Irish Film Awards: Local Sleeper Blockbuster Is Top Winner + Scarlett Johansson Honor

Irish Film Awards: Brendan Gleeson in The Guard

Irish Film Awards: Winners Michael Fassbender & Saoirse Ronan

John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard, reportedly the most successful independently made Irish production ever, won four top prizes at the 2012 Irish Film and Television Awards, held this evening in Dublin. The story of a tough, cynical, hard-drinking cop who goes after three drug dealers, McDonagh’s comedy thriller won awards for Best Irish Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay (also McDonagh), and Best Supporting Actress for Fionnula Flanagan – who also happened to be the recipient of the Irish Film and Television Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Additionally, the London-born McDonagh received the Irish Film Board Rising Star Award. (See below the list of Irish Film and Television Drama winners.)

The Guard‘s star, Brendan Gleeson, lost the Best Actor Award to Shame‘s Michael Fassbender, who, in the United States, was recently bypassed by both the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Academy Awards. In the New York-set, mostly British-made Shame, the German-Irish Fassbender plays a man deeply troubled by a very, very high sex drive.

The Best Actress winner was Saoirse Ronan in another international production, the thriller Hanna. Brendan Gleeson, in the running for Rodrigo García’s Albert Nobbs, also lost the Best Supporting Actor Award to Chris O’Dowd was the Best Supporting Actor for Paul Feig’s American comedy Bridesmaids.

Among other notable Irish Film & TV Award winners were Tomas Alfredson’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy as Best International Film, Ryan Gosling as Best International Actor for Nicolas Winding Refn’s thriller Drive, and Glenn Close as Best International Actress for her performance as an Irishwoman trying to pass for an Irishman in Albert Nobbs. The International Categories, I should add, featured only English-language films and performers. Apparently, the only foreign films shown in Ireland are those made in Hollywood or the UK.

Albert Nobbs, which was also up for Best Irish Film (Close was one of the film’s producers) and Best Screenplay (Close was one of the two screenwriters), won only two other awards: Best Original Score (Brian Byrne) and Best Make-Up and Hair (Lorraine Glynn and Lynn Johnson). For obvious reasons, Close was not up for Best (Irish) Actress. (Unfortunately, the Irish Film Awards are unlike, say, the Spanish Academy’s Goyas, which currently allows non-Spaniards to compete in regular categories.)

The evening’s top television winner was David Caffrey’s Love/Hate, which won awards for Best Television Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay for Stuart Carolan, Best Actor for Aidan Gillen, Best Supporting Actor for Tom Vaughan Lawlor, Best Supporting Actress for Denise McCormack, and Best Editing (TV or movies) for Isobel Stephenson. Ruth Negga was the Best Actress in a Television Drama for her performance as Shirley Bassey in Shirley.

Brendan Gleeson/The Guard photo: Sony Pictures.

Film Categories

Best Film
Albert Nobbs, Alan Moloney, Bonnie Curtis, Julie Lynn, Glenn Close
Charlie Casanova, Terry McMahon
Stella Days, Jackie Larkin, Leslie McKimm
* The Guard, Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Chris Cark, Flora Fernandez Marengo

Best Director
Rebecca Daly, The Other Side of Sleep
* John Michael McDonagh, The Guard
Terry McMahon, Charlie Casanova
Thaddeus O’Sullivan, Stella Days

Best Screenplay
John Banville, Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
* John Michael McDonagh, The Guard
Terry McMahon, Charlie Casanova
Antoine O’Flaherta, Stella Days

Best Actor
* Michael Fassbender, Shame
Brendan Gleeson, The Guard
Ciarán Hinds, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Martin Sheen, Stella Days

Best Actress
Aoife Duffin, Behold the Lamb
Antonia Campbell Hughes, The Other Side of Sleep
Marcella Plunkett, Stella Days
* Saoirse Ronan, Hanna

Best Supporting Actor
Liam Cunningham, The Guard
Brendan Gleeson, Albert Nobbs
Ciarán Hinds, The Debt
* Chris O’Dowd, Bridesmaids

