•Hollywood Actor Award: Robert De Niro, “Everybody’s Fine”
•Hollywood Supporting Actress Award: Julianne Moore, “A Single Man,” “The Kids Are Alright,” “Chloe”
•Hollywood Director Award: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
•Hollywood Producer Award: Ryan Kavanaugh, “Brothers,” “Nine,” etc.
•Hollywood Screenwriter Award: Nora Ephron, “Julie & Julia”
•Hollywood Breakthrough Actor Award: Jeremy Renner, “The Hurt Locker”
•Hollywood Breakthrough Actress Award: Carey Mulligan, “An Education”
•Hollywood Comedy Award: Bradley Cooper, “The Hangover”
•Hollywood Breakthrough Screenwriter Award: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, “(500) Days of Summer”
•Hollywood Animation Award: “Up”
•Hollywood Cinematographer Award: Roger Deakins, “A Serious Man”
•Hollywood Composer Award: Alexandre Desplat, “Cheri,” “Coco Before Chanel,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “Julie & Julia,” “A Prophet”
•Hollywood Costume Designer Award: Colleen Atwood, “Nine”
•Hollywood Editor Award: Dana Glauberman, “Up in the Air”
•Hollywood Production Designer Award: Rick Carter, “Avatar”
•Hollywood Visual Effects Award: Scott Farrar, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
•New Hollywood Award: Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
•Hollywood Spotlight Awards: Shorheh Aghdashloo, Paul Schneider, Melanie Lynsky, Zachary Quinto

Anne Thompson's blog basically explains what a racket this festival is, as I've been saying for years:

I am surprised by the film industry and the media’s continued willingness to give a free pass to entrepreneur Carlos de Abreu’s Hollywood Film Festival, a cannily constructed facade which honors stars, filmmakers and craftspeople and lines the pockets of de Abreu.

He’s created an awards show timed perfectly at the height of the awards season, which he presents inside the context of a film festival. While it is not considered to be a bonafide quality film fest curated by top programmers, like Telluride, Sundance or New York, and its premieres are often less than stellar, Hollywood players participate because it supports the award cause. It gives vying award season contenders yet another opportunity to grab attention. If de Abreu gives an award, why wouldn’t any self-respecting self-promoting player show up for their five minutes of PR? This years award winners include Hilary Swank (Amelia), Robert DeNiro (Everybody’s Fine) and Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds).

Here’s some background.

[Photo: courtesy Getty Images]

Having served as a second lieutenant in the Air Force in Mozambique before being forced out of the country in 1975 by the communist regime, de Abreu came to Hollywood after he got tired of being a marketing director for the jeweler Cartier. He studied screenwriting at UCLA. He got a foothold in the film industry by putting on conferences every two months to let screenwriters pitch Hollywood buyers. He started giving out the Hollywood Screenplay Discovery Awards, and co-wrote with Howard Smith a book for Random House called Opening the Door to Hollywood. He sent scripts to agencies, and in 1996 Ted Kotcheff optioned two of the winners’ screenplays.

De Abreu got involved with the internet in 1994, started a website, and collected over 3000 domain names, all related to Hollywood, including the Hollywood Film Festival, which he launched in 1996. Married to TV actress Janice Pennington (The Price is Right), de Abreu worked his way up the Hollywood social ladder, throwing dinner parties and becoming friendly with the likes of Kotcheff, Mark Rydell, Sherry Lansing and Mike Medavoy (a Hollywood Film Award winner for the flop All the King’s Men).

While de Abreu took advantage of his social contacts with agents and studio heads when he mounted the festival, it wasn’t taken seriously until he hired the powerhouse PR firm PMKHBH (now he hires different agencies every year) and in 2002 brought on their client, respected producer Paula Wagner, a former CAA agent, as his co-chair. Her producing partner Tom Cruise then attended the screening of their presentation Narc. After Cruise, many more stars such as Harrison Ford followed him down the red carpet, either as presenters or award winners. They include Clint Eastood, Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Angelina Jolie, Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman, Ron Howard, George Lucas, Diane Keaton, John Travolta, Goldie Hawn, Naomi Watts, Warren Beatty, Jennifer Aniston, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Nic Cage and Benicio del Toro.

De Abreu moved the festival from October to August and back to October again to best capitalize on the awards season. He recognized that if you give someone who is campaigning for an Oscar an award, they will come. That was all he had to do.

The actual programming of some 80 films tends to be light also-rans left over from other fests. The screenings serve as a backdrop for the big awards night (this year, October 26) when everyone walks the red carpet to accept their prize. De Abreu admits that he can do whatever he pleases, with no oversight.

There is no organization, no philanthropic goal behind the Hollywood Film Festival, beyond de Abreu’s stated hope that he is bridging the gap between established Hollywood and emerging talent. This festival is a business enterprise, selling tickets, VIP passes, sponsorships (this year, Starz) and studio tables. How much money does it make? De Abreu tells no one.

I know the Hollywood Film Festival is a sham but I still wonder if Robert DeNiro is being overlooked in the best actor race. My own inability to see it may be from my belief that DeNiro has become a lazy actor and does not have any great performances in him anymore. I have seen the original Italian film "Everybody's Fine" about a decade ago in an Italian cinema and Culture Class and always thought it ripe for some kind of American remake... in my head I even pictured it as a Broadway musical while watchign it .

