The Best Time of the Year – Movie Awards 2015

 

By: Lina María Gómez

 

The film and TV industries have an important place throughout the world. Movies and TV shows are projections of what is happening right now, of feelings that people have based on opinions, it is a way of expressing thoughts and make everyone conscious of different aspects that are or were important in different periods of time. Overall, their purpose is to entertain the audience and to express whatever the producers or directors are feeling at the moment, it is a way of channeling emotions and expressing them in an artistic way by means of a story-line and fictional characters, which can be based in real events or just were created in the mind of the producers.

 

It requires a lot of people to bring these different ideas to life: actors, directors, producers, script writers, editors and the art department, among others; and even though it seems like their work is easy, these people make their biggest effort to get the results the companies are looking for, and to bring these movies and TV shows into each television network or cinema around the world. All of the people who are part of these industries receive acknowledgement for their hard work when they are recognized for it and receive good critics for their job. It is hard to make a movie or a TV series, therefore some companies, associations or academies are devoted to recognize each of the people who work in these industries and to give them the acknowledgment they deserve.

 

Every year, from January to February, people all around the world gather around their televisions just to watch these acknowledgments take place. All of these are in the form of awards which take place in Los Angeles, the city of dreams. There is a triple thread that is the most important awards and every person who wins them are honored by these organizations, these are the Golden Globe Awards, the Screen Actor Guild Awards and the Academy Awards.

 

The first ones, the Golden Globe awards took place on January 11, 2015 in the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel and they honored the excellence in national and foreign film and television. It was hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and one of their most important awards, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, which honors people who have had “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”, was given to George Clooney. The most interesting part of the night was Fey’s and Poehler’s jokes and some political analogies and commentaries made. Here is the list of winners:

 

 

• Best Motion Picture: Drama – Boyhood

• Best Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy – The Grand Budapest Hotel

• Best Performance in a Motion Picture: Drama – Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore

• Best Performance in a Motion Picture: Musical Or Comedy – Michael Keaton and Amy Adams

• Best Original Song : Glory by John Legend and Common

• Best Foreign Language Film : Leviathan from Russia

• Best Series: Drama: The Affair

• Best Series: Musical or Comedy – Transparent

• Best Performance in a Television Series: Drama - Kevin Spacey and Ruth Wilson

• Best Performance in a Television Series: Musical or Comedy – Jeffrey Tambor and Gina Rodriguez

 

The Screen Actor Guild Awards were next on January 25, 2015 and it honors the best achievements in film and television performances. It took place on the Shrine Exposition Center, Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. One of the most important awards given is the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award which is given to a person who achieved outstandingly the finest ideals of the acting profession. This year it was given to Debbie Reynolds, who has appeared in films such as Three Little Words, Two Weeks with Love, Meet Me in Las Vegas, Halloweentown, Will & Grace, among others. The Award also had an In Memoriam section in which all of the actors who passed away in 2014 were honored. Here is the list of winners:

 

 

• Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role – Eddie Redmayne and Julianne Moore

• Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture – Birdman

• Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie – Mark Ruffalo and Frances McDormand

• Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Drama Series – Kevin Spacey and Viola Davis

• Outstanding Performance by an Actor in Comedy Series – William H. Macy and Uzu Aduba

• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series – Downtown Abbey

• Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series – Orange is the New Black

 

Finally, the Academy Awards will take place the 22 of February, 2015. This is the most important awards for the film industry and they recognize the best films and actors in the media. It will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will be presented by Neil Patrick Harris. The most important awards are the Academy Honorary Awards which were given to Jean-Claude Carriere, Hayao Miyazaki, and Maureen O’Hara; and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award given to Harry Belafonte. During the show, John Legend and Common, Adam Levine, Tim McGraw, Rita Ora, and Tegan and Sara will be performing with their nominated songs. Some of the nominees are:

 

• Best Picture 

1. American Sniper

2. Birdman

3. Boyhood

4. The Grand Budapest Hotel

5. The Imitation Game

6. Selma

7. The Theory Of Everything

8. Whiplash

• Best Actor 

1. Steve Carrell

2. Bradley Cooper

3. Benedict Cumberbatch

4. Michael Keaton

5. Eddie Redmayne

• Best Actress

1.  Marion Cotillard

2. Felicity Jones

3. Julianne Moore

4. Rosamund Pike

5. Reese Witherspoon

 

These awards are also the perfect excuse to dress up; all of the attendants are judged by different media about their gowns, they even make worst and best dressed lists of the people who go to these awards and many clothing companies are willing to dress the celebrities up just to get the attention and propaganda. To conclude, the awards are the perfect place to mix the film and TV industries with the fashion and make up world, honor the different people who are part of each movie realization and to recognize all of their work.