Review: ‘Mickey 17,’ starring Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo

March 5, 2025

by Carla Hay

Naomi Ackie and Robert Pattinson in “Mickey 17” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Mickey 17”

Directed by Bong Joo Ho

Culture Representation: Taking place in 2054, on the fictional planet of Niflheim, the sci-fi comedy/drama film “Mickey 17” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some black people and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: An “expendable” worker, who is regenerated as a clone after he dies, gets involved in an “us versus them” conflict with the oppressive elites who control Niflheim society.

Culture Audience: “Mickey 17” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners, filmmaker Bong Joo Ho and sci-fi movies that take familiar topics and put them in a unique setting.

Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette in “Mickey 17” (Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

“Mickey 17” gets messy when it crams and juggles varying ideas and tones. Despite these flaws, this sci-fi movie can be engaging because of the performances and the movie’s dark comedy about sociopolitical issues and technology. “Mickey 17” is both a satire and a warning of what life could be like if humans populated another planet and lived in a cult-like society.

Written and directed by Bong Joo Ho, “Mickey 17” is his highly anticipated follow-up to 2019’s Oscar-winning South Korean drama “Parasite,” the first non-English-language movie to win Best Picture. “Mickey 17” had its world premiere at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival. “Mickey 17” is better than the average sci-fi movie but it’s not as Oscar-worthy as “Parasite,” simply because the screenplay for “Mickey 17” tends to wander, with important characters disappearing with no explanation for large chunks of the film.

Bong’s movies often have themes of the divides between social classes, with lower classes rising up in some kind of rebellion against the privileged elite upper classes. In “Mickey 17,” these social-class conflicts don’t go away just because people move to a new planet that is populated by humans who previously lived on Earth. Most of the story takes place on a planet called Niflheim, where the terrain is snowy and icy all year.

“Mickey 17” takes place in the year 2054—four-and-a-half years after the humans from Earth arrived by a giant spaceship to inhabit Niflheim. The humans still live on this spaceship, presumably because it’s too cold to have regular housing. But it’s also a way for the humans to be easier controlled and surveilled by the totalitarian leaders in charge of this new society.

The beginning of “Mickey 17” shows title character Mickey Barnes (played by Robert Pattinson), the story’s narrator, is lying down on the ground and nearly covered in snow. Mickey has severely injured his leg from a fall on down an icy crevasse. Mickey can’t get up because of this injury.

A man named Timo (played by Steven Yeun), who’s armed with a gun, appears above the crevasse and asks Mickey, “You haven’t died yet? They’re going to reprint you out tomorrow anyway. What’s it like to die?” Timo doesn’t get the answer to that question because a giant creature (about 20 feet tall that looks like a combination of a walrus and a “Dune” sand worm) suddenly appears and seems to swallow Mickey.

The movie then shows that Mickey is back on the spaceship, inside of a body scan chamber. When he comes out of the chamber, he is actually a 3-D printed scan clone of himself. His previous memories are uploaded to his brain. Mickey is kind-hearted but simple-minded and socially awkward. It’s possible for something to go wrong in the cloning process, and his clone could have a different personality.

In voiceover narration, Mickey explains what’s going on here. The version of Mickey who is the narrator is version 17, also known as Mickey 17. Flashbacks show much of what happened as Mickey 17 tells the story. People who aren’t inclined to like science fiction might feel disconnected or confused by a great deal of this movie.

Mickey says that he and Timo know each other because they were friends when they lived on Earth in a U.S. city that is never named. According to Mickey (who now calls Timo a “shitty friend”), Timo convinced Mickey to invest with him to open a macaron store, which ended up being a commercial failure. Mickey and Timo had borrowed money from a loan shark named Darius Blank (played by Ian Hanmore) to open the store.

Timo and Mickey are heavily in debt to Darius, who wants immediate payment. Darius sends some thugs to kidnap and beat up Timo and Mickey, who are told that they will be murdered if they don’t pay off their debt to Darius very soon. Mickey and Timo have no doubt that this threat will be carried out, because they’ve seen the torture that Darius and his goons have inflicted on others, but Mickey and Timo still don’t have the money to pay the debt.

