BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) – With talk of televising the Hollywood Film Awards Gala next year, stars at Monday’s ceremony enjoyed what could be their last unedited award show.
Julia Roberts accepted her supporting actress award barefoot and multiple stars, including Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Jack Black and Jane Fonda spouted expletives freely.
Launching the awards season, the 17th annual Hollywood Film Awards, held at The Beverly Hilton, brought together a slew of A-list stars to toast accomplishments – and share laughs.
Kanye West kicked off the ceremony by presenting Steve McQueen with the Hollywood Breakout Director Award.
“I’ve arrived!” said McQueen, who directed 12 Years a Slave.
Black presented the screenwriter award to Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and Richard Linklater, the trio behind Before Midnight. On-stage Delpy and Hawke quibbled as Delpy bumped Hawke away from the microphone with her hips.
Said Linklater: “This is why we don’t improvise in the movie.”
When presenting Michael De Luca with his producer award, Captain Phillips newcomer Barkhad Abdi thanked him for “changing my life”. Abdi played one of the Somali pirates who hijacked an American cargo ship off the Horn of Africa in 2009.
Kicking off his actor award acceptance speech with the first lines he’d uttered onscreen in 1993’s Dazed and Confused, Matthew McConaughey greeted the crowd with an aptly southern “All right, all right, all right”.
Star of the upcoming Dallas Buyers Club, he said he’s enjoyed playing the anti-hero and gave a special thanks to wife Camila Alves, who “makes sure I never have to look in the rearview mirror when I go to work”.
Sean Penn presented Roberts with the supporting actress award for her work in August: Osage County.
Robert Downey Jr had one of the best opening lines of any presenter: “Greta Garbo, Grace Kelly, Faye Dunaway, Charlize Theron, Jared Leto: All arguably the most beautiful actresses,” he said before handing Leto his breakout performance award for his role as a transgender person in Dallas Buyers Club.
Presented by Angela Bassett, the New Hollywood Award went to Lupita Nyong’o, who was the only recipient to tear up during her speech.
Said Lee Daniels when accepting his director award for his work on Lee Daniels’ The Butler, ‘”This is a big time not just for African American cinema, but for cinema.”
Chris Martin accepted the song award for Coldplay’s track Atlas, the original song penned for the upcoming The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which he performed at the gala.
Harrison Ford, who gained the Career Achievement Award, was the only recipient to receive a standing ovation.
Forest Whitaker, Viola Davis, Geoffrey Rush, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Sean Hayes were also in attendance.
Nancy O’Dell was the host.
