By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) --Much like the American presidential race, it's never too early to start campaigning for Hollywood's awards season, and stars got an early chance Sunday at the Hollywood Film Awards .
The show has been criticized for its nebulous selection process and odd tradition of recognizing films before they're released, but the untelevised ceremony at the Beverly Hilton Hotel still drew an A-list crowd of apparent awards-season hopefuls.
"Tonight is actually rigged," host James Corden told the audience. "Literally, none of this is real."
That didn't stop such actors as Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Matthew McConaughey from showing up to accept trophies. There were no nominees and winners were announced in advance.
Other stars appearing Sunday included Julianne Moore, Kate Hudson, Justin Timberlake, Jonah Hill, Anna Kendrick, Andrew Garfield, Warren Beatty, Mel Gibson and Lenny Kravitz.
Founded by businessman Carlos de Abreu (whom Robert De Niro awkwardly name-dropped Sunday during a pre-written speech), the Hollywood Film Awards joined with dick clark productions in 2014, when the show was broadcast on CBS.
The program is no longer televised, but it's still scripted, with most stars reading from a prompter.
"Even though I didn't write that, I absolutely agree with that," Susan Sarandon said after reading heartfelt words about Portman, who was honored for her portrayal of Jackie Kennedy in "Jackie" (opening Dec. 2).
Casey Affleck made fun of the stiff script he was given to introduce "Manchester By the Sea" screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan.
"I didn't write this," Affleck said.
Artists accepting awards, though, did do so sincerely.
Naomie Harris talked about having to drop her own judgments to play a drug-addicted mom in "Moonlight."
"I am forever changed as a result of this journey," she said.
Kidman received the supporting actress prize for "Lion" (in theaters Nov. 25), a film she says "will show people the inherent goodness in all of us."
Accepting an award for his documentary "Before the Flood ," DiCaprio talked about climate change as "an urgent threat to life on earth as we know it." Director Fisher Stevens said the film is available free through election day.
Corden and others also mentioned Tuesday's election, including De Niro, who openly urged support for Hillary Clinton. "We have the opportunity to prevent a comedy from turning into a tragedy," he said.
Eddie Murphy received the career achievement award. He was greeted with a standing ovation, which he said "warms the cockles of one's heart on a Sunday."
"This is a very, very, very chatty group. I've never heard such long speeches ever," Murphy said, noting that he wasn't using a prompter.
"I really wish I had a chatty, chatty, chatty speech for you," he said. "I know everybody's been sitting here for a while. But I'm very moved and very honored, so thank you very much."
Corden closed out the night by saying: "We're out of fake awards to give out."
As for the rest of Hollywood's awards season, nominations for the Golden Globe Awards will be announced Dec. 12. The Screen Actors Guild reveals its awards nominees Dec. 14 and Academy Awards nominees will be announced Jan. 24, 2017.
Winners of the Hollywood Film Awards:
Career achievement: Eddie Murphy.
Actor: Tom Hanks, "Sully."
Supporting actor: Hugh Grant, "Florence Foster Jenkins."
Actress: Natalie Portman, "Jackie."
Supporting actress: Nicole Kidman, "Lion."
Comedy: Robert De Niro, "The Comedian."
Breakout performance: Naomie Harris, "Collateral Beauty" and "Moonlight."
New Hollywood: Lily Collins, "Rules Don't Apply."
Spotlight: Janelle Monae, "Hidden Figures."
Ensemble: Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez, Bryce Dallas Howard, "Gold."
Song: "Can't Fight the Feeling," Justin Timberlake.
Blockbuster: "The Jungle Book."
Animation: "Zootopia."
Documentary: "Before the Flood," Leonardo DiCaprio, Fisher Stevens.
Director: Mel Gibson, "Hacksaw Ridge."
Breakthrough director: Tom Ford, "Nocturnal Animals."
Producer: Marc Platt, ""La La Land," ''Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk," ''The Girl on the Train."
Screenwriter: Kenneth Lonergan, "Manchester By the Sea."
Cinematography: Linus Sandgren, "La La Land."
Film composer: Mychael Danna, "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" and "Storks."
Editor: John Gilbert, "Hacksaw Ridge."
Visual effects: Stephane Ceretti and Richard Bluff, "Doctor Strange."
Sound: Christopher Boyes and Frank Eulner, "The Jungle Book."
Costume design: Albert Wolsky, "Rules Don't Apply."
Makeup & hair styling: Shane Thomas, Angela Conte, Bec Taylor, Noriko Watanabe, "Hacksaw Ridge."
Production design: Wynn Thomas, "Hidden Figures."
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More