It’s around this time that a former U.S. congressman named Kenneth Marshall (played by Mark Ruffalo), who has a cult-like following, has made international news for launching a spaceship that will take a select number of people to Niflheim, a planet previously not inhabited by humans. An unnamed religious group is believed to be funding this in-demand migration. It’s mentioned in the movie that Kenneth lost his two most recent elections. Clearly, migrating to Niflheim is a way for Kenneth to reinvent himself as a powerful leader of this new society.

Kenneth has a Lady Macbeth-type wife named Yifa (played by Toni Collette), who is the real schemer and manipulator of this couple. Kenneth is mostly a blustering buffoon who does what Yifa advises or orders him to do, but Kenneth puts up a front that he’s the one who’s really in charge. Kenneth and Yifa are treated like famous royalty on Niflheim, where Kenneth stars on a live TV show called “Tonight With Kenneth Marshall.” Kenneth and Yifa take full advantage of this celebrity worship by abusing their power and inflicting cruel punishment on those who disobey their orders.

It doesn’t take long for Mickey and Timo to sign up to go on this migration to Niflheim, in order to escape their troubles on Earth. The movie implies that almost everyone who wants to be part of this migration signs up for similar reasons, so that they can start a new life on another planet. Mickey makes a mistake that changes the course of his existence on Niflheim.

On the application form to go to Nifleim, Mickey checks the box that lists him as an “expendable”—a low-life human who will allow the Niflheim government to do whatever it wants to his body. Even when given a chance to change his application so he won’t be classified as an expendable, Mickey declines to do so, mainly because he thinks he’ll have a better chance of his application getting approved if he’s listed as an expendable.

Mickey explains in a voiceover that after he arrived in Niflheim, he found out that expendables are exploited to do all types of dangerous explorations and scientific experiments that could kill them. However, Niflheim has a cloning machine (the body scan chamber) that can do 3-D clone printouts of people who previously died. This technology was illegal on Earth but is legal on Niflheim. Expendables such as Mickey are revived as clones after they die, with their previous memories uploaded into their brains.

On Niflheim, the expendables are treated as the lowest of the low in the social class hierarchy. Mickey is living a bleak and lonely existence where he has died and has been printed out as a clone multiple times. Sad sack Mickey thinks it’s his deserved “punishment” because he feels a lot of guilt for accidentally causes his mother’s death when he was 5 years old: While he was a front-seat passenger in the car that she was driving, he pushed a brake button in the car that caused the car to crash. (The actual crash is never shown in the movie.)

One bright spot in Mickey’s Niflheim life happens when the original Mickey Barnes meets Nasha Barridge (played by Naomi Ackie), an assertive and feisty government employee who works as a soldier, a police officer and a firefighter. Timo is also some type of government soldier and sometimes works in a group with Mickey, Nasha and two female soldiers who are best friends: Kai Katz (played by Anamaria Vartolomei) and Jennifer Chilton (payed by Ellen Robertson). Timo isn’t seen again for most of the movie until a crucial part of the story. Mickey’s and Timo’s lives before Niflheim are shown in the movie, but Nasha’s life when she was on Earth is never revealed.

One day, in the public cafeteria where the “working class” residents gather to eat, almost everyone in the cafeteria goes into a star-struck frenzy when Kenneth and Nifa make a surprise appearance. Mickey and Nasha are the only two people in the room who don’t go gaga over Kenneth and Nifa. Nasha and Mickey lock eyes across the room, as two people do in movies where you know those two people are going to hook up.

And sure enough, Nasha becomes Mickey become best friends and loved. Nasha stays loyal to Mickey, even when he has died and is cloned over and over. Nasha is also very possessive of Mickey. In another cafeteria scene, Kai somewhat flirts with Mickey while she’s seated next to him. Timo is seated on the other side of Mickey.

When Nasha sees Kai talking flirtatiously with Mickey, Nasha immediately pushes Timo aside so she can get his seat. Nasha then grabs Mickey and starts making out with him. Nasha’s unspoken message is clear to Kai: “This is my man. Stay away from him.”

Meanwhile, Kenneth has decided that the walrus-like creatures that live outside the spaceship are a threat, even though there’s no proof that these creatures kill humans. Kenneth decides that these creatures are to be called “creepers.” A storyline involving the creepers takes up the last third of the movie.

Niflheim has a law that no two clones can exist at the same time. As already revealed in the “Mickey 17” trailer, another clone of Mickey (Mickey 18) gets created when Mickey 17 is still alive, which causes havoc in Mickey 17’s world. Pattison does some of his best acting in the movie when Mickey 17 and Mickey 18 are interacting with each other. This clone drama, the creepers, the love story of Mickey and Nasha, and Niflheim’s sociopolitical and environmental issues make for an abundance of storylines in “Mickey 17.” Sometimes these storylines are woven together skillfully; other times, they become jumbled.

“Mickey 17” has plenty to showcase when it comes to the inner thoughts of Mickey and his clones who are shown in the movie. However, other characters in the movie are either caricatures (Kenneth and Nifa) or are underdeveloped (everyone else except Mickey). It’s to the credit of the talented cast members that they bring these characters to life to make viewers interested. That interest can spark viewer curiosity about these memorable characters, but many questions about these characters are never answered.

Visually, “Mickey 17” will delight sci-fi fans because the world of Niflheim looks realistic, even though Niflheim is an awful place to live under the oppressive rule of Kenneth and Nifa. Because “Mickey 17” is another Bong movie where there are conflicts between the “haves” and “have nots,” there’s an inevitable showdown that is the suspenseful highlight of the movie. Some scenes in “Mickey 17” are dark and depressing, while other scenes are absurdly comedic and heartwarming. “Mickey 17” refuses to be pigeonholed into one consistent tone, which some viewers might see as an unforgivable flaw, while other viewers might see as part of the movie’s charm.

Warner Bros. Pictures will release “Mickey 17” in U.S. cinemas on March 7, 2025.

Review: ‘Poor Things,’ starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef and Jerrod Carmichael

October 8, 2023

by Carla Hay

Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo in “Poor Things” (Photo by Atsushi Nishijima/Searchlight Pictures)

“Poor Things”

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Culture Representation: Taking place in Europe and in Egypt, sometime in the 1890s, the fantasy/comedy/drama “Poor Things” (based on the novel of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters (with some Asians and black people) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: A pregnant woman who committed suicide is re-animated from the dead by a scientist, who transplants her unborn child’s brain into her head, and she goes on journey of self-identity and exploring her sexuality, while most of the men she knows try to control her. 

Culture Audience: “Poor Things” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of director Yorgos Lanthimos and star Emma Stone, as well as anyone interested in watching offbeat, sexually explicit and very artistic portrayals of human relationships.

Ramy Youssef and Willem Dafoe in “Poor Things” (Photo by Yorgos Lanthimos/Searchlight Pictures)

Bold and uncompromising in its vision, “Poor Things” is cinematic art at its finest. Emma Stone gives a tour-de-force performance in this enthralling and sometimes amusing story about power, control and independence in gender dynamics and female sexuality. Make no mistake: This movie is not for everyone. “Poor Things” isn’t appropriate viewing for people who are too young to watch or are easily offended by full-frontal nudity (male and female) in sex scenes. Many of the movie’s themes about personal freedoms versus society’s restrictions are meant to be thought-provoking, but some viewers won’t like the dark comedy or the way these themes are explored in sometimes unconventional ways.

“Poor Things” is the second movie collaboration between director/producer Yorgos Lanthimos, actress Stone and screenwriter Tony McNamara, after they previously collaborated on 2018’s “The Favourite.” Unlike “The Favourite,” which has an original screenplay, “Poor Things” is adapted from Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel of the same name. “Poor Things” had its world premiere at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival, where the movie won the festival’s highest prize: the Golden Lion, which is the equivalent of Best Picture for the festival. “Poor Things” had its North American premiere at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival and has made the rounds at other film festivals in 2023, including the New York Film Festival and the Zurich Film Festival.

The “Poor Things” movie takes the book’s original setting of Scotland and relocates it to London. The movie’s story is told in chapters, according to whichever city the protagonist happens to be at the time. This protagonist is Bella Baxter (played by Stone, one of the producers of “Poor Things”), a woman with a mysterious past and living in a re-animated body whose age does not match the much-younger brain that she has in her head. Viewers of “Poor Things” are taken on a journey of Bella’s transformation as her brain and cognitive abilities begin developing and maturing.

