Despite existing for nearly 20 years, the Hollywood Film Awards made its television premiere on Nov. 14. Hosted by Queen Latifah, the first awards of the season were broadcast live on CBS from California, honoring the best film had to offer this year.
The first ceremony — designed to celebrate excellence in filmmaking — was held in 1997, when it was founded by Carlos de Abreu and Janice Pennington. The awards mark the official launch of the award season.
This year, David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” was the big winner, walking away with three awards, including the top honor, The Hollywood Film Award. Gillian Flynn also won for her screenplay, which she adapted from her novel, as did the film’s production design crew.
“The Imitation Game” and “Birdman” also had big nights, with the two films winning a combined six awards. Benedict Cumberbatch received Best Actor for his work in “The Imitation Game” while Michael Keaton received the Career Achievement Award. “Imitation Game”’s Keira Knightley walked away with the Best Supporting Actress award and director Morten Tyldum was awarded for his work as well.
There were some surprises this year, seeing some films whose names were not expected to come up in awards discussions walk away with awards. Robert Duvall won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “The Judge,” with the award being announced by his onscreen son, Robert Downey Jr. Disney's "Maleficent," left the night receiving the award for Best Production Design.
Surprises were to be found in other categories as well, seeing “Fury” win best editing over “Birdman,” which frankly I think will win the Oscar in February given the film is incredibly edited to look like one long take, despite it not being so. “How To Tran Your Dragon 2” also received an award, being recognized as the Best Animated Picture. While I consider myself to be a massive fan of both that film and it’s predecessor, if I had to place any bets, I would put my money on “The Lego Movie” come Oscar time.
For me, these awards were a fascinating look at where the current Hollywood climate is standing, and what films will and will not receive awards as the season continues. Since I felt that “Birdman” was one of the year’s best films, I look forward to seeing what kind of momentum the film can build as the Oscar race rolls around. “The Imitation Game” seems to be a strong contender though, based on its previous wins at the People’s Choice Award and this year’s Toronto International Film Festival — an accolade also won by previous Best Picture winners “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The King’s Speech” and “12 Years A Slave.” Other films, such as Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher,” have been receiving positive buzz. Rumors have been circulating that "Foxcatcher" may be able to land Oscar nods for both Steve Carrell and Channing Tatum.
It will be intriguing (to say the least) to see which films the Academy chooses to nominate when Oscar nominations are announced on Jan. 15. Until then, I look forward to watching the other early season awards ceremonies and seeing which films continue to gain and circulate buzz heading into the Oscars.
Reach the reporter at seweinst@asu.edu or follow @S_Weinstein95 on Twitter.
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