Top Gun: Maverick crowned best picture at AARP MagazineThe 21st Annual Adult Film Awards ceremony on Saturday, with Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser, Baz Luhrmann, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jeff Bridges also taking home some of the top awards of the night. Jamie Lee Curtis has been recognized with the AARP Career Achievement Award, just days after receiving her first Oscar nomination for Everything Anywhere All At Once.
With the event once again hosted by Alan Cumming, the Adult Film Awards celebrate projects that resonate with adult audiences while supporting audiences over 50. Cumming, who has hosted the awards several times, opened the night with a musical during the post-pandemic comeback event, joking: “It’s great to be back where we belong: in a classy ballroom in Beverly Hills.”
Among the night’s biggest awards, Austin Butler was on hand to present the best director award to Baz Luhrmann, as the filmmaker dedicated the award to Elvis Presley himself and a special thank you to the Presley family . Annette Bening presented the Best Supporting Actress award to her best friend, women talkingby Judith Ivey, and Fabelman’s house‘ Gabriel LaBelle presented the award for Best Supporting Actor to co-star Judd Hirsch, who joked that the advice for young actors, “eat in moderation, exercise, don’t take drugs and wait approx. It’s going to take 60 years to get one of these.”
At midnight, Brian Tyree Henry took the stage to present the Curtis Career Achievement Award, recounting the first time the two met on an airplane, then reunited years later and became friends. “I’ve been doing this for long enough, I’ve grown up and I’ve made a lot of movies that appeal to a lot of adults,” Curtis told the Beverly Wilshire crowd, “and because of all of those movies movies and to all the thousands of people behind them, and to all the countless fans who used their good after-tax dollars to watch them, to all of them and all of you in this room , adult movie buffs, I’m grateful for this game of life, because creativity is life’s achievement.”
As for the television portion of the awards show, Bridges and Ralph took home best actor and best actress respectively, as Ralph delivered one of her famously passionate acceptance speeches, pointing out Warren Littlefield among the audience and teased “there’s still time, honey,” before moving on to Luhrmann to declare, “I’m ready for a close-up.”
“Life has been very, very good to me, and I am happy to stand here as a grown woman,” Lee continued, teasing it when Quinta Brunson gave her the role. Abbott Elementary SchoolBrunson told her, “You don’t look your age but we’ll make you look your age,” and went on to thank the hair and makeup department “for a great job.”
Later on in the show, Stephanie Hsu took the stage to present the best actress award to Yeoh, and although Yeoh was not in attendance (she is currently in London filming) sinister), she delivered a video speech in which she discussed how attracted she was Everything Anywhere All At Once because it’s an adult story. “At 60, I know what the role of Evelyn Wang means to me as an actress, but I really don’t know how anyone, let alone people of this age. our age, will relate to it, or whether they like it. But you did; You embraced our film and started a conversation between generations.”
WhaleHong Chau’s Hong Chau presented the best actor award to co-star Fraser, who joked that he felt weird being seated at an adult’s table as a child.
“I stand before you as an Oscar nominee,” Fraser said to loud applause. “I know life doesn’t begin at 50, but it can renew and reward beyond our wildest dreams. I am proof of that, as are many of the people in this room. I also know that if I saw half of these renewals and rewards 20, 25 years ago, I wouldn’t be eligible to operate that equipment. It would be too much, too soon,” adding, “I am lucky enough to be invited to do my job, which is the best job in the world.”
Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell presented the night’s final award, best picture, to film producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Speaking of the success of the sequel, he noted, “I’m incredibly grateful to the millions of fans of all ages, especially adult audiences, who went out of their homes to watch. Top Gun: Maverick at a time when many of them hadn’t been to the theater in years.
“That is the power of cinema,” continued Bruckheimer. “They bring together people from all walks of life, from all backgrounds, to have a common experience, to bring magic to their lives.” He also gave special thanks to the original Top Guns directed by Tony Scott, “an imaginative visual genius that continues to inspire us all.”
AARP MagazineThe Adult Film Awards will be broadcast nationally by Great Performances on PBS on February 17.
Here is the full list of AARP winners:
Career Achievements: Jamie Lee Curtis
Best Movie/Best Adult Movie: Top Gun: Maverick
Best Actress: Duong Tu Quynh (Everything Anywhere All At Once)
Best Actor in a Leading Role: Brendan Fraser (Whale)
Best Supporting Actress: Judith Ivey (women talking)
Best Supporting Actor: Judd Hirsch (Fabelman’s house)
Best Director: Baz Luhrmann (Elvis)
Best Screenplay: Kazuo Ishiguro (Life)
Best Concerto: She speaks
Contact the best generation: until
Best Time Capsules: Elvis
Best Adult Love Story: Good luck to you, Leo Grande
Best documentaries: Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down
Best Foreign Film: Quiet girl (Ireland)
Best Actress (TV): Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary School)
Best Actor (TV): Jeff Bridge (Old man)
Best TV series: Old man
Best Limited Series/TV Series: black bird
