After the Hollywood Foreign Press Association fired the first shot of the award season with Sunday’s Golden Globes Awards, the nation’s top critics convene in Los Angeles for the 20th Annual Critics Choice Awards tomorrow night.
The winners will be revealed at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, which will broadcast live on A&E from the Hollywood Palladium on January 15th at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT, the day the Academy Award nominations are announced. This is the first year that the BFCA will partner with A&E to broadcast the show.
Legendary Super Bowl Champion Michael Strahan will serve as the show’s host. Strahan is the co-host of the popular morning talk show “LIVE with Kelly and Michael,” and an Emmy-nominated Fox NFL Sunday analyst. He also serves as special co-host for ABC’s top-rated morning program, Good Morning America.
“I am excited to host a night honoring some of the most talented people in the industry,” said Strahan. “The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards show paves the way for the upcoming awards season, and the best part is that the winners are selected by the very people who make a living watching and reviewing films. It doesn’t get much more competitive than that.”
As announced previously, Kevin Costner, Ron Howard and Jessica Chastain will each receive special honors at the ceremony. Costner, winner of two Academy Awards® and a Primetime Emmy® Award, will be honored with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ celebrating more than three decades of incredible work in film. The LOUIS XIII Critics’ Choice Genius Award, established to honor an icon who has demonstrated unprecedented excellence in the cinematic arts, will be presented to multiple award-winning director, producer and actor Ron Howard. Chastain will receive the inaugural ‘Critics’ Choice MVP Award,’ which recognizes an extraordinary actor for their work in several standout movies throughout a single year. She is being saluted for starring in the films Interstellar, Miss Julie, A Most Violent Year (which also earned her a nomination this year), and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.
Birdman leads this year with thirteen nominations including Best Picture, Michael Keaton for Best Actor and Best Actor in a Comedy, Edward Norton for Best Supporting Actor, Emma Stone for Best Supporting Actress, Best Acting Ensemble, Alejandro G. Inarritu for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Comedy, and Best Score.
The Grand Budapest Hotel also impressed with eleven nominations, which include Best Picture, Ralph Fiennes for Best Actor and Best Actor in a Comedy, Tony Revolori for Best Young Actor/Actress, Best Acting Ensemble, Wes Anderson for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design and Best Comedy.
Boyhood was nominated for eight awards including Best Picture, Ethan Hawke for Best Supporting Actor, Patricia Arquette for Best Supporting Actress, Ellar Coltrane for Best Young Actor/Actress, Best Acting Ensemble, Richard Linklater for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing.
The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are bestowed annually by the BFCA to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. The BFCA is the largest film critics’ organization in the United States and Canada, representing almost 300 television, radio and online critics, of which I am a proud member. Historically, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations.
Check out a preview with the evening’s host, Michael Strahan below: