“Silver Linings Playbook,” “Argo,” and “Lincoln” were the big winners Thursday night at the 18th annual Critics Choice Awards. “SLP” won Best Ensemble, Best Comedy, Best Actor and Actress in a Comedy for Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. “Silver Linings” expands today to wide release after playing consistently well on the backburner.
It also got an entry in the Oscar record book yesterday: it’s the first movie since “Reds” in 1982 to score Oscar nominations in every major category: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Screenplay, and Editing.
I’ve said repeatedly since seeing “SLP” at the Toronto Film Festival that this sly film was the one to beat, the only one with heart, and the only film of this season that leaves a lump in your throat. No one else picked it. The so called experts alternated between “Zero Dark Thirty” and the foreign film “Amour.”
But “SLP” got the main attention at the Critics Choice, while “Argo” won Best Picture and Best Director (Ben Affleck, who got a standing ovation). But “Argo” is not yielding acting awards. “Lincoln” picked up Best Actor for Daniel Day Lewis, and adapted screenplay for Tony Kushner. Anne Hathaway won Best Supporting Actress for “Les Miserables” and Quentin Tarantino earned Best Original Screenplay for “Django Unchained.”
Jessica Chastain, exhausted after flying across the country after performing in “The Heiress” on Broadway, was shivering in her seat just prior to the announcement of Best Actress. “Are you cold?” I asked. “I’m nervous,” she replied. Well she was wearing an off the shoulder gown. All was settled when Chastain’s name was called for “Zero Dark Thirty.” Now she flies back to New York this morning to play “The Heiress” tonight and twice tomorrow, then back to L.A. for the Golden Globes–where she and Lawrence will again split Best Actress for Drama and Comedy–and then back to New York on Monday. And this is all on commercial flights, mind you! Where is all that Hollywood glamour when you need it?
Meanwhile, we did have a great moment with Joaquin Phoenix. He and his “The Master” co-star Amy Adams sat together at a Weinstein Company table, where Phoenix was bright eyed, bushy tailed and happy to be in attendance. He looks ready for the Oscar race after his Best Actor nomination.
But it was Daniel Day Lewis who was the most nervous. He made a couple of trips to the rest room before the Best Actor category was called. DDL, as I like to call him, is not as confident as we are that he’s a shoo in for playing “Lincoln.” He told me that Denzel Washington is “very strong” and that “Bradley Cooper is a surprise” before we even knew who was going to be nominated. He won last night, even though he spaced out a little during his speech. DDL, who shares little of himself and is very shy, is human you know.