Best Supporting Actress
Maria Doyle Kennedy, Albert Nobbs
* Fionnula Flanagan, The Guard
Brenda Fricker, Albert Nobbs
Amy Huberman, Stella Days

Best George Morrison Feature Documentary Award
* Bernadette: Notes on a Political Journey, Lelia Doolan
Knuckle, Ian Palmer
Men of Arlington, Enda Hughes
Off the Beaten Track, Dieter Auner

Best Special Irish Language Award
* Corp + Anam, Paddy Hayes
Mobs Cheanada, Dathai Keane
Ray McAnally – M’Athair, Brian Reddin
Seacht, Colin O’Donnell

Best Animation
23 Degrees 5 Minutes, Darragh O’Connell
* The Boy in the Bubble, Kealan O’Rourke
The Last Train, Alex Sherwood
Origin, James Stacey

Best Short Film Award
The Boy in the Bubble, Kealan O’ Rourke
Cluck, Michael Lavelle
Downpour, Claire Dix
* Foxes, Lorcan Finnegan
The Shore, Terry George

Best International Categories

Best International Film
Bridesmaids
Drive
Senna
* Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy directed by Tomas Alfredson

Best International Actor
Don Cheadle, The Guard
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
* Ryan Gosling, Drive
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best International Actress
* Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Kirsten Wiig, Bridesmaids

Best Television Drama categories

Best Drama
Corp + Anam, Paddy Hayes
Game of Thrones, Mark Huffam
* Love/Hate, Suzanne McAuley, Steve Matthews
The Borgias, Neil Jordan, James Flynn

Best Director
* David Caffrey, Love/Hate
Neil Jordan, The Borgias
Brian Kirk, Game of Thrones
Daniel O’Hara, Being Human

Best Writer
Neil Jordan, The Borgias
* Stuart Carolan, Love/Hate
Ronan Bennett, Hidden
Daire Mac Con Iomaire, Corp + Anam

Best Actor in a Lead Role
Diarmuid de Faoite, Corp + Anam
* Aidan Gillen, Love/Hate
Chris O’Dowd, The Crimson and the White Petal
David Pearse, Trivia

Best Actress in a Lead Role
Maria Doyle Kennedy, Corp + Anam
Michele Fairley, Game of Thrones
* Ruth Negga, Shirley
Aisling O’Sullivan, Raw

Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey
Aidan Gillen, Game of Thrones
Robert Sheehan, Misfits
* Tom Vaughan Lawlor, Love/Hate

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Eva Birthistle, Strike Back
Bronagh Gallagher, The Field of Blood
* Denise McCormack, Love/Hate
Ruth Negga, Misfits

Best Craft/Technical categories (Film/TV Drama)

Best Costume Design
Joan Bergin, Camelot
* Consolata Boyle, The Iron Lady
Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh, Neverland
Lorna Marie Mugan, Treasure Island

Best Director of Photography
Seamus Deasy, Neverland
Suzie Lavelle, The Other Side of Sleep
* Seamus McGarvey, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Robbie Ryan, Wuthering Heights

Best Editing
Dermot Diskin, Stella Days
Tony Kearns, Charlie Casanova
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, Dr. Who
* Isobel Stephenson, Love/Hate

Best Make-Up & Hair
* Lorraine Glynn/Lynn Johnson, Albert Nobbs
Dee Corcoran/Tom Mc Inerney, Camelot
Ailbhe Lemass/Lorraine Glynn, Neverland
Joni Galvin/Eileen Buggy, Stella Days

Best Original Score
* Brian Byrne, Albert Nobbs
Darragh O’Toole, Ballymun Lullaby
Stephen McKeon, Legends of Valhalla: Thor
Ray Harman, Love/Hate

Best Production Design
Tom Conroy, Camelot
Stephen Daly, Love/Hate
John Paul Kelly, The Guard
* Anna Rackard, Stella Days

