Five Things the Oscars Could Learn from the MTV Movie Awards

The Academy Awards are still the definitive awards show (ostensibly), but the general consensus seems to be that they’ve grown a little stale. Or a lot stale. The general consensus seems to be that they’ve grown some degree of stale. And even though the Oscars recently celebrated their 85th annual occurrence, they’re still having trouble figuring out what works and what doesn’t – what it is that people want to see when they sit down to watch a celebration of the year in film.

The MTV Movie Awards, the latest edition of which airs this Sunday night, have never had that problem. While they occupy a very different place in the movie world, the more casual nature of the program has ensured that it’s consistently fun and playful (and short), and the folks over at the Academy might should probably pay attention if they want to avoid a repeat of this year’s debacle.

So with that in mind, here are five lessons that the Academy Awards could take from the MTV Movie Awards:

Be Flexible

If there’s one thing that’s been constant about the MTV Movie Awards, it’s that they have not been afraid to evolve. Not just in terms of the types of films they respond to (though it’s hard to imagine that “JFK” and “Bugsy” were among the nominees at the very first MTV Movie Awards in 1992) but also in their ability to shake up categories. “Best Scared As Sh*t Performance” sounds gratuitously silly, but it’s a solid way to show appreciation for the teen horror genre that has been so popular with MTV viewers in the last decade. I’m not saying that the Oscars should be adding new categories every year and trying to sound cooler, but perhaps a small degree of flexibility? I’ve been going hoarse for years yelling about how the Original Score and Original Song categories need to be opened up to reflect the reality of the filmmaking process in 2013, but thus far, tradition has won out.

Honor Your Elders

In MTV’s case, that means Will Ferrell, as horrifying as it might be to contemplate that. He’s getting their “Comedic Genius Video Vanguard Artist of the Millennium Award” this year. The presentation will be held during the show, televised in full, and may or may not feature Ferrell in character as Ron Burgundy. But there it will be, for the entire viewing audience to watch.

The Oscars have taken to handing out their Lifetime Achievement awards at a separate ceremony, weeks before, away from the hustle and bustle of the real show. This has caused a good bit of consternation among Oscar fans, seeing it as a sign of disrespect to their elders. And, look, watching a Paramount executive speak for five minutes after accepting the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is probably nobody’s idea of a good time, but if Jodie Foster at the Golden Globes proved anything, it’s that Lifetime Achievement awards can end up being the most TV-friendly moments of all.

Look At All Parts of the Moviemaking Experience

I will admit that I am probably the only person who is advocating that the Oscars actually be a longer awards show, but I could probably name a half-dozen more categories they could include, if they really wanted to honor everything worth honoring the moviemaking business. Best Stunt Coordination/Performances. Best Casting. Best Trailer. If you’re going to be THE movie awards show, do it up right.

The MTV Movie Awards don’t go that deep into the moviemaking well either, but they do give a pretty good scan of the moviemaking experience that their demographic enjoys. That means onscreen badasses, shirtless performances, “WTF moments,” what have you. Because the MTV audience wants memorable moments that everybody was talking about. Those moments that transcended the fragmented spheres of genres and media and made everybody pay attention to the same thing. They’re serving their audience. The Oscars should serve theirs. Which reminds me …

Stay In Your Lane

The temptation when discussing the lessons that the Oscars should take from the MTV Movie Awards is that they should get younger, cooler, less stuffy and musty. I’m here to tell you that that’s all wrong. There’s something positively Cool Dad about when the Oscars try to feel hip. It’s very much like watching an adult say the word “hip.” The second it comes out of your mouth, you’ve lost it. MTV goes aggressively for the youth market because that’s who’s watching. They’re not watching the Oscars. Not in numbers that advertisers like to see. Which is a problem because of demographics and disposable income and yada yada. I get it. Economics. But nothing good has ever come of the Oscars pretending to be something they’re not (case in point: Seth MacFarlane).

Young people watch the MTV Movie Awards. Movie People watch the Oscars. Young people who grow up to be Movie People will watch the Oscars. Provided the Oscars are still about movies. That’s where “stay in your lane” comes in. Play to the audience you have. Don’t flail about looking for an audience and lose yourselves in the process. MTV isn’t scrambling to honor Michael Haneke just to look smarter than they are. The Academy doesn’t need to pretend to like “Ted” just to seem cooler.

Recognize the Utter Brilliance of Salma Hayek’s Performance in “Savages.”

Just saying.

Categories: Awards

Tags: Jennifer Lawrence, Joe reid, Magic Mike, Mtv movie awards, Oscars, Will ferrell

‘Argo’ and ‘Les Miserables’ Dominate the Golden Globe Awards

The 70th annual Golden Globe Awards were presented live Sunday evening and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had a message for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: “Argo” f*ck yourself!

Yes, not only did ”Argo” take home the award for Best Motion Picture Drama, but “Argo’s” Ben Affleck also won Best Director after being shockingly left off the list of Oscar nominees for Best Director just last week.

“Les Miserables” was likewise a big winner on the evening, though without quite as much drama — literally, as the Tom Hooper film won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical. Star Hugh Jackman also won Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, while co-star Anne Hathaway won Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.

In the acting categories, Jessica Chastain has won Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama for her role in “Zero Dark Thirty,” with Daniel Day-Lewis winning Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for his role in “Lincoln.” And Jennifer Lawrence earned the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical for “Silver Linings Playbook,” beating out luminaries such as Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Meryl Streep.

“I beat Meryl!” Lawrence crowed jokingly from the stage in a typically freewheeling acceptance speech.

Meanwhile, Christoph Waltz took home Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture for his role in “Django Unchained,” beating out co-star Leonardo DiCaprio among others. Waltz won the same award three years ago for his last collaboration with director Quentin Tarantino, “Inglorious Basterds.”

Tarantino himself repeated as the winner of Best Screenplay for a Motion Picture award for his script for “Django Unchained;” he previously won the same award in 1995 for “Pulp Fiction.”

International pop star Adele also earned a Golden Globe for Best Original Song from a Motion Picture for “Skyfall’s” eponymous theme song, while “Amour” won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film and Pixar’s “Brave” won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film.

One of the unexpected highlights of the evening came during the usually boring introductions of the Best Picture nominees, as former President Bill Clinton was on hand to present the clip from “Lincoln.” Pretty much the ultimate proof that literally everyone wants to work with Steven Spielberg.

New hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler kicked off the evening in high style, with a number of gags that had the crowd in stitches (not literally). Despite leading off by promising they would not be as vicious as former host Ricky Gervais, the duo immediately cracked a joke about “Zero Dark Thirty” director Kathryn Bigelow being an expert on torture thanks to her previous marriage to James Cameron.

Here’s a full list of the movie categories and nominees, which will be updated with winners as they are announced. For television coverage, head to Entertainment Weekly:

Best Motion Picture — Drama
“Argo” – WINNER
“Django Unchained”
“Lincoln”
“Life of Pi”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
“Les Miserables” - WINNER
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
“Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Director
Ben Affleck, “Argo” – WINNER
Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”
Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”

Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln” – WINNER
Richard Gere, “Arbitrage”
John Hawkes, “The Sessions”
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”

Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Jack Black, “Bernie”
Hugh Jackman, “Les Miserables” – WINNER
Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Ewan McGregor, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
Bill Murray, “Hyde Park and Hudson”

Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty” – WINNER
Marion Cotillard, “Rust and Bone”
Helen Mirren, “Hitchock”
Noami Watts, “The Impossible”
Rachel Weisz, “The Deep Blue Sea”

Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy
Emily Blunt, “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen”
Judi Dench, “The Best Exotic Marigold Motel”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook” - WINNER
Maggie Smith, “Quartet”
Meryl Streep, “Hope Springs”

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Alan Arkin, “Argo”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Django Unchained”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained” – WINNER

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams, “The Master”
Sally Field, “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables” – WINNER
Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Nicole Kidman, “The Paperboy”

Best Screenplay from a Motion Picture
“Lincoln,” Tony Kushner
“Zero Dark Thirty,” Mark Boal
“Silver Lingings Playbook,” David O. Russell
“Django Unchained,” Quentin Tarantino – WINNER
“Argo,” Chris Terrio

Best Original Score from a Motion Picture
“Life of Pi,” Mychael Danna – WINNER
“Argo,” Alexandre Desplat
“Anna Karenina,” Dario Marianelli
“Cloud Atlas,” Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil
“Lincoln,” John Williams

Best Original Song from a Motion Picture
“For You,” “Act of Valor”
“Not Running Anymore,” “Stand Up Guys”
“Safe & Sound,” “The Hunger Games”
“Skyfall,” “Sykfall” – WINNER
“Suddenly,” “Les Miserables”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Amour” – WINNER
“A Royal Affair”
“The Intouchables”
“Rust and Bone”
“Kon-Tiki”

Best Animated Feature Film
“Brave” – WINNER
“Frankenweenie”
“Hotel Transylvania”
“Rise of the Guardians”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

Categories: Awards

Tags: 2013 Golden Globes, awards

‘Argo’ and ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ Win Big at 2013 Critics’ Choice Awards

Hey, Ben Affleck — who needs an Oscar nomination when you’ve got a Critics’ Choice Award, right?

He may have been snubbed by the Academy this morning, but “Argo” director Ben Affleck has emerged the big winner of this year’s Critics’ Choice Awards as he beat out such filmmaking veterans as Ang Lee, David O. Russell and Steven Spielberg in taking home Best Director.

“Argo” was the big toast across the board this evening as the CIA thriller won Best Picture, beating out such heavyweights as “Lincoln” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

“Silver Linings Playbook,” which earned eight Oscar nominations this morning (including one in each acting category), emerged as another big winner at the Critics’ Choice Awards, taking home Best Acting Ensemble, Best Comedy, Best Actor in a Comedy (Bradley Cooper) and Best Actress in a Comedy (Jennifer Lawrence). Lawrence also took home Best Actress in an Action Movie for “The Hunger Games.”

Meanwhile, Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for “Lincoln” and Jessica Chastain won Best Actress for “Zero Dark Thirty,” two wins that probably foreshadow the Oscar wins in their respective categories. Ditto Anne Hathaway’s win for Best Supporting Actress in “Les Miserables” and Adele’s win for Best Song for her still-haunting “Skyfall” single.

Finally, many congratulations are due to Quvenzhané Wallis, who won Best Young Actor/ Actress for her astonishing performance in “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” The nine-year-old star also made history today by becoming the youngest-ever Oscar nominee for Best Actress.

The complete list of winners of the 18th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards is below.

BEST PICTURE
“Argo”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Django Unchained”
“Les Misérables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“The Master”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
John Hawkes – “The Sessions”
Hugh Jackman – “Les Misérables”
Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
Denzel Washington – “Flight”

ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Marion Cotillard – “Rust and Bone”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin – “Argo”
Javier Bardem – “Skyfall”
Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
Matthew McConaughey – “Magic Mike”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – “The Master”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Ann Dowd – “Compliance”
Sally Field – “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway – “Les Misérables”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”

YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – “Ginger & Rosa”
Kara Hayward – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Tom Holland – “The Impossible”
Logan Lerman – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Suraj Sharma – “Life of Pi”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

ACTING ENSEMBLE
“Argo”
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
“Les Misérables”
“Lincoln”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Silver Linings Playbook”

DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck – “Argo”
Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Tom Hooper – “Les Misérables”
Ang Lee – “Life of Pi”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Steven Spielberg – “Lincoln”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino – “Django Unchained”
John Gatins – “Flight”
Rian Johnson – “Looper”
Paul Thomas Anderson – “The Master”
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Mark Boal – “Zero Dark Thirty”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio – “Argo”
David Magee – “Life of Pi”
Tony Kushner – “Lincoln”
Stephen Chbosky – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”

CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Les Misérables” – Danny Cohen
“Life of Pi” – Claudio Miranda
“Lincoln” – Janusz Kaminski
“The Master” – Mihai Malaimare Jr.
“Skyfall” – Roger Deakins

ART DIRECTION
“Anna Karenina” – Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer; Katie Spencer/Set Decorator
“The Hobbit” – Dan Hennah/Production Designer; Ra Vincent & Simon Bright/Set Decorators
“Les Misérables” – Eve Stewart/Production Designer; Anna Lynch-Robinson/Set Decorator
“Life of Pi” – David Gropman/Production Designer; Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
“Lincoln” – Rick Carter/Production Designer; Jim Erickson/Set Decorator

