With awards season 2015/2016 well underway by now, and all eyes turned towards the 88th Academy Awards, Irish hopefuls have received a much-needed shot in the arm over the weekend in their efforts to bring home Oscar night on February 28th. Brooklyn and Room both scored plaudits on either side of the Atlantic, though Spotlight and Mad Max: Fury Road would both prove the runaway hits at the Critics’ Choice Awards and London Film Critics’ Circle Awards.
The former, held at the Santa Monica Airport, was hosted by Silicon Valley actor TJ Miller, and saw the biggest stars of screens silver and small gathering in the Barker Hangar for the show. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brie Larson both consolidated their buzz for ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Actress’, though it was Larson’s Room co-star who stole the show when claiming the ‘Best Young Actor/Actress’ gong, with an acceptance speech that seemed to delight everyone there.
Other winners on the night included Amy Schumer, Rachel McAdams, Sylvester Stallone, Christian Bale, and Australian director George Miller. Spotlight, the true story of Boston Globe journalists uncovering a clerical sex-abuse scandal and cover-up, was named ‘Best Picture’. The full list of Critics’ Choice Awards winners is printed below.
In London, the London Film Critics’ Circle also showed a lot of love to George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, making up for the lack of interest the British Academy showed it when announcing the BAFTA nominations. The London Critics also gave their top acting awards to 45 Years actors Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, neither of whom was nominated for BAFTAs for their work in Andrew Haigh’s marital drama.
The Circle changed the name of their categories to reflect the presence of Irish stars, and they gave Saoirse Ronan the gong for ‘Best British or Irish Actress’ for her work in Brooklyn. Mark Rylance and Kate Winslet also took home ‘Best Supporting’ nods for their work in Bridge of Spies and Steve Jobs respectively.
It was also a good night for Dublin filmmaker Benjamin Cleary, whose short film Stutterer took home the prize. The film, about a young Londoner with a speech impediment, is also in the running at the Oscars, in a category that has often proved successful for Irish nominees.
The full list of winners is printed below the Critics’ Choice Awards list below.
Critics' Choice Awards 2016:
Movie Awards
- BEST PICTURE: Spotlight
- ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant
- ACTRESS: Brie Larson – Room
- DIRECTOR: George Miller – Mad Max: Fury Road
- COMEDY: The Big Short
- ACTOR IN A COMEDY: Christian Bale – The Big Short
- ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: Amy Schumer – Trainwreck
- SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander – The Danish Girl
- SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sylvester Stallone – Creed
- ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
- ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Charles Randolph and Adam McKay – The Big Short
- ACTING ENSEMBLE: Spotlight
- YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Jacob Tremblay – Room
- SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE: Ex Machina
- ACTION MOVIE: Mad Max: Fury Road
- ANIMATED FEATURE: Inside Out
- ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Tom Hardy – Mad Max: Fury Road
- ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
- CINEMATOGRAPHY: The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
- PRODUCTION DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Colin Gibson
- EDITING: Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
- COSTUME DESIGN: Mad Max: Fury Road – Jenny Beavan
- HAIR & MAKEUP: Mad Max: Fury Road
- VISUAL EFFECTS: Mad Max: Fury Road
- SONG: Furious 7 – See You Again
- FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: Son of Saul
- DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: Amy
- SCORE: The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone
Television Awards
- COMEDY SERIES: Master of None – Netflix
- DRAMA SERIES: Mr. Robot – USA
- ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Rami Malek – Mr. Robot – USA
- ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Carrie Coon – The Leftovers – HBO
- ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Jeffrey Tambor – Transparent – Amazon
- ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Rachel Bloom – Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
- BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Andre Braugher − Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Mayim Bialik – The Big Bang Theory
- MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Fargo – FX
- ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Idris Elba – Luther – BBC America
- ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Kirsten Dunst – Fargo – FX
- SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Christian Slater – Mr. Robot – USA
- SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Constance Zimmer – UnREAL – Lifetime
- GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Margo Martindale – The Good Wife – CBS
- REALITY SHOW – COMPETITION: The Voice – NBC
- SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Jesse Plemons – Fargo – FX
- SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Jean Smart – Fargo – FX
- GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Timothy Olyphant – The Grinder – Fox
- ANIMATION SERIES: BoJack Horseman – Netflix
- REALITY SHOW HOST: James Lipton – Inside the Actors' Studio
- STRUCTURED REALITY SHOW: Shark Tank – ABC
- TALK SHOW: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – HBO
- UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SHOW: Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown – CNN
Other Awards
- MVP AWARD: Amy Schumer
- GENIUS AWARD : Industrial Light and Magic
London Film Critics' Circle Awards 2016
- Film of the Year: Mad Max: Fury Road
- British/Irish Film of the Year: 45 Years
- Foreign Language Film of the Year: The Look of Silence
- Documentary of the Year: Amy
- Director of the Year: George Miller − Mad Max: Fury Road
- Actor of the Year: Tom Courtenay − 45 Years
- Actress of the Year: Charlotte Rampling − 45 Years
- Supporting Actor of the Year: Mark Rylance − Bridge of Spies
- Supporting Actress of the Year: Kate Winslet − Steve Jobs
- British/Irish Actor of the Year: Tom Hardy − Legend, The Revenant, Mad Max: Fury Road and London Road
- British/Irish Actress of the Year: Saoirse Ronan − Brooklyn
- Screenwriter of the Year: Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer − Spotlight
- Philip French Award for Breakthrough British/Irish Filmmaker: John Maclean − Slow West
- Young British/Irish Performer of the Year: Maisie Williams − The Falling
- Technical Achievement Award: Ed Lachman, cinematography − Carol
- British/Irish Short Film of the Year: Benjamin Cleary − Stutterer
- Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film: Kenneth Branagh