The movie’s opening scene shows Bella jumping off of a bridge to commit suicide. It’s later revealed that Bella was pregnant when she jumped off of the bridge. A deeply troubled and controlling scientist named Godwin Baxter (played by Willem Dafoe) has rescued her and brought her back to his secretive lab in his isolated London mansion. He decides he will re-animate this mystery woman and transplant the brain of her unborn baby into her head. Godwin (who wants to be called God) gives this re-animated woman the name Bella. The movie shows whether or not Bella ever finds out about her re-animated origins.

Bella’s intelligence and knowledge develop at a rapid pace, but she still starts off with the maturity and brain power of an infant child. The infancy stage of her brain is not shown in the movie. When viewers first see Bella eating at a dinner table, she has the body of a woman but the mannerisms of a human who’s about 2 or 3 years old. She can eat, sit up, and stand on her own, but her body movements are often uncoordinated. She eats food with her hands when most people would use utensils to eat the same food. Her vocabulary is also very simple.

Godwin has no interest in teaching Bella a lot of society’s norms and etiquette, because he intends to never let Bella far from his sight. Godwin knows that what he is dong with Bella is a highly unethical and illegal scientific experiment, so he wants to keep Bella a secret at all costs. (Godwin does other transplants of body parts on animals, as evidenced by the pets on his property, such as a goat with a duck’s head and a chicken with a pug dog’s head.) As Bella’s brain matures, she becomes more curious about the outside world, but Godwin forbids her from going into the populated part of the city. At first, Bella views Godwin as a protective parental figure, but then she starts to feel resentment and rebel against his domineering control of her life.

Bella doesn’t have basic manners that people are taught when they become old enough to speak. Her “no filter” dialogue and actions are supposed to be among the movie’s funniest or the most uncomfortable moments. Bella has “grown up” watching Godwin do autopsies on people, so she develops a fascination with the human body. Later, Bella shows inclinations that she wants to become a medical examiner.

When she discovers masturbation by inserting objects into her vagina, it awakens Bella’s sexuality and becomes the catalyst for many things that occur during the rest of the movie. Because she has not been taught what is right or wrong when it comes to sexual acts, Bella grabs the crotch (out of curiosity) of Godwin’s loyal housekeeper Mrs. Prim (played by Vicki Pepperdine) in front of Godwin, who at least has the decency to tell Bella that she can’t grab people’s crotches without their consent.

Mrs. Prim is one of the few people who know Godwin’s secret about Bella. Godwin soon lets someone else in on his secret: a village doctor named Max McCandles (played by Ramy Youssef), who is hired by Godwin to be his research assistant/protégé and is sworn to secrecy about this job. Max is a polite gentleman who is immediately awestruck and infatuated with Bella. Max treats her with kindness and respect.

Before Max acts on his romantic feelings for Bella, he asks Godwin if Godwin has a sexual interest in Bella. Godwin assures him that he sees himself only as a father figure to Bella. Godwin also confesses to Max that Godwin is sexually impotent and has a traumatic past of being sexually abused by Godwin’s father. Godwin also has severe facial scars that look like his face had been slashed. Godwin says his father was the one who mutilated him.

In his own twisted way, Godwin wants to create a perfect family by keeping them confined to his mansion. And so, he encourages Max to court Bella and gives Max his blessing to propose marriage to Bella—on one big condition: Max can’t leave the mansion either after he marries Bella. Max agrees to this demand.

During this tender and sometimes awkward courtship, a brash and arrogant visitor comes into the household and throws these marriage plans into disarray. He is an attorney named Duncan Wedderburn (played by Mark Ruffalo), who has come to visit because he has the legal contract that Max must sign for Max’s marriage to Bella. At this point, Bella doesn’t fully understand what love is about, but she understands lustful sexual desire and how it can often be a way that some people manipulate others.

Duncan, who is a playboy bachelor, finds Bella to be very attractive and makes lecherous sexual advances on her. He also loves to brag about what a great lover he is. When he finds out that Bella is yearning to explore the outside world, Duncan promises to whisk her away on an adventure trip through Europe, beginning with Lisbon, Portugal. Despite the objections of Godwin and the heartbreak of Max, she eagerly accepts Duncan’s offer and goes away with Duncan.

During this trip, Duncan and Bella have a sexual relationship, but it’s not a relationship based on mutual respect. Duncan treats Bella like a sexual plaything, while she acts like a student who’s eager to learn. And even though Bella wanted to escape the possessive control of Godwin, she finds out too late that Duncan is even more possessive than Godwin. Duncan flies into jealous rages if he thinks that Bella might be sexually interested in other men.

Bella’s journey also takes her to a cruise ship going to Alexandria, Egypt, where she experiences more attempts by Duncan to control her life. During this cruise ship excursion, Bella meets a middle-aged wealthy woman named Martha Von Kurtzroc (played by Hanna Schygulla) and her platonic younger companion Harry Astley (played by Jerrod Carmichael), who give Bella a new, open-minded perspective that women and men can be friends with no sex involved. Martha tells Bella that she’s been celibate for 20 years and is content with having a life with no sex, which is a mind-blowing concept to Bella, who has been led to believe by Duncan that a woman’s primary purpose in life is to sexually pleasure men.

That doesn’t mean that Bella is willing to give up sex, because she likes sex a lot and wants to learn as much about sex as she can. But by coming into contact with a more diverse group of people with various lifestyles, Bella becomes more aware that she has many more options than she ever thought she had. One thing that hasn’t changed about Bella is her innate resistance to being confined and being told what to do with her life.

When Bella and Duncan are in Paris, she makes a life-changing decision that is an assertion of who Bella wants to be as a person capable of being in control of her own life. In Paris, she meets and befriends a heavily tattooed brothel madam named Swiney (played by Kathryn Hunter) and a brothel sex worker named Toinette (played by Suzy Bemba), who pass no judgments on any of Bella’s life decisions. Paris is where Bella truly blossoms. She is no longer trapped in a childlike or teenage mindset but expressing herself as a fully formed adult in her intelligence and emotional maturity.

Back in London, Godwin has moved on to finding another young dead woman to re-animate and control. He names her Felicity (played by Margaret Qualley), but this time, Godwin purposely wants to keep her passive, so he gives Felicity a brain where she probably won’t be able to think as independently as Bella can think. Max is still Godwin’s assistant, because Max is pining over Bella and hopes she will return to London and possibly get back together with him. Meanwhile, a military general named Alfred “Alfie” Blessington (played Christopher Abbott) shows up in the last third of the movie and causes yet another major change in Bella’s life.

“Poor Things” is truly a visual feast filled with a potpourri of great acting. Stone takes on the role of Bella with pure gusto that never gets overly hammy but looks organic and genuine to the Bella character. Aside from the physical demands of this role, the emotional arc that Stone shows in Bella’s evolution is absolutely exceptional. Ruffalo, Dafoe and Youssef also give high-quality performances, while Newton makes a memorable impact in the short amount of screen time that she has the movie.

“Poor Things” will get inevitable comparisons to “Frankenstein,” but the biggest difference in each story’s re-animated character is that Dr. Frankenstein’s creation never has a brain that develops beyond a child-like level. Frankenstein’s monster also never has to deal with the minefield of sexual demands and discrimination that Bella experiences, simply because she’s a female. Even though “Poor Things” is not a horror story like “Frankenstein” is, “Poor Things” holds up a gilded mirror to society to show a different type of horror story: The problem of people trying to control and dictate what women do with their own bodies and with their own lives is not oppression that is stuck in the 1890s but is still very much going on today, with no end in sight.

Aside from the gender issues about sexuality, “Poor Things” has astute observations about gender issues and financial freedom. There comes a point in time when Bella finds out that men aren’t the only people who can choose what to do to make money. Bella also makes a big decision in Alexandria when she is confronted with the harsh realities of poverty and income inequality.

In “Poor Things,” the stunning cinematography by Robbie Ryan (who uses a lot of “fish eye” lens camera work), exquisite production design by Shona Heath and James Price, and the gorgeous costume design by Holly Waddington all give the movie the look of a fantastical Gothic Revival alternate universe that takes place in the 1890s but with touches of modern flair. It’s a world that sometimes looks like a picture book come to life. The movie bursts with sumptuous hues and settings that evoke an “Alice in Wonderland” for adults.