EDITING
“Argo” – William Goldenberg
“Les Misérables” – Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens
“Life of Pi” – Tim Squyres
“Lincoln” – Michael Kahn
“Zero Dark Thirty” – William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor

COSTUME DESIGN
“Anna Karenina” – Jacqueline Durran
“Cloud Atlas” – Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud
“The Hobbit” – Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor
“Les Misérables” – Paco Delgado
“Lincoln” – Joanna Johnston

MAKEUP
“Cloud Atlas”
“The Hobbit”
“Les Misérables”
“Lincoln”

VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Avengers”
“Cloud Atlas”
“The Dark Knight Rises”
“The Hobbit”
“Life of Pi”

ANIMATED FEATURE
“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“Madagascar 3?
“ParaNorman”
“Rise of the Guardians”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

ACTION MOVIE
“The Avengers”
“The Dark Knight Rises”
“Looper”
“Skyfall”

ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Christian Bale – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Daniel Craig – “Skyfall”
Robert Downey Jr. – “The Avengers”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Looper”
Jake Gyllenhaal – “End of Watch”

ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – “Looper”
Gina Carano – “Haywire”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Anne Hathaway – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Jennifer Lawrence – “The Hunger Games”

COMEDY
“Bernie”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Ted”
“This Is 40?
“21 Jump Street”

ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jack Black – “Bernie”
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Paul Rudd – “This Is 40”
Channing Tatum – “21 Jump Street”
Mark Wahlberg – “Ted”

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Mila Kunis – “Ted”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Shirley MacLaine – “Bernie”
Leslie Mann – “This Is 40”
Rebel Wilson – “Pitch Perfect”

SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
“The Cabin in the Woods”
“Looper”
“Prometheus”

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Amour”
“The Intouchables”
“A Royal Affair”
“Rust and Bone”

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Bully”
“The Central Park Five”
“The Imposter”
“The Queen of Versailles”
“Searching for Sugar Man”
“West of Memphis”

SONG
“For You” – performed by Keith Urban/written by Monty Powell & Keith Urban – Act of Valor
“Learn Me Right” – performed by Birdy with Mumford & Sons/written by Mumford & Sons – Brave
“Skyfall” – performed by Adele/written by Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth – Skyfall
“Still Alive” – performed by Paul Williams/written by Paul Williams – Paul Williams Still Alive
“Suddenly” – performed by Hugh Jackman/written by Claude-Michel Schonberg & Alain Boublil & Herbert Kretzmer – Les Misérables

SCORE
“Argo” – Alexandre Desplat
“Life of Pi” – Mychael Danna
“Lincoln” – John Williams
“The Master” – Jonny Greenwood
“Moonrise Kingdom” – Alexandre Desplat

Categories: Awards

Tags: awards, Critics Choice Awards, Critics Choice Awards 2013

Independent Spirit Awards: Good News/Bad News

Meet our new awards expert Joe Reid — keep up with his column for the predictions, news and opinions you’ll need to sound well-informed at parties for the entire awards season.

The 28th Annual Film Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced on Tuesday — you can check out the full list of nominees here. I made my best guesses for who would be nominated yesterday, but as always, the Spirits had more than their fair share of curveballs ready for me. I did okay. Three-for-five in most categories, with my best showing in Supporting Female, where I missed only Lorraine Toussaint for “Middle of Nowhere,” because I was possessed of the fool notion that Nicole Kidman’s sticky performance in “The Paperboy” might bring a bit of the A-List to the Spirits.

I should also note that while I was correct in assuming that The Weinstein Company would have no problem sneaking “Silver Linings Playbook” past the $20 million budget cap, I did not anticipate that “Seven Psychopaths” or “The Loneliest Planet” would be deemed American enough to qualify, nor that “Magic Mike” would have its status as a studio film brushed aside. I’m not exactly complaining — particularly when it comes to “Magic Mike,” which kept to a tidy little budget and felt sufficiently indie in spirit.

GOOD NEWS: “Silver Linings Playbook”

With five nominations, The Weinstein Company got their top dog into the Best Feature race, and it’s hard to not think of it as the frontrunner to sweep the Spirits on Oscar eve. I’d place Jennifer Lawrence (over Quvenzhane Wallis) and Bradley Cooper (over John Hawkes) as favorites in Female and Male Lead, and David O. Russell the favorite in Director and perhaps even Screenplay. You might expect a backlash against aggressive campaigning from an organization with “Independent Spirit” in their title, but the last few years have shown no indication that voters will rebel against big-time Oscar players.

GOOD NEWS: “Moonrise Kingdom”

Wes Anderson’s latest also grabbed five nominations, though I’d say it’s only a threat to win in Screenplay. Still, it was a nice get for Bruce Willis in Supporting Male, and maybe the producers of the award show can coax him and his harmonica onstage for one of their customary musical performances. More importantly, as far as the Oscar race goes, five nominations are more than enough to keep fledgling Best Picture hopes afloat, for now. (Next stop: a Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical/Comedy?)

GOOD (?) NEWS: “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Nominations for Best Feature, Best Female Lead, and Best Director for Benh Zeitlin  all add up to a very good day for the Sundance hit and leading contender to represent true (i.e. non-Weinstein) indies at the Oscars. But it could have been an even better one. No nomination surfaced in Supporting Male for Dwight Henry, as Hushpuppy’s troubled dad, nor for screenwriter Lucy Alibar. Alibar’s script (adapted from her own stage play) is already fighting an uphill battle at the Oscars, with “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings,” “Argo,” and “Life of Pi” crowding the category.

GOOD NEWS: “Middle of Nowhere”

Showing up bigger than expected was Ada DuVernay’s film about a woman dealing with the incarceration of her husband,  which got Best Female Lead for Emayatzy Corinealdi (as predicted), as well as notices in Supporting Female (Toussaint), Supporting Male (David Oyelowo), and a nomination for the John Cassavetes Award, for best feature film made for under $500,00.  This is exactly the kind of movie that benefits most from a Spirit nod, and hopefully more people will end up seeing it now.

GOOD NEWS: “Keep the Lights On”

The day’s most unexpected juggernaut was easily Ira Sachs’s “Keep the Lights On,” which scored for Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, along with a Best Male Lead nod for Thure Lindhardt, as one half of a gay couple whose hearts are put through the wringer by the other’s drug addiction. Both are fine choices and deserving of the publicity boost.