Best Sound
* Albert Nobbs, Brendan Deasy, Niall Brady, Michelle Cunniffe, Steve Fanagan
Game of Thrones, Ronan Hill, Sound Post Production Team
Love/Hate, Brendan Deasy, Mark Henry, Fiadhnait McCann
The Guard, Robert Flanagan, Michelle Cuniffe, Niall Brady

Lifetime Achievement Award: Fionnula Flanagan

Irish Film Board Rising Star: John Michael McDonagh

Brendan Gleeson/The Guard image: Sony Pictures.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2011 trailer, with Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. The U.S. remake of Niels Arden Oplev’s Swedish-made international blockbuster has far outperformed the original in the North American market; nonetheless, the David Fincher-directed thriller is an undeniable commercial disappointment in relation to its reported $90 million price tag (not including marketing and distribution expenses).

‘Mildred Pierce, ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ Win Art Directors Guild Awards

Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (period film), David Yates’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (fantasy film), and David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (contemporary film) were the feature-film winners at the Art Directors Guild’s 16th Excellence in Production Design Awards, held this evening at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. The respective production design winners were Dante Ferretti (photo), Stuart Craig, and Donald Graham Burt. (See further below the full list of 2012 Art Directors Guild winners and nominees.)

Both Ferretti (with frequent collaborator/set decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo) and Craig (with set decorator Stephenie McMillan ) are in the running for the Best Art Direction Academy Award. Their competitors are Laurence Bennett and set decorator Robert Gould for Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist, Anne Seibel and set decorator Hélène Dubreuil for Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, and Rick Carter and set decorator Lee Sandales for Steven Spielberg’s War Horse.

Among the evening’s other award winners were Mark Friedberg for Todd Haynes’ Mildred Pierce, Richard Bird for Modern Family, Bill Groom for Boardwalk Empire, and Steve Bass for the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony. Veteran production designer, former husband of Julie Andrews, and frequent Sidney Lumet collaborator Tony Walton (The Boy Friend, Murder on the Orient Express, Prince of the City) received the ADG’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Additionally, the already-deceased trio of Robert Boyle (North by Northwest, Fiddler on the Roof, Private Benjamin), William S. Darling (In Old Chicago, The Song of Bernadette, Anna and the King of Siam), and Alfred Junge (Piccadilly, Black Narcissus, King Solomon’s Mines) were this year’s Hall of Fame inductees.

And finally, an award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery was given to the behind-the-scenes team from the Harry Potter movies, including executive producer David Heyman, producer David Barron; directors Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, and David Yates; author J.K. Rowling; screenwriters Steve Kloves and Michael Goldenberg; production designer Stuart Craig; art director Neil Lamont; and set decorator Stephenie McMillan.

Art Directors Guild president Thomas A. Walsh presided over the awards ceremony, while Paula Poundstone served as host for the third consecutive year and Ben Vereen performed as a “special musical guest.” Presenters included veteran Edward Asner, Alexandra Breckenridge, Miranda Cosgrove, James Cromwell, Melanie Lynskey, Penelope Ann Miller, Kevin McHale, Gary Oldman, Vinessa Shaw, and Max Greenfield.

At the start of the awards ceremony, two short films by Cindy Peters had their public premiere. As per the ADG’s press release, the first film “provided a rare behind-the-scenes look at the making of the 16th annual awards show.” The second short, “75 Years of Inspirational Design: A Personal Reflection in Eight Chapters,” featured production designers Rick Carter, Albert Brenner, Terry Marsh, James D. Bissell, Jeannine Oppewall, Rick Heinrichs, Roy Christopher, and Guy Hendrix Dyas.

The ADG release adds that “ADG awards recognition always goes to the Production Designer, Art Director, Assistant Art Director and their team of each nominated and winning project.”

Edward Asner: Art Directors Guild Awards.

TV veteran Edward Asner: Art Directors Guild Awards

Veteran television and film actor Edward Asner was one of the presenters at the 2012 Art Directors Guild Awards held last Saturday, Feb. 5, at the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

Winners for “excellence in production design” included Martin Scorsese’s period drama Hugo (Dante Ferretti), David Yates’ fantasy Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Stuart Craig), and David Fincher’s contemporary drama The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Donald Graham Burt).