However, Bella’s story is not presented as a typical female-oriented fairy tale where her ultimate goal in life is to find someone to be her soul mate/love partner. She begins to understand that she doesn’t have to be dishonest about herself in order to please others. And if she happens to find true love, it’s only worth it when mutual respect is part of the relationship. “Poor Things” is a work of fiction, but it shows the realities of how society can be both vulgar and civil, how life can be filled with pleasure and pain. It’s a cinematic experience like no other and has cemented itself as one of the best movies ever made by this talented principal cast, crew and other filmmakers.

Searchlight Pictures will release “Poor Things” in U.S. cinemas on December 8, 2023.

2019 Hollywood Film Awards: recap and photos

November 3, 2019

Al Pacino (left), winner of the Hollywood Supporting Actor Award, and “The Godfather” director Francis Ford Coppola at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

The following is a press release from Dick Clark Productions:

The 23rd Annual “Hollywood Film Awards” brought together Hollywood’s elite to honor the year’s most talked about and highly anticipated actors, actresses and films, and those who helped bring them to life. The awards ceremony, celebrating its 23rd anniversary as the official launch of the awards season, was hosted by actor and comedian Rob Riggle, and took place at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills. In its 23-year history, over 340 of the world’s biggest stars and filmmakers have been highlighted at the “Hollywood Film Awards” and more than 140 of the honorees have gone on to garner Oscar nominations and/or wins.

Rob Riggle  at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for HFA)

Host Rob Riggle infused the ceremony with heart and humor, proving to be a steadfast guide through the evening’s many memorable moments. There was no shortage of standing ovations for both presenters and honorees alike, who included some of the most iconic members of the Hollywood community. Al Pacino took time to acknowledge many of his fellow honorees and friends in the room as he accepted the “Hollywood Supporting Actor Award.”

Martin Scorsese at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for HFA)

After a presentation from her mentor Martin Scorsese, “Hollywood Producer Award” recipient Emma Tillinger Koskoff delivered an emotional speech, offering a tear-filled thank you to the legendary director and producer. “Hollywood Filmmaker Award” honoree Bong Joon Ho, spoke in his native tongue to deliver a universal message that “we use only one language of cinema.”

Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for HFA)

In a touching moment between “Hollywood Career Achievement Award” presenter Nicole Kidman and this year’s honoree Charlize Theron, Kidman remarked that “we don’t get to choose our heroes, but through this journey, I got to work with one of mine!”

Antonio Banderas and Dakota Johnson at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

Dakota Johnson took the stage to present Antonio Banderas with the “Hollywood Actor Award,” and reflected upon her realization that Banderas has become one of the most influential people in her life. He accepted by dedicating the award to Dakota, and his daughter Stella, who was in the room to share the night with him.

Cynthia Erivo at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for HFA)

Viola Davis presented Cynthia Erivo with the “Hollywood Breakout Actress Award,” calling her “fearlessness personified” as she takes on the role of Harriet Tubman. Ray Romano brought the laughs as he showered praise upon “Hollywood Breakout Actor” honoree Taron Egerton, pointing out how unfair it is that Egerton is not only endlessly talented, but funny as well.

Robert Downey Jr. and Shia LaBeouf at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019 . (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for HFA)

Christian Bale and Matt Damon turned up to honor their “Ford v Ferrari” director James Mangold, while Robert Downey Jr. was on hand to laud “Honey Boy” actor and screenwriter Shia LeBeouf with the “Hollywood Breakthrough Screenwriter Award.”  Former co-stars Jennifer Garner and Olivia Wilde celebrated Wilde’s “Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award,” each sharing humorous tales of their adventures together on set.

Olivia Wilde at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for HFA)

Kevin Feige and Victoria Alonso joined together to accept the “Hollywood Blockbuster Award,” thanking their amazing writers, directors, and awe-inspiring cast, including presenter Mark Ruffalo. Alicia Keys began her tribute to “Hollywood Song Award” honoree Pharrell Williams by recognizing all of the love in the room, before Williams delivered a powerful speech focusing on the unparalleled contributions made by “The Black Godfather” subject, Clarence Avant. He said that he has opened doors when others would glue them shut and has consistently demanded equality throughout his career.

