Mexico City.- Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio was rejected by almost all studios in Hollywood, but those refusals allowed him to calmly let his stop motion project grow for about 15 years, which won the Animated Film award at the 28th gala from the Critics’ Choice Awards.
Less than a week after his victory at the Golden Globes, the Mexican returned to a podium this Sunday night in Los Angeles to celebrate the recognition of his story and his way of telling it.
“To animate is to give a soul to something that does not have it, that is an excellent way to encapsulate Pinocchio, which is an example of this. From a story that feels eternal and old we made a new one,” said the director of La Forma of the water.
From Mexico, only Del Toro won a prize, and Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Bardo) and Diego Luna (Andor) left without one.
The latter, who spoke Spanish when presenting the Best Director category, was not recognized as Best Actor in a Drama Series by Andor, since the award was given to Bob Odenkirk for Better Call Saul.
After six seasons where he almost always stayed as a nominee at the ceremonies, Better Call Saul, spin-off of Breaking Bad, had a vindictive night.
The production won for Best Drama Series, Bob Odenkirk for Best Actor in a Drama Series and Giancarlo Esposito for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
In the film categories, the critics selected Everything Everywhere at the Same Time as the Best Film of the year, based on works by Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans) or James Cameron (Avatar).
The film with the most nominations took five statuettes, which also included Best Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan) and Original Screenplay.
“My mother was the first person to plant the seed in my head that I could be a director, she is perhaps the first Asian-American immigrant mother to tell her son to go to film school,” Kwan shared.
Brendan Fraser wept upon being recognized as Best Actor for The Whale, assuring people who feel darkness that good things will happen when they stand up for the light.
Cate Blanchett, winner of Best Actress for Tár, said the grand prize she had received on the night was a bottle of mouthwash given to her by Julia Roberts, and questioned whether the delivery was necessary.
“Why don’t we just say there’s a whole series of female performances talking to each other and stop the televised horse race?
“To every woman on TV, in movies, in tampon commercials, you name it, I can say, ‘You’re doing amazing work that continually inspires me, thank you, I’m sharing this with you,'” the star said.
African-American actresses, such as Niecy Nash-Betts, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Angela Bassett (awarded for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) made noise with their speeches and statuettes in hand.
They pointed to the awards as a response to all the people who told them that it was not a place for them.
Another minority that had a moment of representation was the deaf-mute, since Troy Kotsur, winner of the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Coda, presented a category in sign language.
WINNERS LIST
CINEMA
Best film
Everything Everywhere at the Same Time
Best Actor
Brendan Fraser – The Whale
Best actress
Cate Blanchett – Tar
Best Supporting Actor
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere at the Same Time
Best Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Best Young Actor/Actress
Gabriel LaBelle – The Fabelmans
best cast
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Best Director
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere at the Same Time
Best Original Screenplay
Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere at the Same Time
Best Adapted Screenplay
Sarah Polley – They Talk
Best Cinematography
Claudio Miranda – Top Gun: Maverick
Best Production Design
Florence Martin, Anthony Carlino – Babylon
Best Edition
Paul Rogers – Everything Everywhere at the Same Time
best costumes
Ruth E. Carter – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Best Makeup and Hairstyle
Elvis
Best Visual Effects
Avatar: The Path of Water
best comedy
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Best Animated Feature
Pinocchio by Guillermo del Toro
Best Foreign Language Film
RRR
Best song
Naatu Naatu – RRR
Best Original Music
Hildur Guðnadóttir – Tár
TELEVISION AND STREAMING
Best Drama Series
Better Call Saul (AMC)
Best Actor in a Drama Series
Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Zendaya – Euphoria (HBO)
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Giancarlo Esposito – Better Call Saul (AMC)
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus (HBO)
Best Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Jeremy Allen White – The Bear (FX)
Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO Max)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Henry Winkler-Barry (HBO)
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Sheryl Lee Ralph – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Best Limited Series
The Dropout (Hulu)
Best Movie Made for Television
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (The Roku Channel)
Best Actor in a Motion Picture Made for Television
Daniel Radcliffe – Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (The Roku Channel)
Best Actress in a Motion Picture Made for Television
Amanda Seyfried – The Dropout (Hulu)
Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture Made for Television
Paul Walter Hauser – Black Bird (Apple TV+)
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Made for Television
Niecy Nash-Betts – Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
Best Foreign Language Series
Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Best Animated Series
Harley Quinn (HBO Max)
Best Talk Show
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Best Comedy Special
Norm MacDonald: Nothing Special (Netflix)
