Quickie post to give you more of an opportunity to discuss the CCMA winners. I salute all those with strong enough multi-tasking skills to both attend and cover events simultaneously. I've just arrived in Park City for the Sundance Film Festival and before I stuff my face, it's catch up time!
Arriving at the CCMAs - Seating Chart?
When I arrived at the Critics Choice Awards last night -- excuse me, last afternoon (awards ceremonies start so early on the West Coast!)-- I had no idea where I'd be seated so I was just goofing in the photo above and pointing randomly to the space as if to say "There! I'm sitting there" Well there was within stumbling over into the American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave tables which were right next to that open walk way to the stage. This is not where I was sitting. You're doing it wrong, Nathaniel!
THE WINNERS
with commentary
BEST PICTURE
"12 Years a Slave"
I am so nervous for my favorite that I was freaking myself out wondering if the applause and the mini Standing Ovation were more respectful than enthused per se. Respect can take you far in a voting pool of 280+ but how far can it really take you in a voting pool of 6,000-7,000. Enthusiasm is important in Oscar voting. I hope it goes all the way.
BEST ACTOR
Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"
My table (all strangers to me) was practically salivating waiting for the "all right all right all right" which came early via Jessica Chastain's intro. I thought they would spontaneously combust when he did it which immediately reminded me of 2004 and Jamie Foxx's repetitive audience call out shtick. People in the rooms really love these things even if they're annoying on TV.
BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
Darling speech, referencing her sons not giving a shit about her job. "Just be glad it's I and not Jasmine French that's your mother". Ha! She seemed really human and warm. The Oscar is 1000% hers.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"
He got the memo to be more sensitive about these things and mentioned people living with HIV/AIDS.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Lupita Nyong’o, "12 Years a Slave"
Beautiful speech and resplendent in white. The room erupted with the fastest standing Ovation of the night, at least from my vantage point. Jennifer Lawrence was not there so thank god the BFCA didn't repeat the Globes choice here (though they did in most of the other categories)
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Adele Exarchopoulos, "Blue Is the Warmest Color"
As I tweeted, her extremely "awkward teenager" walk to the stage, quite a mismatch with her beauty and gown, suddenly made me feel better about her winning this category. I love the performance but it seemed odd that an explicit movie for adults would be competing in a category designed mostly for child and teenage stars. They should probably lower the age on this (I voted for Tye Sheridan in Mud, primarily due to what I think the category should be for, not as any slight to Adele0
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
"American Hustle"
I don't recall this moment at all? Was I at the open bar? Daniel Brühl was. Rough day (whose idea was it to hold these things on Oscar Nomination day?)
don't you love this pic of Ben Kingsley & Cate Blanchett?
BEST DIRECTOR
Alfonso Cuaron, "Gravity"
Less endearing than at the Globes since there was no herpes/earpiece joke. And crazy how many winners repeated. Like...
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Spike Jonze, "Her"
No speech since this was one of the prizes they didn't do live.
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave"
Non televised
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Gravity"
Non televised
BEST ART DIRECTION
Catherine Martin (Production Designer), Beverley Dunn (Set Decorator), "The Great Gatsby"
Non televised
BEST EDITING
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger, "Gravity"
Non televised
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Catherine Martin, "The Great Gatsby"
Non televised but basically the BFCA gave Catherine Martin her Moulin Rouge! Oscars again. Will the Academy follow suit?
BEST MAKEUP
"American Hustle"
Non televised which is a shame because they won't be getting an Oscar speech because they were inexplicably NOT nominated. Even though this "College Humor" poster on True Movie Titles knows the real score.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"Gravity"
Non televised
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
"Frozen"
Televised but I don't remember this moment well
BEST ACTION MOVIE
"Lone Survivor"
Televised sort of... included as a package deal with...
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Mark Wahlberg, "Lone Survivor"
Would this have one best action movie if it hadn't just opened?
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Sandra Bullock, "Gravity"
Great speech. She handled a technical snafu really well. How is she as endearing as she is? It's like a mutant power on her.
BEST COMEDY
"American Hustle"
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
I don't remember this speech. Too early in the night. I was still absorbing the room and where everyone and everything was. I think I was staring at the back of Meryl Streep's head, entranced.
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Amy Adams, "American Hustle"
Cute... and I loved the shout out to James Marsden, any chance she could get to kiss him. Incidentally James Marsden was very popular in the room and a snazzy dresser. Nice checkered suit.
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
"Gravity"
JOEL SIEGEL AWARDS
Forest Whitaker
All I remember about this is that Oprah did the intro and I didn't even know all this about Forest Whitaker and he sounds like an awesome person. Aisha Tyler later tweeted this adorbs photo
LOUIS XIII GENUIS AWARD
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Richard Linklater for trilogy "Before Sunrise," "Before Sunset" and "Before Midnight"
This speech was a hit in the room, playing less like rehearsed banter and more like genuine goofing fun.
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Blue Is the Warmest Color"
Televised but no one was there to except it which was odd since Adele was there to accept her Young Actor prize.
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"20 Feet from Stardom"
BEST SONG
"Let It Go," Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, "Frozen"
BEST SCORE
Steven Price, "Gravity"
GOODBYE
I didn't talk to many celebrities - I was a bit horrified at the swarms of people descending on them during commercial breaks. Let them eat their fish, guys, yes even Julia Roberts! (For the record Amy Adams on-air disdain for the food in that bit with Aisha Tyler was not celebrity entitlement. It did really appear to have been sitting there for some time)
Me and BrieThe Hustle teams vanished immediately but for Shea Wigham and Allesandro Nivola who were quite a pair, circling the bar. I marvelled at how genuinely happy both Kellan Lutz and Will Forte seemed to be while posing for photos and shaking hands. I said an extremely brief hello to Daniel Brühl but had more luck with David Oyelowo who was happy that I led with Middle of Nowhere "I love that film!". My longest conversation was with Tracy Letts which I swear he could have walked away from at any time so it's kind of his fault (I kid I kid) that I tried not to complain about William Friedkin not directing August: Osage County but ended up there anyway after chatting about Bug and Killer Joe. In case you were wondering, on Oscar night, Tracy will be in rehearsal for a new play.
But the best moment of the night was seeing Brie Larson again. We had a great sit down interview earlier this year and she was even more delightful the second time, joking about Ben Kingsley's Best Actress intro "he said geniuses... that includes me!" and obviously just thrilled and still kind of shocked to be in the room and mentioned in the same sentence as Cate Blanchett "I just made this little movie I wanted to make that I didn't think anybody would see"
As we were saying our goodbyes, we noticed that while we'd been talking the workers had seriously made a dent in tearing down the event space that we were still standing in and had just dined in on live television. The room suddenly looked so different. Brie looked around, mock-wistfully, 'It's like your dreams. One moment you're living it, the next it's gone.'