The Critics’ Choice Awards were held last night, and the event was full of great moments. To start, James Franco wasn’t there. Despite being nominated for Best Actor, he skipped the night for obvious reasons.
The focus on the entertainment industry’s sexual harassment problem didn’t end at the Golden Globes. (Although I do wonder if the stars onstage know the degree to which harassment plagues the critical community as well.)
Olivia Munn hosted the show this year, and along with Niecy Nash, the two did an ironic “toast to the good guys.” You know, the ones who don’t hold business meetings in their robes in hotel rooms or treat women “like crap.” Yup, “way to be regular human beings, guys!”
The Critics’ Choice Awards have an interesting system where they divide their nominations into genre categories, which overlap with Best Picture. So even though The Shape of Water won for Best Picture, other nominees in that category still won “best” in separate genres.
The Big Sick won Best Comedy. While accepting with his wife and co-writer/executive producer Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani—still wearing his Time’s Up pin—said, “We’re very happy that our movie is coming out in a year when Hollywood is having a lot of difficult conversations with itself and we’re amplifying voices that have been silenced for too long. I think, as men, we’ve been talking too much for centuries. We need to shut up, listen and amplify.”
Other genre category Best Picture winner included Get Out (yay!) for Sci-Fi/Horror and Wonder Woman (yay again!) for Best Action Movie.
Thank you to the Critics for recognizing Wonder Woman as best action movie!! @CriticsChoice pic.twitter.com/Knn7gZBVAu
— Gal Gadot (@GalGadot) January 12, 2018
That’s right; a woman-led, woman-directed movie won “best of” in a genre that historically, and even still largely excludes women.
But the highlight of the night was Gal Gadot being presented with the #SeeHer Award. The award, which has previously only been given to Viola Davis, is meant to highlight “the importance of accurately portraying women across the entertainment landscape.”
I’m sure that to some, it will seem strange that a superhero is being held up as an “accurate portrayal” of women. But in her acceptance speech, Gadot says what we already knew: Diana Prince may be an Amazon, but there’s a reason why she spoke to so many women, why audiences of all genders connected with her.
Throughout my career, I was always asked to describe my dream role. And it was clear to me that I wanted to play a strong and independent woman, a real one. And the irony in this is that later, I was cast as Wonder Woman. And all of these qualities I looked for, I found in her.
She’s full of heart, strength, compassion, and forgiveness. She sees wrong that must be made right. She takes action when everyone around her is idle. She commands the attention of the world, and in doing so, she sets a positive example for humanity.
Wonder Woman also struggles with her own love and hopes. She gets confused, insecure, and she’s not perfect. And that’s what makes her real.
Gadot also spoke to the recent attention on the harassment epidemic.
As artists and filmmakers, I believe it’s not only our job to entertain, but our duty to inspire and educate for love and respect. In the past weeks and months, we’ve been witnessing a movement in our industry and society. And I want to share this award with all the women and men who stand for what’s right, standing for those who can’t stand or speak for themselves.
My promise and commitment to all of you is that I will never be silenced. And we will continue, band together, to make strides uniting for equality.
(via Vanity Fair, Uproxx, Deadline, image: YouTube)
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Published: Jan 12, 2018 02:53 pm