Award shows Archives

New York, January 5, 2009 – Milk was the big winner at the 2008 New York Film Critics Circle Awards, named best picture, with best actor and supporting actor nods for Sean Penn and Josh Brolin.  The two actors were ebullient at the awards, although Penn wasn’t quite excited enough to speak to reporters.  (No surprise there.)  Brolin praised the entire cast of Milk:  “I thought [Penn] did such an incredible job.  Emile, Diego, everybody.  Amazing,” Brolin gushed before the award program.

Milk scriptwriter Dustin Lance Black is amazed by the film’s acclaim.  “This has sort of gone beyond my wildest dreams,” Black told us.  “When you’re doing it alone like that over the past four years, you just want to try and get it made.  So this stuff is icing on the cake,” he said.  “Hopefully it means that the movie gets out there a bit more, and the message gets out there a bit more,” Black added. 

Madrid native Penelope Cruz, who won best supporting actress for her work in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, gave a shout out to that other Spanish city so lushly portrayed in Woody Allen’s film.   “It’s a beautiful city,” Cruz said of Barcelona.  “I’m from Madrid, but both cities are so beautiful.”

Other New York Critics favorites at the gala were best actress Sally Hawkins, who starred in Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, Jenny Lumet, who wrote Rachel Getting Married, and Andrew Stanton, director of the animated box office champ Wall-E.

Photos: Caroline Torem Craig

New York, October 2, 2008 – VH1’s fifth annual Hip Hop Honors pays homage to the hip hop luminaries who pioneered the genre.  We talked with some of them at the taping on Thursday.  The song “Rapper’s Delight” will be thirty years old next year, and to celebrate the Sugarhill Gang have a new album in the works, and are planning a world tour, and even a documentary film. “We’re working on a tell-all documentary which nobody’s seen before.  You know, the beginning of Sugarhill, the beginning of hip hop,” the guys told us at the VH1 show.   Wonder Mike said he expected their sound to be merely a local phenomenon at the time. 

Cypress Hill will be honored, and perform as well.  B-Real explained how the group gets psyched before every performance.  “We smoke a big fat doobie,” he told us.  Scarface thinks Sarah Palin is hot after he saw her in a bathing suit!  “On the Internet,” he explained when we looked startled 

Funny man Tracy Morgan hosts the show.  Presenters include Joy Bryant and Freddy Rodriguez, who came in from L.A. for the show because he’s a huge hip hop fan.  “It’s part of my upbringing; I’m a child of the late ‘80s, early ‘90s,” Rodriguez said.  “When I was in high school that’s all we would do; everyone would try to make up their own raps.”

Watch the VH1 Hip Hop Honors on Monday, October 6 at 10PM ET/PT

Photos: Caroline Torem Craig

Los Angeles, August 3, 2008 – A lot of big stars had lots of fun at the always laidback Teen Choice Awards at L.A.’s Gibson Amphitheater on Sunday.  You can check out all the action – the show airs on Monday on Fox – but the Jonas Brothers and the TV show Gossip Girl won big, with six awards each.   Miley Cyrus fans will enjoy the broadcast – the tween sensation hosted the show, performed, danced and took three surfboard trophies for both her music and her Hannah Montana show.  Miley signed autographs for some lucky fans who lined the streets. 

Some interesting meetings took place along the blue carpet – our favorite was Will Smith hanging with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens.  Will was with his two sons, Trey and Jaden, but stopped for a photo op with Disney’s high profile couple.  Wannabe singer Scarlett Johansson latched onto Fergie – maybe they’ll do a duet?  Fergie’s fiancé Josh Duhamel met up with his onetime Crossing Jordan co-star Jerry O’Connell on the blue carpet, and they continued the bromance throughout the evening, hanging out together backstage in the Rocker room. 

Over 30 million votes were cast online before Sunday’s taping.  Other big winners were Chris Brown, Lauren Conrad, Hayden Panettiere and David Beckham, whose son Cruz did an impromptu dance routine on the show. 

Beckham, Jonas photos by Andy Fossum/Startraks

New York, June 19, 2008 – There was lots of pop music nostalgia at this year’s Songwriters' Hall of Fame induction ceremony, with honorees like the Coal Miner’s Daughter Loretta Lynn, the Lovin’ Spoonful’s John Sebastian, Canadian pop music queen Anne Murray and composer Alan Menken, who wrote the songs for Broadway and film musicals like Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.  Inductee Albert Hammond, who wrote household-name ditties like “It Never Rains in Southern California”, had his son, The Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr., cheering him on at the gala.  These famed musicians did not have to sing on the big night; they were treated to top-shelf entertainment from the likes of John Legend, Lee Ann Womack and Natasha Bedingfield. 

Photos: Caroline Torem-Craig

New York, June 15, 2008 – Once again, we spent a very long but very exciting Sunday with Broadway’s greats at the 62nd annual Tony Awards, from early morning backstage at Radio City Music Hall during rehearsals until the wee hours, sipping champagne at the big gala after party outdoors at Rockefeller Plaza. 

We hung out in the gift suite backstage, where we chatted with Liza Minnelli – she was with Ron Lewis, who choreographed her newest show, which she said is grueling.  “God, I never stop moving!” Liza told us.  Stopping for a caffeine fix at the very cool Nespresso machine, Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker said she’s thrilled to be back in New York.  “I could just get down and kiss the ground on Broadway”, she said.  Lily Tomlin told us she’s excited about the upcoming musical stage version of her movie 9 to 5, with songs by Dolly Parton.  “My friend Allison Janney is coming back to Broadway in my role in 9 to 5”, Tomlin said.  “I’m just hoping it’ll be a really big hit”, she added while checking out Carlos Falchi bags.  Brooke Shields was into the comfy Uggs shoes – she’s recovering from foot surgery.  Tony show host Whoopi Goldberg hit the gift suite early, and snapped up yellow Ziamond earrings and a necklace by Anne Koplik that she wore on the live telecast. 