Finn Wittrock, Renée Zellweger and Jessie Buckley at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

“Judy” co-stars Finn Wittrock and Jessie Buckley were on hand to recognize their leading lady Renée Zellweger with the “Hollywood Actress Award.” She said that the experience of playing Judy Garland was “one of those rare opportunities that essentially make no sense at all, but becomes your greatest accomplishment!”

Laura Dern and Willem Dafoe at the 23rd Annual Hollywood Film Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on November 3, 2019. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for HFA)

After an earnest tribute from Jon Hamm, “Hollywood Screenwriter Award” honoree Anthony McCarten joked about finding success when he strayed from his teacher’s advice to write what he knows. He advised others to write what they want to know, that curiosity is what drove him to this project. Willem Dafoe presented his friend and colleague Laura Dern with the “Hollywood Supporting Actress Award,” praising the inspiring way in which she connects to audiences through her compassion.

This year’s award show honored the following:

“Hollywood Career Achievement Award”
Charlize Theron, presented by Nicole Kidman

“Hollywood Actor Award”
Antonio Banderas for Pain and Glory, presented by Dakota Johnson

“Hollywood Actress Award”
Renée Zellweger for Judy, presented by Finn Wittrock & Jessie Buckley

“Hollywood Supporting Actor Award”
Al Pacino for The Irishman, presented by Francis Ford Coppola

“Hollywood Supporting Actress Award”
Laura Dern for Marriage Story, presented by Willem Dafoe

“Hollywood Producer Award”
Emma Tillinger Koskoff for The Irishman, presented by Martin Scorsese

“Hollywood Director Award”
James Mangold for Ford v Ferrari, presented by Christian Bale & Matt Damon

“Hollywood Filmmaker Award”
Bong Joon Ho for Parasite, presented by Sienna Miller

“Hollywood Screenwriter Award”
Anthony McCarten for The Two Popes, presented by Jon Hamm

“Hollywood Blockbuster Award”
Avengers: Endgame, presented by Mark Ruffalo

“Hollywood Song Award”
Pharrell Williams for Letter To My Godfather, presented by Alicia Keys

“Hollywood Breakout Actor Award”
Taron Egerton for Rocketman, presented by Ray Romano

“Hollywood Breakout Actress Award”
Cynthia Erivo for Harriet, presented by Viola Davis

“Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award”
Olivia Wilde for Booksmart, presented by Jennifer Garner

“Hollywood Breakthrough Screenwriter Award”
Shia LaBeouf for Honey Boy, presented by Robert Downey Jr.

“Hollywood Animation Award”
Toy Story 4

“Hollywood Cinematography Award”
Mihai Malaimare Jr. for Jojo Rabbit

“Hollywood Film Composer Award”
Randy Newman for Marriage Story

“Hollywood Editor Award”
Michael McCusker & Andrew Buckland for Ford v Ferrari

“Hollywood Visual Effects Award”
Pablo Helman for The Irishman

“Hollywood Sound Award”
Donald Sylvester, Paul Massey, David Giammarco, & Steven A. Morrow for Ford v Ferrari

“Hollywood Costume Design Award”
Anna Mary Scott Robbins for Downton Abbey

“Hollywood Make-Up & Hair Styling Award”
Lizzie Yianni-Georgiou, Tapio Salmi, & Barrie Gower for Rocketman

“Hollywood Production Design Award”
Ra Vincent for Jojo Rabbit

Honoree Portraits are available on the show’s Twitter and Instagram pages. For all information and highlights, please visit the website for the Hollywood Film Awards.

For the latest news, follow the “Hollywood Film Awards” on social and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #HollywoodAwards.

Twitter: @HollywoodAwards
Facebook: Facebook.com/HollywoodAwards
Instagram: @hollywoodawards

About Dick Clark Productions
Dick Clark Productions (DCP) is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” and the “Streamy Awards.” Weekly television programming includes “So You Think You Can Dance” from 19 Entertainment and DCP. DCP also owns one of the world’s most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with over 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. DCP is a division of Valence Media, a diversified and integrated media company with divisions and strategic investments in television, film, live entertainment, digital media and publishing. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

About the Hollywood Film Awards
The Hollywood Film Awards, founded in 1997, were created to celebrate Hollywood and launch the awards season. The recipients of the awards are selected by an Advisory Team for their body of work and/or a film(s) that is to be released during the calendar year. For additional information, visit www.hollywoodawards.com.

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