GOOD NEWS: Matthew McConaughey

In the acting races, the Spirit nod can’t hurt the campaigns for performers like Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“Smashed”) and Ann Dowd (“Compliance”), but the big winner is McConaughey, whose two nominations (supporting for “Magic Mike,” lead for “Killer Joe”) will only advance the notion that 2012 was the Year of McConaughey. That Oscar nomination is still looking entirely attainable.

BAD NEWS: Richard Gere

Getting shut out for his well-regarded performance in “Arbitrage” is a blow, in no uncertain terms. The Best Actor race at the Oscars is already looking far too crowded to get rushed by such a small film. The Spirits seemed to be the one place Gere was poised to get his due. Alas. Other acting hopefuls who got the cold shoulder include Robert DeNiro, though you can probably chalk his absence from Best Supporting Male for “Silver Linings Playbook” to a fluke more than anything. He’s so very Establishment; that’s gotta be a tough sell for the Spirits. Think of it like George Clooney getting passed over for “The Descendants” last year.

BAD NEWS: “Hitchcock”

The total shutout for “Hitchcock” — no Anthony Hopkins, no Helen Mirren, no nothing — can’t be a good sign for that film’s awards chances going forward. That said, it’s always felt like a far better fit at the Golden Globes than at the Spirits, so maybe that’s where it will find traction.

BAD NEWS: Greta Gerwig

One prediction I whiffed on was that Gerwig would see a Female Lead nomination for her festival hit “Frances Ha.” Maybe they’re holding back to prepare to shower it with love next year, when it will have actually opened. But even so, there were plentiful other opportunities to nominate this ascendant actress, for either her sad-eyed wanderings in “Lola Versus” or for her cracked take on collegiate perfectionism in Whit Stillman’s “Damsels in Distress.” Better luck next year!

GOOD NEWS: Brit Marling

This might be promising news for Gerwig fans: the darling of Sundance 2011, Marling was nominated twice last year (First Feature and First Screenplay) for the middling “Another Earth,” but waited a whole year for her first acting nomination, for her spellbinding performance as a cult leader in “Sound of My Voice.” I was a doubter of the Brit Hype myself (she was in “Arbitrage” as well and was, you know, fine), but she knocked me out in “Sound,” at turns compelling and quietly terrifying. My favorite nomination of the day.

GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS: “Seven Psychopaths”

The first good news, of course, is that this UK-produced (though American-set) picture was deemed eligible for these awards at all. And even better news for Sam Rockwell, who got an unexpected Supporting Male notice. It was unexpected, mostly, because Christopher Walken had been touted as the supporting actor to watch in the film. Maybe Walken and DeNiro can stage a “Deer Hunter” reunion/cocktail hour while the Spirit Awards play out in Santa Monica. Somebody get Meryl Streep on the phone!

Categories: Awards

Tags: Magic Mike, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook

‘Silver Linings’ and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ Own Independent Spirit Awards Noms

The nominees for the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards were announced earlier today and as predicted by our awards expert, Joe Reid, the proceedings were dominated by a handful of critically acclaimed films, including “The Silver Linings Playbook,” “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

Those three films were joined by “Bernie” and “Keep the Lights On” as Best Feature nominees.

“The Silver Linings Playbook,” which is expected to be a major force at this year’s Academy Awards, built some award season momentum; besides Best Feature, the film also earned nominations for Best Director (David O. Russell), Best Male Lead (Bradley Cooper), Best Female Lead (Jennifer Lawrence) and Best Screenplay (Russell).

“Moonrise Kingdom,” meanwhile, brought in additional nominations for Best Director (Wes Anderson), Best Screenplay (Anderson and Roman Coppola), Best Cinematography (Robert Yeoman) and Best Supporting Male (Bruce Willis), but was shut out in the lead acting categories.

On the other hand, “Beasts of the Southern Wild” star Quvenzhané Wallis, who was only five years old when she auditioned for the film, received a Best Female Lead nomination. The film also earned nods for Best Director (Benh Zeitlin) and Best Cinematography (Ben Richardson).

Other films making a strong showing include “The Sessions,” which earned acting nods for both John Hawkes and Helen Hunt, and Best Feature nominee”Bernie,” which earned a also landed a Best Male Lead nomination for Jack Black.

The 2013 Independent Spirit Awards will be presented the night before the Oscars, airing on IFC on Saturday, February 28 at 10 p.m. ET. Here’s a full list of the nominees:

Best Feature
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Keep the Lights On”
“Bernie”

Best Director
Wes Anderson – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Julia Loktev – “The Loneliest Planet”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Ira Sachs – “Keep the Lights On”
Benh Zeitlin – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Best Female Lead
Linda Cardellini – “Return”
Emayatzy Corinealdi – “Middle of Nowhere”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead – “Smashed”

Best Male Lead
Jack Black – “Bernie
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
John Hawkes – “The Sessions”
Thure Lindhardt – “Keep the Lights On”
Matthew McConaughey – “Killer Joe”
Wendell Pierce – “Four”

Best Supporting Male
Matthew McConaughey – “Magic Mike”
David Oyelowo – “Middle of Nowhere”
Michael Pena – “End of Watch”
Sam Rockwell – “Seven Psychopaths”
Bruce Willis – “Moonrise Kingdom”

Best Supporting Female
Rosemarie DeWitt – “Your Sister’s Sister”
Ann Dowd – “Compliance”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”
Brit Marling – “Sound of My Voice”
Lorraine Toussaint – “Middle of Nowhere”

Best First Feature
“Fill the Void” – Rama Burshtein
“Gimme the Loot” – Adam Leon
“Safety Not Guaranteed” – Colin Trevorrow
“Sound of My Voice” – Zal Batmanglij
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” – Stephen Chbosky

Best International Film
“Amour” (France)
“Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” (Turkey)
“Rust and Bone” (France/Belgium)
“Sister” (Switzerland)
“War Witch” (Democratic Republic of Congo)

Best Documentary
“How to Survive a Plague”
“Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present”
“The Central park Five”
“The Invisible War”
“The Waiting Room”

Best Cinematography
Yoni Brook – “Valley of Saints”
Lol Crawley – “Here”
Ben Richardson – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Roman Vasyanov – “End of Watch”
Robert Yeoman – “Moonrise Kingdom”

