felix van Groeningen voiced his utmost gratitude to receive the Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award and to be lucky enough to make a film like Beautiful Boy. Brad Bird kept his Hollywood Animation Award acceptance speech short and sweet as he stressed the need to keep making animation films for “dreaming and for dreamers.” Ryan Gosling gave an impassioned speech on the marvel and genius of Damien Chazelle and presented him with the Hollywood Director Award for First Man. Taraji P. Henson lauded the brilliance of John David Washington and his ability to make a period piece, that is still so relevant today, as he was honored with the Hollywood Breakout Performance Actor Award for BlacKkKlansman.
After accepting the Hollywood Documentary Award on behalf of Don Argott for Believer, Dan Reynolds performed an extremely emotional rendition of the documentary’s original song, “Skipping Stones.” Danny Huston introduced New Hollywood Actress Award recipient Yalitza Aparicio who gave a touching speech in Spanish explaining that she hopes the “win of the performance (for Roma) is felt by the people of Mexico.” Anne Hathaway took the stage to present the Hollywood Actor Award to Hugh Jackman for The Front Runner, applauding his many achievements. Sterling K. Brown presented the award for Hollywood Breakout Ensemble to the cast of Crazy Rich Asians.
Janelle Monáe was on hand to present Amandla Stenberg with the Hollywood Breakout Performance Actress Award. Stenberg expressed her hope that the film, The Hate U Give, encourages people to stand up and be heard. Christian Slater presented Glenn Close with her Hollywood Actress Award for her performance in the upcoming film, The Wife. Michael B. Jordan came out to recognize Black Panther producer Nate Moore and director Ryan Coogler with the Hollywood Film Award.
The final award of the evening went to Hollywood Career Achievement Award recipient Nicole Kidman, and was presented by Shailene Woodley. Kidman was welcomed with a standing ovation and thanked those in the room and in the industry for allowing her to play the women she’s played and tell their stories. She vowed to “always give back to [her] craft!”
Here’s a rundown of honorees at this year’s Hollywood Film Awards:
Hollywood Career Achievement Award
Nicole Kidman, presented by Shailene Woodley
Hollywood Film Award
Black Panther, presented by Michael B. Jordan
Hollywood Actress Award
Glenn Close for The Wife, presented by Christian Slater
Hollywood Actor Award
Hugh Jackman for The Front Runner, presented by Anne Hathaway
Hollywood Supporting Actor Award
Timothée Chalamet for Beautiful Boy, presented by Armie Hammer
Hollywood Ensemble Award
Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, Linda Cardellini for Green Book, presented by Octavia Spencer
Hollywood Breakout Ensemble Award
Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Sonoya Mizuno, Chris Pang, Jimmy O. Yang, Ronny Chieng, Remi Hii, Nico Santos for Crazy Rich Asians, presented by Sterling K. Brown
Hollywood Breakout Performance Actress Award
Amandla Stenberg for The Hate U Give, presented by Janelle Monáe
Hollywood Breakout Performance Actor Award
John David Washington for BlacKKkKlansman, presented by Taraji P. Henson
New Hollywood Actress Award
Yalitza Aparicio for Roma, presented by Danny Huston
Hollywood Director Award
Damien Chazelle for First Man, presented by Ryan Gosling
Hollywood Screenwriter Award
Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Brian Hayes Currie for Green Book, presented by Michael Keaton
Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award
Felix van Groeningen for Beautiful Boy, presented by Brad Pitt
Hollywood Documentary Award
Believer, presented by Adam Lambert
Hollywood Animation Award
Incredibles 2, presented by Sophia Bush
Hollywood Cinematography Award
Matthew Libatique for A Star Is Born
Hollywood Film Composer Award
Justin Hurwitz for First Man
Hollywood Editor Award
Tom Cross for First Man
Hollywood Visual Effects Award
Dan Deleeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl, Dan Sudick for Avengers: Infinity War
Hollywood Costume Design Award
Sandy Powell for The Favourite
Hollywood Make-Up & Hair Styling Award
Jenny Schircore, Sarah Kelly, Hannah Edwards for Mary Queen of Scots
Hollywood Production Design Award
Hannah Beachler for Black Panther
Hollywood Sound Award
Erik Aadahl, Ethan Van der Ryn, Brandon Proctor for A Quiet Place
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More