Host Paula Poundstone

Art Directors Guild president Thomas A. Walsh presided over the awards ceremony, while comedian Paula Poundstone served as host for the third consecutive year. In addition to Edward Asner, Art Directors Guild Awards presenters included:

• Alexandra Breckenridge (American Horror Story).
• Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly).
• James Cromwell (Babe, The Artist).
• Melanie Lynskey (Up In The Air).
• Penelope Ann Miller (Chaplin, The Artist).
• Kevin McHale (Glee).
• Gary Oldman (Prick Up Your Ears, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).
• Vinessa Shaw (3:10 to Yuma).
• Max Greenfield (New Girl).

Additionally, Ben Vereen (All That Jazz) performed as a “special musical guest.”

Paula Poundstone: Art Directors Guild Awards host.

Edward Asner movies

Winner of seven Emmys and five Golden Globes, Edward Asner (not infrequently billed as Edward Asner) will be turning 83 next Nov. 15. Although best known for his television work in Mary Tyler Moore and one of its spin-offs, Lou Grant, Asner has also been featured in supporting roles in about 70 movies. Among them:

• The sentimental romantic drama Change of Habit (1969).
  Director: William A. Graham.
  Cast: Mary Tyler Moore. Elvis Presley.
• The cop drama Fort Apache the Bronx (1981).
  Director: Daniel Petrie.
  Cast: Paul Newman. Ken Wahl.
• The political drama Daniel (1983).
  Director: Sidney Lumet.
  Cast: Timothy Hutton.
• The political thriller JFK (1991).
  Director: Oliver Stone.
  Cast: Kevin Costner. Sissy Spacek.
• The animated hit Up (2009), in which Asner voiced the lead character.
  Director: Pete Docter.
  Voice Cast: Christopher Plummer.

More ADG Award winners

Among the other winners at the 2012 Art Directors Guild Awards were:

• Mark Friedberg for Todd Haynes’ TV movie Mildred Pierce, starring Kate Winslet in the old Joan Crawford role.
• Veteran production designer, former husband of Julie Andrews, and frequent Sidney Lumet collaborator Tony Walton, who was handed the ADG’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tony Walton’s film credits include Petulia, The Boy Friend, Murder on the Orient Express, Prince of the City, Heartburn, and The Glass Menagerie.

Edward Asner, Paula Poundstone photos: Art Directors Guild.

Art Directors Guild website.

Dante Ferretti photo: Art Directors Guild

FEATURE FILMS

Period Film

THE ARTIST Production Designer: Laurence Bennett
* HUGO Production Designer: Dante Ferretti
THE HELP Production Designer: Mark Ricker
ANONYMOUS Production Designer: Sebastian Krawinkel
TINKER TAYLOR SOLDIER SPY Production Designer: Maria Djurkovic

Fantasy Film

* HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 Production Designer: Stuart Craig
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET UNICORN Production Designer: TBD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES Production Designer: John Myhre
COWBOYS & ALIENS Production Designer: Scott Chambliss

Contemporary Film

* THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Production Designer: Donald Graham Burt
THE DESCENDANTS Production Designer: Jane Anne Stewart
EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE Production Designer: K. K. Barrett
DRIVE Production Designer: Beth Mickle
BRIDESMAIDS Production Designer: Jefferson Sage

TELEVISION

One-Hour Single Camera Television Series

* BOARDWALK EMPIRE
Episode: 21 Production Designer: Bill Groom

GAME OF THRONES
Episode: A Golden Crown Production Designer: Gemma Jackson

AMERICAN HORROR STORY
Episode: Murder House Production Designer: Mark Worthington

THE PLAYBOY CLUB
Episode: The Scarlet Bunny Production Designer: Scott P. Murphy

PAN AM
Episode: Pilot Production Designer: Bob Shaw

Television Movie or Mini-Series

* MILDRED PIERCE Production Designer: Mark Friedberg
CINEMA VERITE Production Designer: Patti Podesta
TOO BIG TO FAIL Production Designer: Bob Shaw
THE HOUR Production Designer: Eve Stewart
BLING RING Production Designer: Robb Wilson King

