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by Eric Kohn
January 8, 2013 10:10 AM
8 Comments
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10 Highlights From the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, From Kathryn Bigelow on Torture to Armond White Heckling Michael Moore

Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal at the NYFCC awards.
Unlike a lot of awards programs, critics awards tend to announce the winners in advance. As a result, the tension in the room involves not the identity of the winners but what might transpire as they accept their prizes. That was certainly the case at the 78th annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards, an alternately funny, moving and boisterous evening ably hosted by NYFCC chairman and Time Out NY critic Josh Rothkopf. Along with the 35 members of the Critics Circle, the room at the Crimson Club was packed with Hollywood names like Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day Lewis and Jessica Chastain brushing shoulders with the likes of Katie Couric and Charlie Rose.

READ MORE: 'Zero Dark Thirty' and 'Lincoln' Lead New York Film Critics Circle Awards

At the beginning of the evening, Rothkopf read the names of each NYFCC member and implored editors to ensure their publications made sure to keep employing film critics; at the end of the night, accepting one of two prizes for "Zero Dark Thirty," Kathryn Bigelow joined a long list of winners who thanked critics for doing what they do. Here are some of the notable moments that transpired in between.

Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal finally acknowledge the torture debate. Since she first did press for "Zero Dark Thirty," Bigelow has dealt a storm of criticisms from the movie unleashed by Washington bureaucrats and media pundits either convinced the movie endorses torture or that it claims said torture directly led to the killing of Osama bin Laden. Accepting her award for Best Director -- her second from the Circle in four years following her win for "The Hurt Locker" -- Bigelow finally spoke up. "Thank you for understanding that depiction is not endorsement," she said, adding that she appreciated critics willingness to interpret her work. "I apologize for not spelling it out all the time." Moments later, she was joined onstage by screenwriter Mark Boal, also a "Zero Dark Thirty" producer, accepting the prize for Best Film. Boal tackles the torture debate more directly, but not before having some fun with it. "Apparently, the French government will be investigating the accuracy of 'Les Mis,'" he cracked, before noting that he and Bigelow had been eager to comment on the situation. "Some of you may have wondered if we would have liked to comment on that coverage," he added. "The answer is yes." His position? "If anybody's asking, we stand by the film."

READ MORE: 'Zero Dark Thirty' Is the Best Movie of the Year, But Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal Won't Talk About It

Megan Ellison is a serious film nut. Much of the industry may not have taken Bigelow seriously prior to her triumph with "The Hurt Locker" a few years back, but the mark of a truly savvy viewer is the one whose appreciation for her work stretches back to her earlier years as a genre director. Megan Ellison, the young Annapurna Pictures founder who financed "Zero Dark Thirty," proved her cred while accepting the Best Film award for the movie by noting that her Bigelow fandom began with director's 1987 vampire noir "Near Dark" -- which, Ellison noted, "came out when I was one."

Daniel Day Lewis passed on "Lincoln" twice, but he wrote Steven Spielberg some really nice notes about it. There was a lot of standing up and sitting down at the "Lincoln" table, since the film won three awards: Tony Kushner for Best Screenplay, Sally Field for Best Actress and Daniel Day Lewis for Best Actor. They were joined by presenters Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the "Team of Rivals" book that inspired the movie, and Spielberg, presenting Day Lewis with his prize. Spielberg's speech was surprisingly candid. The director recalled how he initially sent a script for "Lincoln" to Day Lewis in 2003, when it was primarily a Civil War movie (and not written by Kushner). The actor passed, but sent Spielberg an expressive note detailing his reasons, and still left the door open with one line: "I can't be sure this won't change." A second attempt to attract Lewis a year later yielded another pass, but finally the director got his way. "Well, if you didn't know what a fucking idiot I was then, now you do," Day Lewis said in his acceptance speech. "I do say yes from time to time." When Kushner accepted his prize, he told Day Lewis, "Good job, kiddo. Mazel tov."

More than one "Lincoln" player felt a little uneasy around critics. Kushner slyly acknowledged his awareness that not every critic loved the movie. "I'm grateful for those who voted to give me this award," he said. "Those who didn't, I'm still grateful, just slightly less so." Field made a similar claim, thanking the NYFCC "even though I don't read your reviews."

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TAGS: New York Film Critics Circle, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Andrew Sarris, Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Armond White, Michael Moore, Emmanuelle Riva, Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tony Kushner, Matthew McConaughey
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8 Comments

  • Alice Wilcox | January 9, 2013 2:19 PMReply

    Mr. Kohn, I never heard of Armond White until I read this report. However, I do know Michael Moore--a creature who gets off on spewing his vitriol whenever possible. I also read the transcript of his "presentation," which was actually a platform for his unreasonable hatred for all things Catholic or conservative. Why do you not think MM's speech wasn't the awkward part that could have derailed the event?

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  • edward | January 8, 2013 1:55 PMReply

    Super reporting! thanks. I love M Moore.

  • John Demetry | January 8, 2013 12:26 PMReply

    Your reporting here creates the impression that Armond White was heckling Michael Moore because of his support for ACT UP. In fact, Moore took the opportunity of presenting the award to make a gratuitous dig at the Catholic Church--saying that the best thing ACT UP did was block the cardinal from entering St. Patrick's Cathedral. That is offensive to both the legacy of AIDS activism and to Catholics. Moore responded to Armond by going on a rant essentially blaming the Catholic Church--the only institutional defender of human dignity on the planet--for the AIDS crisis. To Armond's point, Moore highjacked the winning filmmakers' moment as a platform for his own self-importance and bigotry.

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