Best Screenplay
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Zoe Kazan – “Ruby Sparks”
Martin McDonagh – “Seven Psychopaths”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias – “Keep the Lights On”

Best First Screenplay
Rama Burshtein – “Fill the Void”
Derek Connolly – “Safety Not Guaranteed”
Nicholas Jarecki – “Arbitrage”
Rashida Jones and Will McCormack – “Celeste and Jesse Forever”
Jonathan Lisecki – “Gayby”

Stella Artois Truer Than Fiction Award
Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel
Peter Nicks
Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mimms

Piaget Producers Award
Alicia Van Couvering
Mynette Louie
Derrick Tseng

Someone to Watch Award
David Fenster – “Pincus”
Adam Leon – “Gimme the Loot”
Rebecca Thomas – “Electrick Children”

John Cassavetes Award
“Breakfast with Curtis”
“Middle of Nowhere”
“Mosquita y Mari”
“Starlet”
“The Color Wheel”

Robert Altman Award
“Starlet”

Categories: Awards

Tags: independent spirit awards

On the Scene: 37th Annual Saturn Awards

I attended the Saturn Awards for a fifth time this year, and once again we Firefly vodkaed-chickened-cheesecaked our way through a two-hour ceremony celebrating the best in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This year saw special career awards given to Bert I. Gordan, Michael Biehn, Frank Darabont, Kevin Feige, and Dean Devlin, and honored both Inception and Fringe with multiple wins. Here is our rundown of the evening.

Most Heartfelt Speech

Andrew Connolly, accepting on behalf of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which nabbed Best Local Stage Production, Drama, or Comedy. His speech was well written, thought out, and paid nice respect to the Academy and event itself. Very classy, Connolly.

Most Inspiring Speech

From a winner, Marc Scott Zicree, who wrote The Twilight Zone Companion and co-accepted for the Blu-ray release of seasons one and two, spoke of his love for The Twlight Zone, how difficult it was to get the anthology made, how amazing it is that 50 years later the show is still winning awards, and how we should never give up on our dreams no matter what.

From a presenter, veteran actor Monte Markham, who before presenting Best Science Fiction movie to Inception, talked about how the Emmys were grand fun for about four years until the audience got over it and started not caring about the ceremony anymore. He went on to profess how happy he was to finally get to attend the Saturns and be in a room with people truly passionate about what they are celebrating, all of whom respect each other. He was extremely well-spoken (and looked amazing for 75) and made us all pause what we were doing and truly listen. Except for one person.

Most Inappropriate Behavior

During that same speech about respect, Salt screenwriter, Kurt Wimmer, who may or may not have been utterly wasted, started talking to a producer at his table in his outdoor voice. Ten “SHHHHs” later and he managed to shut up. Not cool, dude. I don’t care how much you don’t know who the person on stage is, you still give him respect. And also, you wrote Salt, so shhhh.

Best Intentioned Inappropriate Behavior

After host Jeffrey Ross made a somewhat crude joke about Michael J. Fox, Michael Biehn took the audiences’ groans one step further and started vehemently booing. Ross, having no idea the disapproval was coming from a major award recipient of the night, still responded with class — sort of — with “Thanks for the support!” and as the boos continued, “That’s my writer.” Biehn then calmed down and the evening continued, but those of us who were seated near his table now happen to know that for whatever reason, Michael Biehn is a stark defender of Michael J. Fox. Aah.

Most Hilarious Presenters

Doug Jones should host this thing, I’m telling you. In a fabulous steam punk floor-length jacket, Jones brought smiles and warmth to the show as he presented the Visionary Award to Kevin Feige.  Such a doll, he is.

When French Stewart and Whitney Abel presented Best Cable & Network TV Show, Stewart opened with a joke that Abel had just confessed to him backstage that she was highly intoxicated. While this was no doubt a joke and on top of that, one Abel wasn’t expecting, she responded perfectly, as if it WAS true, naturally blushed, filled with giggles, keeping the audience in stitches. Who knew these two would end up pulling off such a delightful routine?

Most Energetic Acceptance Speech

Vince Gilligan for Breaking Bad excitedly named every single person in the audience from Breaking Bad — two and a half tables worth. He also referred to Aaron Paul’s date as Paul’s “soulmate” which elicited many “aahs” from the audience.

Coolest Tidbit

During Kevin Feige’s video acceptance speech from the set of The Avengers, we got a little sneak peak at something I don’t believe has been previously alluded to anywhere. At two different points in the video, a PA walked through the background, trying to find a place to put a giant gold glove amongst all the other Avengers props laying around. At one point, Feige turned around and exclaimed, “Put that away, it’s a secret!” Cue hum of the audience, trying to figure out how the Infinity Gauntlet will fit into The Avengers.

Also appreciated Frank Darabont informing us that he was directing a second unit for The Walking Dead in Georgia that very morning before making his way to L.A. for the awards.

Weirdest (and Best) Speech

John Noble, who won Supporting Actor for Fringe, an honor also bestowed upon him a few days ago at the Critic’s Choice Awards. Fingers crossed this means one of the greatest actors working today AT LEAST gets an Emmy nomination. Especially after his adorably bizarre acceptance speech, which needs to be repeated on national television. With his Australian accent up and running, speaking in an almost hushed tone, Noble carefully detailed why both Walter and Walternate didn’t think it would be appropriate for them to accept the award, so they decided to send him to accept on their behalf. Much like Edward James Olmos’ a few years back, the speech was simultaneously strange and heartwarming and like Mark Rylances’ at the Tonys, helps demonstrate that the greatest actors are always a bit on the eccentric side. Noble also talked about loving the show, loving the cast, and loving being at that event, natch. All in all, funny, odd, classy, and so, so deserved. I adore him. Emmy please.

Most Drastic Appearance Change

Chloe Moretz, present to accept for Best Younger Actor, who went from tiny kid to full-grown woman overnight. She looked absolutely stunning.

Get This Kid Another Movie Stat

Ryan Lee from Super 8 came on stage to announce the winners that couldn’t be present or weren’t able to send a video message, and completely owned the room with his stage presence and comic timing.

