EDDIE MURPHY: ‘NEVER PLAY A SPACE SHIP’
‘The Irishman’ salvages Best Ensemble from 14 nominations at star-studded ceremony
ROBERT De Niro quipped that he “wasn’t expecting” The Irishman to win just one gong at the 2020 Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday.
The crime drama, which was directed by Martin Scorsese and also stars the likes of Al Pacino, Harvey Keitel and Sebastian Manascalco, received a 14 nominations, and only ended up scooping Best Ensemble at the star-studded ceremony in Santa Monica.
While on stage collecting the accolade, the Hollywood legend laughed: “Thank you, thank you very much, I wasn’t expecting it, frankly, at this point, but it’s great, we’re all very happy and appreciative.”
The movie had been shortlisted for Best Picture, which went to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, while De Niro lost in the Best Actor category to Joker star Joaquin Phoenix.
The three-and-a-half hours long Netflix picture was also nominated for prizes including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Visual Effects.
Pacino added that the cast and crew were “really grateful and thankful for the Critics’ Choice Ensemble work that we did in this film, The Irishman”.
The Godfather legend then gave a shout-out to the movie’s director: “Last but not least, Martin Scorsese, ‘for putting together this cast and sort of helping us out and bringing us along.”
The likes of Knives Out, Little Women, Bombshell, Marriage Story, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Parasite lost out to the Best Ensemble prize.
Meanwhile, Renée Zellweger won Best Actress for her outstanding performance as Judy Garland in Judy, Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Big Little Lies’ star Laura Dern won Best Supporting Actress for Marriage Story.
Elsewhere, Eddie Murphy won the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sam Mendes and Bong Joon Ho tied for Best Actor for 1917 and Parasite, respectively, Quentin Tarantino went home with Best Original Screenplay for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Greta Gerwig’s Little Women won Best
Adapted Screenplay for her take on the 1868 novel of the same name by Louisa May Alcott.
Meanwhile, Ted Danson presented his Good Place co-star star Kristen Bell with the #SeeHer Award, which promotes authentic portrayals of women in media.
Previous recipients have included
Viola Davis, Gal Gadot and Claire Foy.
The TV categories also saw Stellan Skarsgård pick up Best Supporting Actor for Chernobyl, Jeremy Strong won Best Actor in a Drama Series for
Succession and Bill Hader was named Best Actor in a Comedy Series for