By Kyle Buchanan
“Anora” put some points — or, make that one big point — on the board at the Critics Choice Awards on Friday night, taking the top trophy for best picture just a month after it was totally shut out at the Golden Globes.
Sean Baker, who directed the film about an exotic dancer’s star-crossed romance with a Russian heir, used his acceptance speech to exhort the audience to support more independent movies released in theaters.
“They’re going through some hard times,” Baker said. “We lost a thousand theaters during COVID — we lose them almost daily. That’s where we love to see films. Let’s see films in our local theaters, OK?”
The Critics Choice ceremony, initially scheduled for Jan. 12, was postponed for several weeks because of the Los Angeles wildfires. This put the show, which was held in the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, in an unusual position: Voting had already concluded Jan. 10, meaning the weeks that followed — marked by major events including the announcement of the Oscar nominations and a controversy over inflammatory tweets that engulfed “Emilia Pérez” and its star Karla Sofía Gascón — had no impact on the results.
Gascón, who is under fire for posts that denigrated Muslims, George Floyd and the Oscars, was a no-show at the ceremony, though her co-star Zoe Saldaña, who won the supporting actress trophy, and the film’s director, Jacques Audiard, who accepted the foreign language film award, were both in attendance. “Emilia Pérez” also picked up a third trophy, for best original song.
Gascón ultimately lost the best actress award to Demi Moore (“The Substance”), who won her second major televised prize after triumphing at the Golden Globes last month. The best actor award went to “Brutalist” star Adrien Brody, furthering a comeback for the 51-year-old Brody, who has struggled to match his early success in the 2002 film “The Pianist,” for which he won the Oscar.
In his acceptance speech, Brody said, “I’ve been doing this since I was 12, so I know very clearly that these moments are far and few between in an actor’s life, and I do not take this for granted.”
As he paused, a man in the audience shouted, “Lately, you’ve been doing great!”
Onstage, Brody brightened. “‘Lately!’ I appreciate it,” he said.
The other major film trophies went to Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”) for best supporting actor and “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu. Before Chu was announced as the winner, the award’s presenter, Orlando Bloom, told the crowd that the Critics Choice winner for best director often goes on to claim the same Oscar.
Chu, who was not nominated in the best director category at the Academy Awards, opened his acceptance speech with a joke: “I’m going to win that Oscar!” he exclaimed, hoisting his award in the air.
Here is the full list of winners:
FILM
Best Picture
“Anora”
Best Actor
Adrien Brody, “The Brutalist”
Best Actress
Demi Moore, “The Substance”
Best Supporting Actor
Kieran Culkin, “A Real Pain”
Best Supporting Actress
Zoe Saldaña, “Emilia Pérez”
Best Young Actor or Actress
Maisy Stella, “My Old Ass”
Best Acting Ensemble
“Conclave”
Best Director
Jon M. Chu, “Wicked”
Best Original Screenplay
Coralie Fargeat, “The Substance”
Best Adapted Screenplay
Peter Straughan, “Conclave”
Best Cinematography
Jarin Blaschke, “Nosferatu”
Best Production Design
Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales, “Wicked”
Best Editing
Marco Costa, “Challengers”
Best Costume Design
Paul Tazewell, “Wicked”
Best Hair and Makeup
Stéphanie Guillon, Frédérique Arguello and Pierre-Olivier Persin; “The Substance”
Best Visual Effects
Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer; “Dune: Part Two”
Best Animated Feature
“The Wild Robot”
Best Comedy
“A Real Pain”
“Deadpool & Wolverine”
Best Foreign Language Film
“Emilia Pérez”
Best Song
“El Mal,” from “Emilia Pérez”
Best Score
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, “Challengers”
TELEVISION
Best Drama Series
“Shogun”
Best Actor, Drama Series
Hiroyuki Sanada, “Shogun”
Best Actress, Drama Series
Kathy Bates, “Matlock”
Best Supporting Actor, Drama Series
Tadanobu Asano, “Shogun”
Best Supporting Actress, Drama Series
Moeka Hoshi, “Shogun”
Best Comedy Series
“Hacks”
Best Actor, Comedy Series
Adam Brody, “Nobody Wants This”
Best Actress, Comedy Series
Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Best Supporting Actor, Comedy Series
Michael Urie, “Shrinking”
Best Supporting Actress, Comedy Series
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
Best Limited Series
“Baby Reindeer”
Best TV Movie
“Rebel Ridge”
Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie
Colin Farrell, “The Penguin”
Best Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie
Cristin Milioti, “The Penguin”
Best Supporting Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie
Liev Schreiber, “The Perfect Couple”
Best Supporting Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie
Jessica Gunning, “Baby Reindeer”
Best Foreign Language Series
“Squid Game”
Best Animated Series
“X-Men ’97”
Best Talk Show
“John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A.”
Best Comedy Special
“Ali Wong: Single Lady”
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