The 17th annual Gotham Awards were held in NYC last night. The awards celebrate the latest and greatest in independent filmmaking, and award juried prizes. IFP, the nation's largest organization of independent filmmakers, hosts it and It's quickly becoming the designated kickoff to awards season. The awards are becoming a barometer of which independent features are buzz-worthy at Oscar time. For example, "Half Nelson" starring Ryan Gosling won at the Gotham Awards last year and went on to win several MORE awards and an Oscar nomination for Gosling. Many journalists around me commented on how this year was twice as large as last year. You might ask, "around you, J. Harvey? How is this possible?" Because your blogging fairy godfather was there! In the pale and pudgy flesh! It was J. Harvey's first red carpet! Ever! A virgin no more! And let me tell you, I was nervous. Compared to all the SLRs hanging around, my camera was tiny. It was a total flashback to high school at first, and we'll leave it at that.
Award winners included the adorable Ellen Page for Breakthrough Actor in "Juno"; mercurial crankcase Sean Penn's "Into The Wild" was named Best Feature; and hellion Michael Moore won Best Documentary for "Sicko".
More of J. Harvey's coverage of the 17th annual Gotham Awards, after the jump!
35 more photos from J. Harvey's trip to the Gotham Awards are after the jump, featuring Keri Russell, Laura Linney, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Kerry Washington, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emile Hirsch, Ellen Page, Kyra Sedgwick, Jeffrey Wright and more!
The best part of it for me was being close enough to smack people like Laura Linney and Keri Russell on the forehead! Not that I did. Or would! I was born to schmooze with celebrity. And this is independent film, so the majority of the famous people there were literate and have never seen the inside of New York's mansion on "VH-1". A quick rundown:
Laura Linney - incredibly beautiful, gracious and kind. She's seriously a class act. I wanted her as my big sister, or if I was straight - as my older lover. She's a hot piece in a flowery dress!
Keri Russell - is a teeny little thing, very polite. I totally wanted to ask her if she missed choosing between Noel and Ben.
Ellen Page - I have such a schoolboy crush on this Canadian. She's bright and cool, and totally unaware of what an edgy chick she is. Seriously, nice is the new edgy if you still take hot roles. Did you see her in "Hard Candy"? I still wince and cross my legs when I think of it. Her gold dress was hot.
Javier Bardem - He's a man's man. Carved out of swarthy marble, and polite to a fault.
Josh Brolin - I can't picture why he got involved in that 911 ruckus with his wife Diane Lane. He doesn't seem the type. He seems very cool about the resurgence of his career with his star-making turn in "No Country For Old Men".
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Uh, she's....Maggie Gyllenhaal. I don't know. She wouldn't talk to any reporters. Well, excuse us, sis. But she did make a bee-line for New York magazine's camera. Maybe she wants to make sure she isn't misquoted about 9/11 again. I can't blame her but lighten up, Mags. It's not that serious.
Kyra Sedgwick - Dripped nice. Representing cable in the house! The funny thing is that Kyra probably has a bigger fanbase than the rest of them put together. People LOVE the mess out of her cop show, "The Closer"
All of the celebrities there (for the most part) were very giving of their time in speaking to the press and posing for photographs. Independent filmmaking and the resurgence in New York City's film industry obviously meant quite a bit to the celebrity assembled. In addition to the competitive awards, the IFP awarded tributes to various individuals. These included Javier Bardem, and film critic Roger Ebert. Who, despite being ill, seems to be in great spirits! Roger Ebert is hot, mainly because he's a smart guy who knows how to speak to the common man. We need more of those.
Oh, and if you're ever in a doorway? And Phillip Seymour Hoffman is running late and obviously doesn't want to be there? Get out of his way. He's a little grouchy. Scratch that, he looked like he was going to cut a bitch. Anyway, kids, enjoy the pics of the 2007 Gotham Awards and keep in mind that I am NOT Ansel Adams. Please.
stolidog says:
no, you're not ansel adams, you're TMZ!
Looks like a hell of a lot of fun.
CLICK HERE says:
J Harvey is so sweet!
Zelda F. says:
I agree. Laura Linney is very UNDER rated as a dramatic actress. And, she's just naturally beautiful. IMO, she's in the same class as Nicole Kidman, if not better (and I like Nicole).
Zelda F. says:
Oh! I forgot! Javier Bardem....RRRrrrrrrrrrrr... One HOT Latino!!!