There were a few years where I spent nearly as much time living in New York City as I did living in Los Angeles. What stuck with me most about that time spent straddling the coasts was that celebrities felt like a protected, almost endangered species in NYC. In Los Angeles, they were practically part of a petting zoo. There is so much more people are paying attention to in NYC. Sitting next to Matthew Broderick at dinner is just so blasé at this point. Los Angeles is a coal miner’s town, though. Here, this is what we do. Celebrities are our currency. Big Hollywood affairs are what this town was built on. You know, that and literal pan handling, but that’s beside the point.
The Hollywood Awards, however, are no petting zoo; they’re a full on parade. Name a movie star and they were there. If you named a movie star that died in the 1970’s they were probably there, too. Hosted by Nancy O’Dell of “Entertainment Tonight”, but often over run by a number of the resident funny men in attendance, the show handed out a number of honors. Most of which were incredible achievements as Seth Rogen noted, “Probably the most amazing part of this awards show is that none of these movies have even come out yet.” Judd Apatow, Drector of THIS IS 40 (which had yet to be released at the time of the show), was the recipient of the Comedy Award. “It’s really a group effort,” he said “but I will accept all the praise if that’s possible.”
Additional honors went to Richard Gere for Career Achievement; Bradley Cooper for Best Actor in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; Marion Cotillard for Best Actress in RUST AND BONE; Robert De Niro for Supporting Actor in SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; Amy Adams for Supporting Actress in THE MASTER; Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and the Cast of ARGO for Ensemble Performance; John Hawkes for Breakout Performance in LINCOLN; Director David O. Russell for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; Dustin Hoffman for Breakthrough Director (collective laugh at the idea that Dustin Hoffman had to breakthrough into directing) of QUARTET; Quentin Tarantino for the Screenwriter Award for DJANGO UNCHAINED; Quvenzhané Wallis of BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD for the New Hollywood Award.
Dylan Tichenor, A.C.E. also received top honors with the Editor Award for ZERO DARK THIRTY. Joining him in the technical awards arena were Cinematographer Wally Pfister for THE DARK KNIGHT RISES; Production Designer Sarah Greenwood for ANNA KARENINA; Animator Peter Ramsey for RISE OF THE GUARDIANS; and Jeff White for Visual Effects on THE AVENGERS.
American Cinema Editors (A.C.E.) is an official sponsor of The Hollywood Awards. In the last 9 years, a total of 85 Oscar nominations and 32 Oscars were given to films showcased and/or to the niminees and honorees of the Hollywood Film Awards. The New York Times calls it “the first mandatory stop…. in the awards season.” To which Seth Rogen replied, “Or if you’re in comedy, the last stop on the awards show train.”