Best Case of Knowing Your Audience

Sam Witwer, who spoke of his role as a vampire on Being Human in a charmingly self-deprecating way, commenting “‘Cause there weren’t enough of us already.”

Worst Case of Knowing Your Audience

Tyler Hoechlin & Dylan O’Brien from Teen Wolf, who tried to convince the audience to give their show a chance because we were pissed when, excuse my parapharsing, “Battlestar Galactica made Starbuck into a girl. And now we have Katee Sackhoff, who is really hot.” Yes, we love BSG and yes, we love Katee, but you know what we don’t love? Pandering. O’Brien saved the moment from complete failure by noting how hot Hoechlin is, which led to a humorously awkward moment of him staring at the leading man for just a liiiittle too long.

Most Confusing Set Of Awards

Best Guest Starring Role on TV went to Joe Manganiello for True Blood, who accepted via video, but later when Ryan Lee announced which winners couldn’t attend, Richard Dreyfuss for Best TV Guest Star for Weeds was mentioned. Huh?

Best Video

The cast of The Walking Dead, who sent in a video clip to congratulate Frank Darabont for the George A. Pal award he was accepting. The love that cast and crew seem to have for each other is infectious.

Coolest Geek Girl

Gale Anne Hurd, accepting with Darabont for The Walking Dead winning Best Television  Presentation, who impresses me more and more every time I see her.

Sweetest Shout-out

Brandon Routh, who took a moment out of presenting to say, “It’s really cool to be in the same room as Mel Brooks.” Always nice to see people let their fan flag fly.

Not sure if this counts as a shout-out per se, but props to Aaron Paul for being one of the first to lead a standing ovation for Life Career Award winner Burt I. Gordon.

Best Accent

John Noble and Anna Torv take third, simply because it’s so unexpected every time they ever speak. Second place goes to James Frain, the best part of True Blood last season, who could make a person melt with his rough-and-tumble British accent. First place, of course, goes to Roland Emmerich, who is the most quintessentially German-sounding person I’ve ever heard in person, to the point of hilarity.

Favorite Quotes

“I promise I will give him my number to make sure he gets this” – Lance Reddick, after presenting Best Screenplay to Chris Nolan that Nolan wasn’t able to accept

“I wanted to be here…. to the support the idea…. of Saturn.” Maybe insane event regular Thomas Jane, before presenting the Pal award to Darabont

“We never win awards for Fringe that aren’t from our parents.” – Fringe producers Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman after winning Best TV Show

All in all, a great evening filled with awards both meaningful (Let’s go Fringe! Let’s go Fringe!) and silly (Jeff Bridges won Best Actor for … Tron: Legacy?), I’m already counting down the days until next year’s ceremony.

For more exclusive photos from the event, head here, and for a complete rundown of the evening’s winners, head to the Saturns’ official site.

On the Scene: 37th Annual Saturn Awards

LoquaciousMuse · website | e-mail | twitter

Loquaciousmuse was raised in Los Angeles by a family obsessed with films, tv, comics, books, music and video games. Thus, she is also obsessed with these things. So it goes.

LoquaciousMuse June 24, 2011

I attended the Saturn Awards for a fifth time this year, and once again we Firefly vodkaed-chickened-cheesecaked our way through a two-hour ceremony celebrating the best in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. This year saw special career awards given to Bert I. Gordan, Michael Biehn, Frank Darabont, Kevin Feige, and Dean Devlin, and honored both Inception and Fringe with multiple wins. Here is our rundown of the evening.

Most Heartfelt Speech

Andrew Connolly, accepting on behalf of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which nabbed Best Local Stage Production, Drama, or Comedy. His speech was well written, thought out, and paid nice respect to the Academy and event itself. Very classy, Connolly.

Most Inspiring Speech

From a winner, Marc Scott Zicree, who wrote The Twilight Zone Companion and co-accepted for the Blu-ray release of seasons one and two, spoke of his love for The Twlight Zone, how difficult it was to get the anthology made, how amazing it is that 50 years later the show is still winning awards, and how we should never give up on our dreams no matter what.

From a presenter, veteran actor Monte Markham, who before presenting Best Science Fiction movie to Inception, talked about how the Emmys were grand fun for about four years until the audience got over it and started not caring about the ceremony anymore. He went on to profess how happy he was to finally get to attend the Saturns and be in a room with people truly passionate about what they are celebrating, all of whom respect each other. He was extremely well-spoken (and looked amazing for 75) and made us all pause what we were doing and truly listen. Except for one person.

Most Inappropriate Behavior

During that same speech about respect, Salt screenwriter, Kurt Wimmer, who may or may not have been utterly wasted, started talking to a producer at his table in his outdoor voice. Ten “SHHHHs” later and he managed to shut up. Not cool, dude. I don’t care how much you don’t know who the person on stage is, you still give him respect. And also, you wrote Salt, so shhhh.

Best Intentioned Inappropriate Behavior

After host Jeffrey Ross made a somewhat crude joke about Michael J. Fox, Michael Biehn took the audiences’ groans one step further and started vehemently booing. Ross, having no idea the disapproval was coming from a major award recipient of the night, still responded with class — sort of — with “Thanks for the support!” and as the boos continued, “That’s my writer.” Biehn then calmed down and the evening continued, but those of us who were seated near his table now happen to know that for whatever reason, Michael Biehn is a stark defender of Michael J. Fox. Aah.

Most Hilarious Presenters

Doug Jones should host this thing, I’m telling you. In a fabulous steam punk floor-length jacket, Jones brought smiles and warmth to the show as he presented the Visionary Award to Kevin Feige.  Such a doll, he is.

When French Stewart and Whitney Abel presented Best Cable & Network TV Show, Stewart opened with a joke that Abel had just confessed to him backstage that she was highly intoxicated. While this was no doubt a joke and on top of that, one Abel wasn’t expecting, she responded perfectly, as if it WAS true, naturally blushed, filled with giggles, keeping the audience in stitches. Who knew these two would end up pulling off such a delightful routine?

Most Energetic Acceptance Speech

Vince Gilligan for Breaking Bad excitedly named every single person in the audience from Breaking Bad — two and a half tables worth. He also referred to Aaron Paul’s date as Paul’s “soulmate” which elicited many “aahs” from the audience.

