The London Film Critics Awards
rehna February 21st, 2010
I’ve met Quentin Tarantino 3 times now. It’s surely only a question of time before I’m cast as the ultra violent lead in a female Reservoir dogs. But for now QT is playing his cards close to his chest on that one.
Yes, it was the London Film critics awards on Thursday; my favourite awards of the year. Informal, relaxed and irreverent, it’s the place where I’ve got to shoot the breeze with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Helen Mirren et al without PR minders blustering around like over protective flies. Plus it’s the only awards which directly benefit a charity, the NSPCC, a cause close to my heart.
Like the Brits, the awards were also celebrating their 30th anniversary so there was an award for the best film of the past winners in the past 30 years. It went to ‘Apocalypse Now’.
Film of the year 2010 was ‘A Prophet’ the French entry to the Oscars this year. It beat the likes of Up in the Air and Avatar, prompting a delighted Jacques Audiard to joke that he wanted to call up James Cameron and in his best, devilish French English say ‘LOOZER’!
Speaking to us journalists later he said he believes films should leave audiences with a positive message at the end even if the prior 2 hours have been grim as his prison drama clearly is. Asked about the graphic violence in A Prophet, he said he personally dislikes violence but he uses it because he knows violence in cinema, like love in cinema is essentially fake. He’s had tremendous feedback for this film with people telling him that the prison scenes are incredibly realistic. Audiard noted wryly, that, of-course, most people have never been to prison so how do they actually know what is realistic?
British film of the year went to Fish Tank. It’s director Andrea Arnold also got best British director and its two actors Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender received acting prizes.
I haven’t seen Fish tank and I hated Andrea Arnold’s first feature film but she’s absolutely delightful and I didn’t have the heart to say anything critical. She also gives the funniest winner speeches usually wearing her coat likes she was just passing by and thought she’s pop in! Arnold refused to be drawn on rumours that she is set to direct a new version of Wuthering Heights (my all time favourite book) but if she does she could do worse than cast Michael Fassbender as Heathcliff. The German born Irishman is incredibly sexy in the flesh and has just that hint of danger under his charming smile which would make him perfect for Literature’s greatest bad boy. He’s already down to play Mr Rochester in the new Jane Eyre. Mmmmm!!
In another upset, Christopher Waltz picked up best actor over the likes of Jeff Bridges and Clooney. He was terrific too backstage, saying that film is a collaborative process so even when you win you have to recognize that you had a great director (thank you Quentin Tarantino), great partners in acting (thank you Brad Pitt) and actually got paid (thank you Harvey Weinstein)!
He said Tarantino is crazy but also an immensely mature artist who knows his craft and has seen every movie, not just the big ones but EVERY movie. Waltz added that in 20 years Inglorious Basterds will be recognized as a pivotal movie in cinema history.
Tarantino himself was delighted to receive the Dilys Powell award for contribution to cinema. Although he thinks he’s far too young and ‘only in the middle of his career with the best yet to come’ he was glad he’d finally got to see film critics who hated his work in the flesh.
He thinks Inglorious Basterds is very much in the Oscars race for best picture and doesn’t think Avatar is a shoo in for it. His own motivation for becoming a director was to make movies that would make other young people want to get into movies. That was his dream when he was a 14 year old kid and he’s delighted wannabee film makers now look up to him as an inspiration. He thinks the best films in the world today are coming out of Korea but has hopes too for Britain to rise again. ‘You have a bonafide industry again now.’
Well, who am I to argue. The legend declared my questions ‘very good’ so I have to believe everything else he says as true too!
Carey Mulligan won best British actress for ‘An Education. She’s now in Wall St 2 and told us that at the Oscars lunch all the nominees get a jumper with Oscar written on it so they all feel like winners. Ahh!
Colin Firth won best British actor for ‘A single man’. And Monique won best actress over Meryl Streep and co. If you haven’t seen ‘Precious’ you’re missing an astonishing performance from Moniqe. She is so hateable in that film you want to throw VERY rotten tomatoes at the screen. And as someone who works in the child abuse legal system, I can tell you she is as true to life as an actor can possibly be to the kind of mothers we deal with.
Anne Marie Duff won best supporting actress for her turn as John Lennon’s mother in ‘Nowhere Boy.’ I really recommend that film. Anne Marie is delightful and deserved her award but Kristen Scott-Thomas is also amazing in the film.
- The Movie Salon
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