Adrien Brody tears up while thanking L.A. first responders during New York Film Critics Circle Best Actor acceptance speech
Adrien Brody, Sean Baker, Brady Corbet, and Jim Jarmusch were among the winners and presenters at Wednesday’s New York Film Critics Circle dinner to offer words of support and sympathy to the thousands of Los Angeles residents impacted by this week’s deadly wildfires.
Brody, who won Best Actor for his acclaimed performance in The Brutalist, was overcome with emotion as he accepted the honor.
“To accept something like this when there’s so much suffering in the world. My heart goes out to all the families and the animals and our colleagues,” Brody said while fighting back emotion.“Most of the homes on the west side, the beach side of the [Pacific Coast Highway], are gone. From the Palisades on, this is our community. So I just want to thank and commend the bravery of the first responders, their sacrifices, and their meaningful work, which deserves our recognition tonight.”
Earlier in the night, before awarding the Best Screenplay to Anora writer-director Baker, Jarmusch referenced the devastating Los Angeles wildfires and called out conservative politicians and ideologies without mentioning them by name. “We are all worried about our friends in L.A.,” said Jarmusch. “The climate crisis is brought to you by climate deniers. … They are telling us that woke is a negative thing, and I would just like to say it’s time we wake the f— up!”
Baker, during his speech, and Corbet, who accepted the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Picture for The Brutalist, also addressed the Los Angeles wildfires. “All of our hearts and prayers are with those affected,” Baker said.
The New York Film Critics Circle celebrated its 90th year with wins for The Brutalist, Brody, Baker, Best Supporting Actor Oscar frontrunner Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), Best Actress Oscar hopeful Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths), and surprising wild-card pick Carol Kane, who won Best Supporting Actress for the Sony Pictures Classics release Between the Temples.
Kane’s speech was one of the best of the night. The actress got emotional while thanking her parents and the several legendary filmmakers who helped Kane throughout her career, including Mike Nichols, Elaine May (who was supposed to give Kane the award but had to bow out; John Turturro admirably filled in), Richard Donner, Woody Allen, Sidney Lumet, Rob Reiner, Joan Micklin Silver, Hal Ashby, and more. Kane has not surfaced in many places this awards season — in addition to her New York Film Critics Circle win, she also received an Independent Spirit Award nomination — but with Sony Pictures Classics behind Between the Temples and a wide-open category for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, it would be irresponsible to rule Kane, a former nominee, out — especially after the kind of speech she gave on Wednesday night as Oscar voting began.
The wildfires in Los Angeles have left thousands without homes and more displaced because of evacuation orders. Several significant awards season events have been impacted as a result. The Critics Choice Awards were postponed from Sunday, Jan. 12, to Sunday, Jan. 26. The AFI Awards luncheon and BAFTA tea party were canceled outright, both scheduled for later this week. Several film premieres, including The Last Showgirl, were also canceled. The fires have impacted the awards calendar as well. The Writers Guild of America has moved its awards nominations announcement from Thursday to Monday, Jan. 13. Similarly, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extended Oscar nomination voting by two days, to Tuesday, Jan. 14. As a result, the Oscar nominations were delayed as well, from Friday, Jan. 17 to Sunday, Jan. 19. The Academy has not revealed further details about how the 2025 Oscar nominations will be announced.