Coolest Tidbit

During Kevin Feige’s video acceptance speech from the set of The Avengers, we got a little sneak peak at something I don’t believe has been previously alluded to anywhere. At two different points in the video, a PA walked through the background, trying to find a place to put a giant gold glove amongst all the other Avengers props laying around. At one point, Feige turned around and exclaimed, “Put that away, it’s a secret!” Cue hum of the audience, trying to figure out how the Infinity Gauntlet will fit into The Avengers.

Also appreciated Frank Darabont informing us that he was directing a second unit for The Walking Dead in Georgia that very morning before making his way to L.A. for the awards.

Weirdest (and Best) Speech

John Noble, who won Supporting Actor for Fringe, an honor also bestowed upon him a few days ago at the Critic’s Choice Awards. Fingers crossed this means one of the greatest actors working today AT LEAST gets an Emmy nomination. Especially after his adorably bizarre acceptance speech, which needs to be repeated on national television. With his Australian accent up and running, speaking in an almost hushed tone, Noble carefully detailed why both Walter and Walternate didn’t think it would be appropriate for them to accept the award, so they decided to send him to accept on their behalf. Much like Edward James Olmos’ a few years back, the speech was simultaneously strange and heartwarming and like Mark Rylances’ at the Tonys, helps demonstrate that the greatest actors are always a bit on the eccentric side. Noble also talked about loving the show, loving the cast, and loving being at that event, natch. All in all, funny, odd, classy, and so, so deserved. I adore him. Emmy please.

Most Drastic Appearance Change

Chloe Moretz, present to accept for Best Younger Actor, who went from tiny kid to full-grown woman overnight. She looked absolutely stunning.

Get This Kid Another Movie Stat

Ryan Lee from Super 8 came on stage to announce the winners that couldn’t be present or weren’t able to send a video message, and completely owned the room with his stage presence and comic timing.

Best Case of Knowing Your Audience

Sam Witwer, who spoke of his role as a vampire on Being Human in a charmingly self-deprecating way, commenting “‘Cause there weren’t enough of us already.”

Worst Case of Knowing Your Audience

Tyler Hoechlin & Dylan O’Brien from Teen Wolf, who tried to convince the audience to give their show a chance because we were pissed when, excuse my parapharsing, “Battlestar Galactica made Starbuck into a girl. And now we have Katee Sackhoff, who is really hot.” Yes, we love BSG and yes, we love Katee, but you know what we don’t love? Pandering. O’Brien saved the moment from complete failure by noting how hot Hoechlin is, which led to a humorously awkward moment of him staring at the leading man for just a liiiittle too long.

Most Confusing Set Of Awards

Best Guest Starring Role on TV went to Joe Manganiello for True Blood, who accepted via video, but later when Ryan Lee announced which winners couldn’t attend, Richard Dreyfuss for Best TV Guest Star for Weeds was mentioned. Huh?

Best Video

The cast of The Walking Dead, who sent in a video clip to congratulate Frank Darabont for the George A. Pal award he was accepting. The love that cast and crew seem to have for each other is infectious.

Coolest Geek Girl

Gale Anne Hurd, accepting with Darabont for The Walking Dead winning Best Television  Presentation, who impresses me more and more every time I see her.

Sweetest Shout-out

Brandon Routh, who took a moment out of presenting to say, “It’s really cool to be in the same room as Mel Brooks.” Always nice to see people let their fan flag fly.

Not sure if this counts as a shout-out per se, but props to Aaron Paul for being one of the first to lead a standing ovation for Life Career Award winner Burt I. Gordon.

Best Accent

John Noble and Anna Torv take third, simply because it’s so unexpected every time they ever speak. Second place goes to James Frain, the best part of True Blood last season, who could make a person melt with his rough-and-tumble British accent. First place, of course, goes to Roland Emmerich, who is the most quintessentially German-sounding person I’ve ever heard in person, to the point of hilarity.

Favorite Quotes

“I promise I will give him my number to make sure he gets this” – Lance Reddick, after presenting Best Screenplay to Chris Nolan that Nolan wasn’t able to accept

“I wanted to be here…. to the support the idea…. of Saturn.” Maybe insane event regular Thomas Jane, before presenting the Pal award to Darabont

“We never win awards for Fringe that aren’t from our parents.” – Fringe producers Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman after winning Best TV Show

All in all, a great evening filled with awards both meaningful (Let’s go Fringe! Let’s go Fringe!) and silly (Jeff Bridges won Best Actor for … Tron: Legacy?), I’m already counting down the days until next year’s ceremony.

For more exclusive photos from the event, head here, and for a complete rundown of the evening’s winners, head to the Saturns’ official site.

Comments | Subscribe to "movies" RSS feed | Previous article James Spader To Get An Office Job? Next article Box Office: Cars 2 Speeds to the Top

comments helen norwood

my love…john noble is aussie and yes lets go fringe!! lol

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On The Scene: 37th Annual Saturn Awards

I attended the Saturn Awards for a fifth time this year, and once again we Firefly vodkaed-chickened- cheesecaked our way through a two hour ceremony celebrating the best in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. This year saw special career awards given to Bert I. Gordan, Michael Biehn, Frank Darabont, Kevin Feige and Dean Devlin and honored both Inception and Fringe with multiple wins. Here is our rundown of the evening.

Most Heartfelt Speech

Andrew Connolly, accepting on behalf of The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which nabbed Best Local Stage Production, Drama or Comedy. His speech was well written, thought out, and paid nice respect to the Academy and event itself. Very classy, Connolly.

Most Inspiring Speech

From a winner, Marc Scott Zicree, who wrote The Twilight Zone Companion and co-accepted for the Blu Ray release of seasons one and two, spoke of his love for The Twlight Zone, how difficult it was to get the anthology made, how amazing it is that 50 years later the show is still winning awards, and how we should never give up on our dreams no matter what.

From a presenter, veteran actor Monte Markham, who before presenting Best Science Fiction movie to Inception, talked about how the Emmys were grand fun for about four years until the audience got over it and started not caring about the ceremony anymore. He went to profess how happy he was to finally get to attend the Saturns and be in a room with people truly passionate about what they are celebrating, all of whom respect each other. He was extremely well spoken (and looked amazing for 75) and made us all pause what we were doing and truly listen. Except for one person.

