Will it be Birdman, Boyhood, Love is Strange, Grand Budapest Hotel, or Under the Skin tonight? Read on for the winners and commentary.
8:01 Uma Thurman the awards host is even more mannered than Uma Thurman the actress. Who knew? (I love Uma so I can say that. If you're no Umaphile you'd best shut it!
8:14 IFP is bragging about IFP. Which is okay. This is the raison d'etre of Awards Bodies essentially.
8:18 First Uma, now Heather Graham? It's getting very 90s up in herrre.
8:20 I've been pronouncing "Riz" wrong in "Riz Ahmed" as it turns out. Breakthrough Actor goes to Tessa Thompson in Dear White People. P.S. She's also really good in Selma. I love that they announce the juries. This prize was given by Shane Carruth, Michael B Jordan, Ron Simons and two actresses we love up in herre Famke Janssen & Brie Larson
8:25 Ana Lily Amirpour wins Breakthrough Director for A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. The other much-raved debut horror film from a woman this year (The Babadook wasn't nominated). Her acceptance speech is awesome.
Tilda Swinton here and I'm like... GODDESS! Maybe if I can meet her and take a photo with her...
8:30 Meryl Streep is here to talk up Foxcatcher and give it a special prize for ensemble. She seems to really love it. Calls Channing Tatum a...
Monosyllabic Mountain of Grace
LOVE IT. Steve Carell accepts and is funny pretending he wishes the award was just for him instead.
8:39 Ted Sarandos Netflix tribute
8:49 Became distracted by my screener of Big Eyes. Amy Adams accent kinda comes and goes again. This time there's not a character reason. But for people voting on clips she has a mighty impressive one in a restaurant when she's had it with Waltz. (I'd had it with Waltz after 15 minutes but that's another story). When I came back to the live stream it is curiously muzak. Can't be a commercial break since this isn't televised. Curious.
Oh I guess they're having their dinner break. Which is funny because that's how I got distracted from the Gothams. I imagine that Ana Lily Amirpour is ignoring her food and exchanging numbers with Tilda Swinton.
9:02 Uma Thurman's sleeves are really cool.
9:04 Miles Teller & Oscar Isaac presenting the Audience Award which goes to Boyhood (which is having quite a good day after the NYFCC prizes and a special luncheon which I attended and which I will tell you about when i can rally a moment). Teller is much taller than Isaac but I am also taller than Isaac and I am not tall so perhaps this shouldn't be visually notable. Never mind.
9:08 Catherine Keener paying tribute to Bennett Miller. I'm confused that Foxcatcher is getting two tributes when it has no nominations. Me no likely. The double tribute for a non-feature nominee, I mean, not the movie which I am not crazy about but willing to give a second chance since I like all of his other movies. Keener tells us that he loves to quote Gregory's Girl. For an actress who has such sharp coming timing onscreen she is struggling through her jokes here. And she's even more mannered than Uma tonight with the hand motions.
9.20 GUGU
9.25 SCARLETT Haven't seen her in awhile. She's presenting Non-Fiction Film. Her hair is buzzed really short but for the bangs. I see a P!nk biopic in her future.
She totally delivers every other teleprompter line like it's a come-on or a parody of a come-on. Tonight is all about mannered acting on the podium! Citizen Four wins its second Doc prize of the night after NYFCC
9:34 MARISA. They are just spoiling we actressexuals tonight, aren't they?
Marisa’s earring is as defiantly long as her career. #Marisa4Ever #GothamAwards pic.twitter.com/1KAcY0LXsC
— Nathaniel Rogers (@nathanielr) December 2, 20149:39 Michael Keaton takes Best Actor. Says to Marisa "Thanks, honey." Really funny acceptance speech.
9.45 Jake Gyllenhaal presents Best Actress to Julianne Moore. She expresses her respect for the other nominees, and gives special thanks to Killer Films who she has known for basically her whole career.
9:51 Amy Schumer really funny speech in tribute to Tilda Swinton
Tilda Swinton. Why am I even allowed to say her name?
Tilda proceeds to prove her immense coolness by being very generous and referring to herself as an alien, stressing the family-like nature of filmmaking, and pays tribute to the guy who did four sets of weirdass teeth for her for her four films this year. Derek Jarman is mentioned a lot (as he should be).
10.06 Jon Hamm is presenting Best Feature. Best Feature goes to BIRDMAN. Alejandro pays extra tribute to Boyhood and tells the crowd that he sent Richard Linklater an e-mail after Boyhood to thank him for "this incredible gift." Birdman and Boyhood are arguably the films to beat at Oscar (give or take the rise of Selma) so it should be an interesting season, don't you think?
10.18 Says goodnight.
Good night and Sweet Dreams ! which you will surely have looking at this photo of Scarlett Johansson and her new hubby chatting with Julianne Moore and surely showing her baby pics on their phone.
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP