Tag Archives: winners

Kendrick Lamar steals the show at performance-heavy Grammys

The 58th Annual Grammys were all about the performances last night, and for the most part, they did not disappoint. Among the many beautiful duets, it’s hard to point a finger at which one was best. Early on we got Andra Day and Ellie Goulding belting out “Rise Up” and “Love Me Like You Do” and later breakout artists Tori Kelly and James Bay showed off their magical harmonies with their hit songs “Hollow” and “Let It Go.” Sandwiched in-between there was an impromptu performance shared by a cappella group Pentatonix and the iconic Stevie Wonder. The awards ceremony also showcased a stripped down version of “In the Night” by The Weeknd, the one and only Adele (whose technical issues couldn’t take away from her remarkable rendition of “All I Ask”), Brittany Howard’s pipes with her soulful band Alabama Shakes, and Lady Gaga–assisted by Chic’s guitarist Nile Rodgers–wowed the crowd with a colorful tribute to the late, great David Bowie. The ultimate showstopper, though, was Kendrick Lamar who eloquently rapped his way through his To Pimp A Butterfly hits “The Blacker the Berry” and “Alright.” The theatrically poignant performance started with Kendrick in prison chains and ended with a freestyle that touched on the “modern slavery” plaguing African American communities in our nation today. It truly was one for the ages and I think we can all say in unison that Kendrick Lamar is the voice of hip hop for our generation.

Kendrick is among the big winners of the night; he took home a Grammy for Best Rap Album (To Pimp a Butterfly). Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars claimed Record of the Year with “Uptown Funk,” Taylor Swift’s 1989 was crowned Album of the Year, and Ed Sheeran’s popular ballad “Thinking Out Loud” was named Song of the Year. Meghan Trainor (somehow) ended up beating out James Bay, Sam Hunt, Tori Kelly, and Courtney Barnett for Best New Artist.

Head over to Grammys.com to view the full list of winners.

‘Game of Thrones’ & ‘Veep’ win big at record-breaking Emmys

Andy Samberg of Fox’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine proved to be a fun host at the 67th Emmy Awards. He opened the star-studded night with a pre-taped opening number very much in the vein of his classic SNL Digital Shorts; I related to the sketch about a rabid TV binge-watcher a little too much. It was absolutely hysterical, and Samberg would go on to stretch that funny and quirky tone throughout the rest of the telecast. Later, another pre-taped segment aired featuring Samberg, his Lonely Island crew, and Parks and Rec‘s Jim O’Heir spoofing the Mad Men series finale. There was even a point where the host shared his HBO NOW login information; friends confirmed that it actually worked! Feel free to try it now–using the login khaleesifan3@emmyhost.com and password password1–though be warned that by now someone has likely changed that information to keep the account locked down for him or herself. All in all, though this year’s Emmys ran in a very traditional format (there weren’t any out-of-left-field surprises, unless you count Tracy Morgan’s comeback appearance at the end), Samberg managed to keep audiences thoroughly entertained as a welcome stage presence.

Moving onto the actual awards, this was a record-setting year at the Emmys for myriad reasons. First let’s start with the night’s big winners. HBO’s Game of Thrones and Veep were crowned Outstanding Drama and Comedy, respectively, taking home the most coveted awards of the evening. Thrones won a total of 12 Emmys this year–that’s the most wins in a single year for a series. The previous record holder was The West Wing which won 9 Emmys in 2000. In addition to Outstanding Drama, Thrones also won for its writing (David Benioff and Dan Weiss, “Mother’s Mercy”), directing (David Nutter, “Mother’s Mercy”), and acting (Peter Dinklage). Veep, meanwhile, broke Modern Family‘s winning streak just as the ABC sitcom was hoping to secure a record-setting sixth consecutive win. The HBO comedy took home trophies recognizing its actors (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tony Hale) and writing (Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, and Tony Roche, “Election Night”). The premium cable network that airs these shows had the best night: HBO took home a grand total of 14 Emmys (thanks, in part, to Olive Kitteridge dominating the Limited Series categories) and it managed to do something that hasn’t been done in 13 years. The last time the same network had two series that won the Outstanding Drama and Comedy trophies in the same year was back in 2002 when NBC did it with West Wing and Friends.

Elsewhere, the incomparable Viola Davis became the first African American to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for her role as Annalise Keating in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder. Her historic acceptance speech was the best and most memorable of the night; if you missed it, you must watch it now. In addition to eloquently quoting Harriet Tubman, she went on to say this amazing line. “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity.”

Also of note, it was the cast of Mad Men‘s final year to win an Emmy and at long last leading man Jon Hamm got the statue. Though he was nominated for his iconic role as Don Draper seven times before, it took lucky number eight to finally break the mold and come out on top. His awkward crawl to the stage made the wait worth it.

Click here to browse all of the winners (and losers) from this year’s Emmy Awards. Spoiler alert: Amazon’s Transparent did well, too. Continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’ & ‘Veep’ win big at record-breaking Emmys

‘Birdman’ & ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ win big at the Oscars

Prior to the 87th Academy Awards, Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel garnered the most nominations and what do you know–the two films ended up walking away with the most statues at four apiece. Birdman took home the most coveted award of the evening as it was crowned Best Motion Picture of the Year. Helmer Alejandro G. Iñárritu was crowned Best Director and the film’s original screenplay and cinematography were also awarded. Grand Budapest Hotel was recognized for its achievements in production design, music, costume design, and makeup and hairstyling. Following close behind with two wins was Whiplash scoring Oscars for film editing, sound mixing, and supporting actor J.K. Simmons. Frontrunner Boyhood walked away with a single win for supporting actress Patricia Arquette. The Theory of Everything star Eddie Redmayne won for his leading role in the Stephen Hawking-inspired film, surpassing frontrunner Michael Keaton (Birdman). Julianne Moore nabbed an Oscar for her dramatic turn in Still Alice. Elsewhere, The Imitation Game won Best Adapted Screenplay and Disney’s Big Hero 6 was named Best Animated Movie.

Click here to view the full list of winners.

‘Boyhood’ & ‘The Affair’ big winners at the Globes

BoyhoodThe Grand Budapest HotelThe Affair, and Transparent came out as the big winners of the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Boyhood, the unique coming-of-age film shot over an 11-year period, came out on top crowned Best Motion Picture Drama. Director Richard Linklater and supporting actress Patricia Arquette took home statues for Boyhood, too. Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel took home only one award but it’s one that counts: Best Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Though they didn’t win the crown, Birdman and The Theory of Everything grabbed two trophies apiece: Birdman star Michael Keaton was named Best Lead Actor and the film also won Best Screenplay. Actor Eddie Redmayne also won the Lead Actor award for his turn as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and the film was also recognized for its Original Score.

In TV, Showtime’s breakout freshman series The Affair won Best TV Drama, and its lead actress Ruth Wilson walked away with a globe. Amazon original series Transparent won Best TV Comedy or Musical and its star Jeffrey Tambor was named Best Lead Actor. FX hit Fargo also won twice being crowned Best TV Miniseries or Movie, and Billy Bob Thornton was recognized for his memorable performance in it.

For the full list of winners, including surprise winner Gina Rodriguez of The CW series Jane the Virgin, click here.

2014 Emmys: ‘Breaking Bad’ & ‘Modern Family’ big winners, again

For the second year in a rowBreaking Bad and Modern Family won Best Drama and Best Comedy, respectively, at the Emmys. The AMC drama claimed six trophies for its final season. In addition to winning the big one, Bryan Cranston was crowned Best Actor and his co-stars Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn were named Best Supporting Actors. Also, series creator Vince Gilligan won Best Directing for the finale “Felina” and Moira Walley-Beckett won Best Writing for the penultimate episode “Ozymandias.” Modern Family went on to win two more statues: one for Best Supporting Actor (Ty Burrell) and another for Best Directing (Gail Mancuso). Sherlock was also a big winner at Emmys scoring three statues that night for Best Lead Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch), Best Supporting Actor (Martin Freeman), and Best Writing (Steven Moffat). Elsewhere, Fargo won Best TV Miniseries and Best Directing and American Horror Story: Coven‘s Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates won Best Lead Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

For the full list of winners, click here.

Daft Punk, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis & Lorde rule the Grammys

Daft Punk pretty much swept the Grammys this year, taking home five statues for their latest effort Random Access Memories and its hit single “Get Lucky” featuring Pharrell Williams. The electronic duo nabbed Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, Best Dance/Electronica Album, and Best Engineered Album. Their performance with Nile Rodgers and Stevie Wonder is one for the ages.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis also had a show-stopping performance involving simultaneous marriages in the aisles. They were awarded five Grammys: Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “Thrift Shop,” and Best Rap Album for The Heist.

Also gaining much recognition is up-and-comer Lorde whose mega single “Royals” off her debut album Pure Heroine received Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

Click here to view a list of all the winners.

2013 MTV VMAs: Justin Timberlake scores

From Miley’s twerk works to Bruno Mars’ pipes, this year’s MTV Video Music Awards had a little something for everybody. But there’s no arguing that the night belonged to the Video Vanguard Award recipient Justin Timberlake. Before accepting the award from a jubilant Jimmy Fallon, JT wowed the crowd and viewers tuning in with a never-ending medley of his greatest hits including a blink-and-you-missed-it NSYNC reunion. The artist proved that he’s a true performer in every sense of the word. And if that wasn’t enough, Timberlake also went home with the most limited edition KAWS Moonmen ; his hit single “Mirrors” won Best Editing and was crowned Video of the Year. “Suit & Tie,” helmed by filmmaker David Fincher, won Best Direction. Add in the golden Vanguard statue and the count lands at four. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, who also made new fans that night with a great rendition of their track “Same Love,” came in a close second racking up three trophies.

For the full list of winners, click here.

2013 Oscar winners: ‘Argo’, ‘Life of Pi’, ‘Les Mis’, ‘Lincoln’ & ‘Django’ big winners

Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane proved to be a very entertaining host for the 85th Academy Awards on Sunday night. This year’s Oscars also shined the spotlight on musicals and even featured the First Lady announcing the winner of Best Picture which went to Argo. In addition to taking home the most coveted prize of the night, the Ben Affleck directed film also won Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing. The movie that won the most golden statues was Life of Pi with four; Ang Lee was named Best Director and the visually stunning movie also won Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects. Les Miserables racked up three Oscars for Best Sound Mixing, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and Anne Hathaway was named Best Supporting Actress. Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor for his uncanny portrayal of Lincoln and Steven Spielberg’s period piece also won Best Production Design. Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained also took home two awards for Best Original Screenplay and the incomparable Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor. Elsewhere, Jennifer Lawrence’s performance in Silver Linings Playbook crowned her Best Actress, Pixar’s Brave was named Best Animated Feature, and Adele’s “Skyfall” deservedly won Best Original Song.

For the full list of winners, jump after the break. Continue reading 2013 Oscar winners: ‘Argo’, ‘Life of Pi’, ‘Les Mis’, ‘Lincoln’ & ‘Django’ big winners

2013 Grammy winners: It’s all over the place!

There really wasn’t a single solitary winner at this year’s Grammys, which happened to feature some really great live performances. Gotye won the coveted Record of the Year award with his catchy ubiquitous tune “Somebody That I Used To Know”; Gotye and his featured artist Kimbra also won Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for this song. Mumford & Sons took home Album of the Year for their sophomore effort Babel; the group also won Best Long Form Music Video for “Big Easy Express.” Fun. also got some recognition as they beat out Frank Ocean to be named Best New Artist and their song “We Are Young” was crowned Song of the Year. An honorable mention goes to Skrillex who managed to scoop up three Grammys; his EP Bangarang was named Best Dance/Electronica Album, the track “Bangarang” won Best Dance Recording, and “Promises (Skrillex and Nero Remix)” won Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.

To view the full list of winners, click here.

2013 Golden Globe Awards: ‘Argo’, ‘Django’, ‘Les Mis’, ‘Game Change’, ‘Homeland’ & ‘Girls’ big winners

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler proved to be phenomenal hosts of the 70th Annual Golden Globe awards. If you missed it, you can watch their laugh-out-loud opening monologue at YouTube. The only disappoint was that they weren’t on stage doing their schtick long enough. The most entertaining presenters (by a long shot) had to be Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig; you can tell they are both from the same SNL family. Watch their banter at YouTube, too.

Now let’s get to what you came here for: the night’s big winners. Let’s switch things up and look at the movie categories first. Argo, which took home two statues, won Best Motion Picture Drama and Ben Affleck was named Best Director. (Surprisingly he was not nominated for an Oscar so it’s nice to see him being recognized here.) Django Unchained also collected two trophies; Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor (beating castmate Leonardo DiCaprio who also wasn’t nominated for an Oscar) and Quentin Tarantino nabbed a Globe for Best Screenplay. Les Misérables was the winningest film of the bunch taking home three Globes for Best Motion Picture Comedy/Musical, Best Actor (Hugh Jackman), and Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway). As expected Daniel Day-Lewis and Jessica Chastain won Best Actor and Actress for the roles in Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty, respectively. And to round things out Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) won Best Actress Comedy/Musical, Michael Danna won for Best Original Score for his in work in Life of Pi, Adele’s “Skyfall” was named Best Original Song, and, Brave was crowned Best Animated Film.

Moving on to the television categories next. HBO movie Game Change and Showtime’s Homeland swept gathering three Globes each. Game Change took home Best Miniseries/Motion Picture for TV, Best Actress (Julianne Moore), and Best Supporting Actor (Ed Harris). Homeland beat Breaking Bad to be named Best Drama and stars Damian Lewis and Claire Danes were recognized for their lead acting roles. Another HBO program Girls fared well winning two Globes for Best Comedy/Musical and star Lena Dunham won Best Actress. Elsewhere Kevin Costnerwon Best Actor in a Miniseries for his turn in Hatfields and McCoys, Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) won Best Supporting Actress, and Don Cheadle (House of Lies) surprised almost everyone and beat Louis C.K. and Jim Parsons to nab the Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series Comedy/Musical.

Jump after the break to view a more digestible list of all the night’s winners. Continue reading 2013 Golden Globe Awards: ‘Argo’, ‘Django’, ‘Les Mis’, ‘Game Change’, ‘Homeland’ & ‘Girls’ big winners

2012 Video Game Awards winners and exclusive trailers

On December 7 an energetic (is he ever not) Samuel L. Jackson hosted the 2012 Video Game Awards, this year celebrating its 10th anniversary. The game that won the most Vector Monkey trophies this year was The Walking Dead: The Game from Telltale Games. In addition to being crowned Game of the Year (besting Assassin’s Creed III, Dishonored, Journey, and Mass Effect 3), it also won Best Adapted Video Game, Best Performance by a Human Female (Melissa Hutchison as Clementine), and Best Downloadable Game. Developer Telltale Games was named Studio of the Year for making the title. Borderlands 2 came in close second taking home four Monkeys for Best Shooter, Best Multiplayer Game, Best Performance by a Human Male (Dameon Clarke as Handsome Jack), and Character of the Year (Clap Trap). Journey followed by winning Best PS3 Game, Best Independent Game, and Best Original Score (fun fact: the indie game’s composer Austin Wintory landed a Grammy nomination in the Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media category).

For the full list of winners, jump after the break.

Now in addition to handing out awards, game developers use the show as a platform to introduce gamers to upcoming titles and this year’s bunch was exciting and exhilarating as ever. The following games debuted never-before-seen world premiere trailers: South Park: The Stick of Truth (Obsidian Entertainment), The Phantom Pain (Moby Dick Studios), “The Last of Us” (Naughty Dog, coming out May 7, 2013), Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 (Konami), Dark Souls II (From Software), Assassin’s Creed III: The Tyranny of King Washington (Ubisoft), Gears of War: Judgment (Epic Games), Tomb Raider (Square Enix), Halo 4: Spartan Ops (Microsoft Studios), and BioShock Infinite (2K Games).

Watch all the VGA exclusive trailers after the break. Continue reading 2012 Video Game Awards winners and exclusive trailers

2012 Emmys results: ‘Modern Family’ & ‘Homeland’ big winners

On Sunday night, Modern Family and Homeland scored big wins at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards. The ABC comedy was awarded a total of four Emmys: Eric Stonestreet for Outstanding Supporting Actor; Julie Bowen for Outstanding Supporting Actress; Steven Levitan for Outstanding Director; and the show was named Outstanding Comedy. Elsewhere in comedy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep) managed to beat Amy Poehler for Outstanding Actress; Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) rock his category to surpass Jim Parsons, Louis C.K., Larry David, and Alec Baldwin to win Outstanding Actor. Speaking of Louie, the comedian took home two Emmys–one for Outstanding Writing for the Louie episode “Pregnant” and another writing achievement for his standup special Live at the Beacon Theatre.

The Showtime political drama Homeland was awarded five Emmys: Claire Danes for Outstanding Actress; Damian Lewis for Outstanding Actor; Outstanding Writing for the “Pilot” epiosde by Alex Gansa, Howard Gordon, and Gideon Raff; at the Creative Emmys the show picked up Best Casting; and lastly it broke Mad Men‘s impressive streak and won Outstanding Drama. Elsewhere in drama, Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) was crowned Outstanding Supporting Actress; Aaron Paul triumphed over his Breaking Bad co-star Giancarlo Esposito to win Outstanding Supporting Actor; and Tim Van Patten nabbed Outstanding Director for his work on Boardwalk Empire.

Other notable wins… the HBO movie Game Change swept the Miniseries/Movie category with five wins including Outstanding Actress (Julianne Moore), Outstanding Writing (Danny Strong), Outstanding Directing (Jay Roach), Best Casting, and it took home Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. The highly rated History channel miniseries Hatfields and McCoys won two Emmys and Jessica Lange nabbed Outstanding Supporting Actress for her role in FX’s American Horror Story. And like clockwork Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Jon Stewart won Outstanding Variety Series for the tenth year in a row.

Jump after the break to see all the night’s winners. Continue reading 2012 Emmys results: ‘Modern Family’ & ‘Homeland’ big winners