Episode of a Half Hour Single-Camera Television Series

* MODERN FAMILY
Episode: Express Christmas Production Designer: Richard Berg

30 ROCK
Episode: Double-Edged Sword Production Designer: Keith Ian Raywood, Teresa Mastropierro

WEEDS
Episode: Game-Played Production Designer: Joseph P. Lucky

CALIFORNICATION
Episode: Monkey Business Production Designer: Michael Wylie

NEW GIRL
Episode: Pilot Production Designer: Jefferson D. Sage

Episode of a Multi-Camera, Variety, or Unscripted Series

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
* Episode: Host Justin Timberlake and Musical Guest – Lady Gaga, Production Designer: Keith Ian Raywood, Eugene Lee, Leo Yoshimura, N. Joseph De Tullio

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
Episode: Ducky Tie Production Designer: Stephan Olson

2 BROKE GIRLS
Episode: And the Rich Peoples Problems Production Designer: Glenda Rovello

AMERICAN IDOL
Episode: Top 12 Boys Perform Production Designer: James Yarnell

DANCING WITH THE STARS
Episode: Round One Production Designer: James Yarnell

Awards, Music, or Game Shows

* 83rd ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS Production Designer: Steve Bass
68th ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBES Production Designer: Brian Stonestreet
2011 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS Production Designer: Florian Wieder
63rd ANNUAL EMMY AWARDS Production Designer: Steve Bass
IT’S WORTH WHAT?  Production Designer: John Ivo Gilles

Daniel Craig/Rooney Mara/The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo picture: Merrick Morton / Columbia TriStar.

Denzel Washington, Dionne Warwick, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Dietmar Bär: Golden Camera Awards.

Scarlett Johansson & Mario Adorf + Morgan Freeman: Golden Camera Awards

Initially a television award, the German weekly Hörzu‘s Golden Camera Award now covers a variety of categories, including movies, music, sports, pop culture, and even activism. Unlike the German Film Academy’s prestigious Lola Awards – Germany’s equivalent of the Oscars – the Golden Camera is basically a pop award.

At a ceremony held Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Berlin headquarters of Hörzu‘s publishing house Axel Springer, this year’s winners in the international movie categories were Scarlett Johansson and Denzel Washington, while Morgan Freeman received a Lifetime Achievement trophy. A couple of weeks ago, Freeman received a similar honor – the Cecil B. DeMille Award – from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Additionally, Dionne Warwick received her own Lifetime Achievement Golden Camera in the music category.

Now, not that the U.S. media would know or care about this little detail, but, gasp, there were non-American Golden Camera winners as well. One of those, another Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, was the Swiss-born veteran Mario Adorf, 81, whose film career spans more than five decades. Actress Hannelore Elsner introduced Adorf, her co-star in several motion pictures and in the recent TV movie The Last Patriarch (2010), as “a dear friend for many years,” calling him “the grandmaster of German actors.”

Among Adorf’s more than 130 film credits are Robert Siodmak’s Oscar nominated The Devil Strikes at Night (1957), Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (1975), Billy Wilder’s Fedora (1978), Volker Schlöndorff’s Oscar winner and Cannes co-winner The Tin Drum (1979), and Bille August’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1987).

Liv Lisa Fries, 21, was the recipient of the Lilli Palmer and Curd Jürgens Award – which comes with 20,000 euros – given to newcomers. Among Fries’ credits are the television movie Father Mother Murder, and the big-screen features Closer Than Blood and Romeos.

An estimated 5.23 million people watched this year’s Golden Camera Awards ceremony, which also featured Til Schweiger, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Miss Piggy. That represented about 800,000 more viewers than last year, but 400,000 less than the audience for the competition show “Germany Looks for a Superstar.”

Scarlett Johansson, Denzel Washington, Dionne Warwick, Morgan Freeman Golden Camera Award photo via Lausitzer Rundschau (Maurizio Gambarini). Check out the site, which offers about a dozen images from the ceremony.