Most Inappropriate Behavior

During that same speech about respect, Salt screenwriter, Kurt Wimmer, who may or may not have been utterly wasted, started talking to a producer at his table in his outdoor voice. 10 “SHHHHs” later and he managed to shut up. Not cool, dude. I don’t care how much you don’t know who the person on stage is, you still give him respect. And also, you wrote Salt, so shhhh.

Best Intentioned Inappropriate Behavior

After host Jeffrey Ross made a somewhat crude joke about Michael J. Fox, Michael Biehn took the audiences’ groans one step further and started vehemently booing. Ross, having no idea the disapproval was coming from a major award recipient of the night, still responded with class – sort of -  with “Thanks for the support!” and as the boos continued, “That’s my writer.” Biehn then calmed down and the evening continued, but those of us who were seated near his table now happen to know that for whatever reason, Michael Biehn is a stark defender of Michael J. Fox. Awe.

Most Hilarious Presenters

Doug Jones should host this thing, I’m telling you. In a fabulous steam punk floor length jacket, Jones brought smiles and warmth to the show as he presented the Visionary Award to Kevin Feige.  Such a doll, he is.

When French Stewart and Whitney Abel presented Best Cable & Network TV Show, Stewart opened with a joke that Abel had just confessed to him backstage that she was highly intoxicated. While this was no doubt a joke and on top of that, one Abel wasn’t expecting, she responded perfectly, as if it WAS true, naturally blushed, filled with giggles, keeping the audience in stitches. Who knew these two would end up pulling off such a delightful routine?

Most Energetic Acceptance Speech

Vince Gilligan for Breaking Bad excitedly named every single person in the audience from Breaking Bad – two and a half tables worth. He also referred to Aaron Paul’s date as Paul’s “soulmate” which elicited many awes from the audience.

Coolest Tidbit

During Kevin Feige’s video acceptance speech from the set of The Avengers, we got a little sneak peak at something that I don’t believe has been previously alluded to anywhere. At two different points in the video, a PA walked through the background, trying to find a place to put a giant gold glove amongst all the other Avengers props laying around. At one point, Feige turned around and exclaimed, “Put that away, it’s a secret!” Cue hum of the audience, trying to figure out how the Infinity Gauntlet will fit into The Avengers.

Also appreciated Frank Darabont informing us that he was directing second unit for The Walking Dead in Georgia that very morning before making his way to LA for the awards.

Weirdest (and best) Speech

John Noble, who won Supporting Actor for Fringe, an honor also bestowed upon him a few days ago at the Critic’s Choice Awards. Fingers crossed this means one of the greatest actors working today AT LEAST gets an Emmy nomination. Especially after his adorably bizarre acceptance speech, which needs to be repeated on national television. With his New Zealand accent up and running, speaking in an almost hushed tone, Noble carefully detailed why both Walter and Walternate didn’t think it would be appropriate for them to accept the award, so they decided to send him to accept on their behalf. Much like Edward James Olmos’ a few years back, the speech was simultaneously strange and heartwarming and like Mark Rylances’ at the Tonys, helps demonstrate that the greatest actors are always a bit on the eccentric side. Noble also talked about loving the show, loving the cast, and loving being at that event, natch. All in all, funny, odd, classy and so so deserved. I adore him. Emmy please.

Most Drastic Appearance Change

Chloe Moretz, present to accept for Best Younger Actor, who went from tiny kid to full grown woman overnight. She looked absolutely stunning.

Get This Kid Another Movie Stat

Ryan Lee from Super 8 came on stage to announce the winners that couldn’t be present or weren’t able to send a video message, and completely owned the room with his stage presence and comic timing.

Best Case of Knowing Your Audience

Sam Witwer, who spoke of his role as a vampire on Being Human in a charmingly self-deprecating way, commenting “Cause there weren’t enough of us already.”

Worst Case of Knowing Your Audience

Tyler Hoechlin & Dylan O’Brien from Teen Wolf, who tried to convince the audience to give their show a chance because we were pissed when, excuse my parapharsing, “Battlestar Galactica made Starbuck into a girl. And now we have Katee Sackhoff, who is really hot.” Yes, we love BSG and yes, we love Katee, but you know what we don’t love? Pandering. O’Brien saved the moment from complete failure by noting how hot Hoechlin is, which led to a humorously awkward moment of him staring at the leading man for just a liiiittle too long.

Most Confusing Set Of Awards

Best Guest Starring Role on TV went to Joe Manganiello for True Blood, who accepted via video, but later when Ryan Lee announced which winners couldn’t attend, Richard Dreyfuss for Best TV Guest Star for Weeds was mentioned. Huh?

Best Video

The cast of The Walking Dead, who sent in a video clip to congratulate Frank Darabont for the George A. Pal award he was accepting. The love that cast and crew seem to have for each other is infectious.

Coolest Geek Girl

Gale Anne Hurd, accepting with Darabont for The Walking Dead winning Best Television  Presentation, who impresses me more and more every time I see her anywhere.

Sweetest Shout Out

Brandon Routh, who took a moment out of presenting to say “It’s really cool to be in the same room as Mel Brooks.” Always nice to see people let their fan flag fly.

Not sure if this counts as a shout out per se, but props to Aaron Paul for being one of the first to lead a standing ovation for Life Career Award winner Burt I. Gordon.

Best Accent

John Noble and Anna Torv take third, simply because it’s so unexpected every time they ever speak. Second place goes to James Frain, the best part of True Blood last season, who could make a person melt with his rough and tumble British accent. First place, of course, goes to Roland Emmerich, who is the most quintessentially German sounding person I’ve ever heard in person, to the point of hilarity.

Favorite Quotes

“I promise I will give him my number to make sure he gets this” – Lance Reddick, after presenting Best Screenplay to Chris Nolan that Nolan wasn’t able to accept

“I wanted to be here….to the support the idea….of Saturn.” Maybe insane event regular Thomas Jane, before presenting the Pal award to Darabont

“We never win awards for Fringe that aren’t from our parents.” – Fringe producers Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman after winning Best TV Show

All in all, a great evening filled with awards both meaningful (Let’s go Fringe! Let’s go Fringe!) and silly (Jeff Bridges won Best Actor for … Tron: Legacy?), I’m already counting down the days til next year’s ceremony.

For more exclusive photos from the event, head here and for a complete rundown of the evening’s winners, head the Saturns’ official site.