Clearly there are legitimate contenders who accept this bogus "award," so De Niro could be among them.

quote:

Originally posted by seanflynn:
Married to TV actress Janice Pennington (The Price is Right)...

My favorite thing ever posted on this site.

That caught my eye as well...
it's this business in a nutshell; you can't make this stuff up

quote:

Originally posted by pacinofan:
My own inability to see it may be from my belief that DeNiro has become a lazy actor and does not have any great performances in him anymore.

Add him to the list of Pacino, Hoffman, and Hurt, and I'm with you all the way there. Every time I predict him for anything, I quickly un-predict him, on the same day in most cases.

Yes, I've always known that the Hollywood Awards are a sham as well. Just the title sounds all-too presumptuous (note to unrepresented actors here: avoid any "talent agency" with the words Hollywood or Star in its name, or pay the consequences).

However, I do find it remarkable how the HFFAs can award the screenwriters who end up nominated for (and sometimes the recipient of) an Oscar over the last few years. A few to mention:

Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"
Diablo Cody, "Juno"
Christopher Hampton, "Atonement"
John Logan, "Aviator"
John Patrick Shanley, "Doubt"

However, they also tend to throw bones to people who not only don't make a blip in the Oscar radar, but don't deserve to (Akiva Goldsman was honored for "Da Vinci Code," if that tells you anything).

Dustin Hoffman (who I normally do not care for) gave a great performance in Last Chance Harvey last year. Had its distributor not tried a last minute late year Oscar run, I suspect this could have been a successful early 2009 film and Hoffman on his way to a deserved (for once) nomination.

quote:

Originally posted by seanflynn:
Dustin Hoffman (who I normally do not care for) gave a great performance in Last Chance Harvey last year. Had its distributor not tried a last minute late year Oscar run, I suspect this could have been a successful early 2009 film and Hoffman on his way to a deserved (for once) nomination.

Hoffman was great in Midnight Cowboy, having created an iconic (I know, I hate that term but there you have it) character ("I'm walking here! I'm walking here!")...

As with most of his performances, the mechanics of the wheels turning kept me from accepting his character.

He finally discarded his bag of tricks in Last Chance Harvey, and a good actor was born.

quote:

Originally posted by seanflynn:
As with most of his performances, the mechanics of the wheels turning kept me from accepting his character.

He finally discarded his bag of tricks in Last Chance Harvey, and a good actor was born.

Well, glad you've come around to being a fan, but from what I can tell by your disdain for Meryl Streep's performance in Doubt and Dustin Hoffman's performance in Midnight Cowboy, you've never lived in New York.

That is to say, they're not "actorly" or "mechanical" performances but actually realistic portrayals of larger-than-life characters.

I've lived 16 years of my life in New York, 9 years as an adult in Manhattan. I have considerable first-hand experience with your stereotypes of New York characters.

Viola Davis very unassumedly played a convincing NY character. The contract between her and Streep's totally unconvincing and unrecognizable human characterization was, along with Mamma Mia, the nadir of her career.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: seanflynn,

Well, where else will you find all of those delightful New York stereotypes... but in New York? LOL!

quote:

Originally posted by seanflynn:
As with most of his performances, the mechanics of the wheels turning kept me from accepting his character.

He finally discarded his bag of tricks in Last Chance Harvey, and a good actor was born.

I do not share your disdain for Dustin Hoffman in general (I thought he was great in "The Graduate", "Tootsie" and several other films) but I did find him very mechanical in "Midnight Cowboy" and thought his voice and mannerisms belonged more on the stage than in an at least nominally realistic film.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pacinofan,

At the time of its release, the critical consensus was that Jon Voight gave the far better performance in Midnight Cowboy. He won best actor/1969 from both the New York and National Society of Film Critics (there was no LAFC yet).

I see your point on "the wheels turning" with respect to Hoffman, and that is part of why I abhor 'Rain Man.'

That said, I am a huge fan of his work in 'Tootsie' and enjoyed what he produced in 'Kramer vs. Kramer.'

quote:

Originally posted by seanflynn:
Dustin Hoffman (who I normally do not care for) gave a great performance in Last Chance Harvey last year. Had its distributor not tried a last minute late year Oscar run, I suspect this could have been a successful early 2009 film and Hoffman on his way to a deserved (for once) nomination.

After Wag the Dog, I'm waiting for the moment that Dustin Hoffman will be nominated again.

This is not the most credible group but I'm happy that Julianne Moore is still getitng recognized.

quote:

Originally posted by seanflynn:
At the time of its release, the critical consensus was that Jon Voight gave the far better performance in Midnight Cowboy. He won best actor/1969 from both the New York and National Society of Film Critics (there was no LAFC yet).

Both were good in different ways, but Voight was better than Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy.
And, I was amazed by how good Hoffman was in Last Chance and also surprised by how much I enjoyed the film, despite some people's derision of it.

I have to admit, I really like some of the mentions above; esp Alexander Desplat and Roger Deakins. I wonder how much they try to predict the winners in these upcoming Awards circuit?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: babypook,

I dislike Rain Man too, but I must offer support for Valeria Golino, who I think gave a really lovely performance as Cruise's girlfriend. I wouldn't have been upset had she been Oscar-nominated in that weak year.