I don’t go to award season events much. Not my thing. (Every year I think it’s my thing for a second… and then come to my senses.) But I went to the Advanced Imaging Society Lumiere Awards last week at the behest of a friend. “Our awards have humorously been called the Oscars for geeks,” remarked Jim Chabin, AIS President.
It was a lovely ballroom event in the room where the Broadcast Film Critics used to do the show before the show was televised. Winners were invited. Speeches were considered before people took the stage. And pretty much all the heroes of the award season in television and film were once again unsurprisingly feted for their contribution to television and film. A nice low-key afternoon of love and statues.
In the midst of this were celebrity appearances that are Oscar related, from Jeffrey Wright to Cillian Murphy. And Paul Giamatti is competing with those guys. But when it comes to Oscar night, the Directors Branch didn’t include Alexander Payne. (Feel free to argue amongst yourselves.) There is a lot of homage being paid to directors by actors this week… but this one had nothing to hope for but to express an intimate admiration.
AIS gave Alexander their Harold Lloyd Award, an annual award named for the great silent star, who like Alexander hails from Nebraska.
But Paul’s 7 minute homage to Alexander hit me in all the right ways. Paul has evolved in many ways since the days of Sideways and the inexcusable lack of a nomination for him, which followed hard on the heels of another nomination he was supposed to be a shoo-in for, American Splendor, that didn’t happen. This award season, he has been one of the most relaxed and charming storytellers… like a man who knows he has already won in life.
And so he was here… please take a look. (video courtesy of AIS)
The complete list of winners:
Best Feature Film - Live Action: Oppenheimer
Best Feature Film – Animated: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Best Feature Film - International: Godzilla Minus One
Best Documentary: 32 Sounds
Best Motion Picture - Musical: Color Purple
Best Audio – Theatrical: The Creator
Best Audio – Episodic: The Last of Us
Best Original Song: “I’m Just Ken” from Barbie
Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Feature Film: Barbie
Best Use of High Dynamic Range – Episodic: The Last of Us
Best 2D to 3D Conversion: Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3
Best Musical Scene or Sequence: “I’m Here” from Color Purple
Best Theatrical Scene or Sequence: Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Best Episodic – Animated: Star Wars: Visions Volume 2
Best Episodic – Live Action: The Last of Us
Best Achievement in 8K Production: Satayama Niigata: Living with Snow; NHK/NHK Enterprises Inc.
Distinguished Artist Award: Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Until tomorrow…
Paul Giamatti 's Loving Intro For Alexander Payne