Stars steal the show at critics' award ceremony
Chi film awards recap!
I'm still recuperating from coproducing and cowriting the 23rd annual Chicago Film Critics Awards Saturday at the Broadway Playhouse in Water Tower Place. Here are my critic's notebook highlights:
• I met George Lucas at the CFCA dinner in the Ritz Carlton Hotel. I arrived very late. I shook his hand and said, “I apologize for being an absentee host, but I got caught up in last-minute rewrites.”
Lucas replied, “I've had that happen a few times myself.”
I don't remember anything he said after that.
Hey, it was George Lucas, you know?
• Albert Brooks' acceptance speech for best supporting actor as a sadistic crime boss in “Drive” was hilarious. And get this: He really did phone it in.
He recorded the speech on his iPhone and sent it to me, all because I sent him a tweet on Twitter and asked him to do it last week.
Thanks, Mr. Brooks.
Thanks, Twitter!
• Just before the awards show started, we got word that the upcoming “Red Tails” stars — Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr., Oscar nominee Terrence Howard and Nate Parker — were available to hand out the Best Picture award.
Instead, we moved them up to help introduce the show with co-hosts Richard Roeper and Roe Conn.
They were a big hit, of course.
Talk about starting an awards show with a major surprise.
• At the CFCA dinner, I noted that James Earl Jones' 82nd birthday was coming up in just over a week. So the entire room — with guest vocals by Chicago actor Dennis Farina and “Muppets” savior Jason Segel — sang a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday” to the star of theater, film and TV and, of course, the voice of Darth Vader.
• We picked Schaumburg native Nikki Huber to be our Vanna White for the night. She carried the Chicago Film Critics awards to the winners onstage. We didn't hire her just because she's a model and looked stunning in a gown (which she did), but because she's a Second City graduate, quick on her high-heeled feet, funny and capable of handling problems if they come up. Plus, she played a Playboy bunny on the late TV series “The Playboy Club.” Pretty good credentials.
We weren't the only ones smitten with Nikki's charm. Jason Segel, after accepting his Commedia Extraordaire award, tried to convince her to come and see him perform at Second City later that night.
Movie Club shifts date
Dann & Raymond's Movie Club program “The Films of Jack Nicholson,” originally scheduled for Jan. 5, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday, Jan. 19, at the Schaumburg Township District Library, 130 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg. Go to schaumburglibrary.org or call (847) 985-4000. Free admission! Film clips from “Little Shop of Horrors,” “The Shining,” “Chinatown,” “A Few Good Men” and many others.
Don't forget the ‘Beav'
Dear Dann: I enjoyed seeing your top 10 list, particularly because they are all accessible films. So many lists include films that just aren't easily available to see.
I do think, however, you're way high on the praise for “Moneyball,” and way too hard on Mel and “The Beaver.” “The Beaver” was excellent on many fronts, and it's too bad it never got the traction it deserved. You also might want to do an honorable mention list which should include “J. Edgar” and “Margin Call,” which are in my top 10. Keep up the good work. — Steve DeGrave
Thanks, Steve: In fairness, I gave “The Beaver” . . . ½ in my review and praised Jodie Foster's direction (and Mel Gibson's performance) for pulling off a very difficult premise involving a mentally ill man who hangs on to reality by virtue of puppet therapy.
"Moneyball" can't be overpraised for the amazing job it does of creating an engaging story that has no villains, no superheroes, no car chases (in fact, no action sequences whatsoever), no romance and not even a real ending. It's a dramatic examination of how Brad Pitt's character thinks. A high, high arc of difficulty for this wonderful movie.
As for runner-up lists, I've decided they are for indecisive or insecure critics who can't make up their minds about their top 10 best pictures (or 11 in my case). So they spread recognition over so many movies that they ultimately dilute the power and purpose of a “best of the year” list in the first place.
Thanks for a thoughtful email, Steve.
Good job, DGA noms
A question nobody asked: What do all of this week's nominees for the DGA Awards have in common?
Answer: They're all directors of films on my list of the top 11 movies of 2011.
The Directors Guild of America nominated Martin Scorsese for “Hugo,” Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris,” Alexander Payne for “The Descendants,” David Fincher for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” and Michel Hazanavious for “The Artist.”
Good job, DGA.
• Daily Herald film critic Dann Gire's column runs Fridays in Time out!