Everyone reconvened later on the red carpet, where Kristin Chenoweth showed off her new boyfriend, Charlie McDowell.  How did they meet?  “His mom and I did a film together”, Chenoweth told us.  “His mom is Mary Steenburgen, and that’s how we met.  He’s a director and writer”, she said, introducing him.  They’ve been together for three months now.  (Sorry, readers, we did not get a photo of McDowell.) 

Laura Linney, Glenn Close, Gina Gershon, Alec Baldwin, Laurence Fishburne and Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon Dursley) all took part in Broadway’s big night.

New York, March 17, 2008 – Funny man Graham Norton was more nervous about hosting the 19th annual GLAAD Media Awards, which is a private dinner, than doing his BBC show in front of millions.  “It’s a big live event, and I don’t know this audience, so I’m sort of out of my comfort zone”, Norton told us at the Marriott Marquis Hotel before the GLAAD gala.  Norton confessed that he didn’t do much preparation for the event. “You can’t really rehearse; in the end, all I’m really doing is walking on and reading."  His shiny, gold-toned suit, he said, was by Gucci.  “But it is last season’s.  How embarrassing!” 

Project Runway guru Tim Gunn said he’s very touched that people respond so positively to him as an openly gay man, and that he’s happy to be a role model.  In his other job at Liz Claiborne, Gunn told us he’s looking forward to working with Isaac Mizrahi, who starts in July, when his contract with Target ends. 

Gunn surprised us all by revealing which Hollywood star he’d like to make over.  “She’s an Oscar winning actress, she’s incredibly talented, she’s gorgeous, she has a great figure, and she doesn’t want to own responsibility for her fashion.  And I want her to”, he said when asked.  After a pause, Gunn muttered, “And it’s Meryl Streep.” 

Alan Cumming recalled that the last time he was at the GLAAD Awards, Jessica Lange gave him an award.  “I loved working with her”, said the actor, currently appearing on Broadway with Diane Wiest.  “You know, I feel very lucky to get to work with people that I’ve admired since I was basically a fetus”, he told us.  “No, I don’t mean that, but for a long time.  And then when you get to meet them, you’re not disappointed.”

Barbara Walters, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, Mariska Hargitay and Peter Hermann, Randy Jackson, Loretta Devine, Cheyenne Jackson and Anika Noni Rose were among those who participated. 

New York, March 10, 2008 – Was the 2008 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction somehow a lingering victim of the recent writers’ strike, we wondered as presenters and honorees made long-winded speeches, prolonging the ceremony for a full extra hour?  “I feel like I’m at the Oscars”, inductee Dave Clark said to Tom Hanks, who had just delivered a rambling introductory speech.  But alas, there was no Oscar-like musical chime reminding participants to wrap it up, and we thought Justin Timberlake’s ten-minute innuendo-and profanity-laden induction speech took the cake - until Madonna outdid him, starting off her 16-minute marathon acceptance speech by thanking her ballet teacher who encouraged her to pursue her dreams when she was 14.

We thought nothing could surprise Madonna, until she saw the shirtless Iggy Pop gyrating onstage while singing her songs.

A whole Philadelphia contingent took the stage when Patti LaBelle inducted legendary music producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, creators of the 1970s Sound of Philadelphia.  After belting out the duo’s song “If You Don’t Know Me By Now”, LaBelle told us backstage that her six-inch Versace heels were killing her. 

During rehearsals, we had a ball following the celebs around the On 3 Productions gift suite, where they checked out jewelry from D’Annunzio, Carlos Falchi bags and Caravan’s t-shirts, ethically produced in Kenya.  Everybody fiddled with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and even the organizers couldn’t believe it when Chevy Chase wandered in by chance, and good-naturedly chatted with purveyors, spritzed Redken products and kept us all laughing. 

Los Angeles, February 24, 2008 – There’s often a contingent of foreign-born actors up for Academy Awards, but in 2008 Europeans made a clean sweep in the major acting categories, with Britain’s Daniel Day-Lewis and Tilda Swinton, France’s Marion Cotillard and Spain’s Javier Bardem taking home gold statuettes.  (We take the positive view that Hollywood is becoming more inclusive, rather than wonder, like some did at the awards on Sunday, whether Americans have lost their luster.)  Day-Lewis was even “knighted” onstage by fellow Brit Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar last year for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II. 

Backstage, Bardem claimed that his date for the evening was his mother.  No word on whether his rumored girlfriend Penelope Cruz got to tag along to all the parties later.  Day-Lewis joked about kissing fellow nominee George Clooney as he made his way to the stage to pick up his award: “I had to kiss someone”.   Backstage, Cotillard truly seemed shocked by her best actress win; her demeanor on the stage appears not to have been an act of modesty.  Swinton also claimed surprise at her supporting actress win. 

Baby bumps again had tongues wagging and shutters clicking at the Kodak Theater, with Nicole Kidman joining mothers-to-be Jessica Alba and Cate Blanchett on the red carpet. The Oscar ceremony marked the first major U.S. appearance for Kidman and husband Keith Urban since announcing last month that they are expecting their first child.

Colin Farrell also brought his mom as his date, as did Miley Cyrus. Eternal bachelor George Clooney is still with girlfriend Sarah Larson.