The 2018 awards season is in full swing, with the Golden Globes done and the BAFTAs announced. Now, the Critics Choice prizes have been awarded.
Guillermo Del Toro Triumphs Once More
Awards darling The Shape Of Water, which won two Golden Globes out of seven nominations and leads the way with 12 BAFTA nods, came home with the biggest win of the night.
Guillermo Del Toro's romance/creature feature, which stars Doug Jones as a fish man and Sally Hawkins as the mute cleaning lady who falls in love with him, scooped Best Picture at the ceremony.
It was nominated in 14 categories overall, winning four. Alongside Best Picture, the critically lauded flick also nabbed Best Director for Del Toro and Best Composer for Alexandre Desplat.
The event, which was held in Santa Monica, CA, was hosted by actress Olivia Munn (X-Men: Apocalypse, Ride Along 2). The Critics Choice Awards are run jointly by the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association. Similarly to the Golden Globes, they celebrate achievements across film and television.
On the TV side, HBO's female-led mega-hit Big Little Lies matched The Shape Of Water's haul with four wins total. The series won Best Limited Series, as well as for each of its stars; Nicole Kidman (Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries), Laura Dern (Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries), and Alexander Skarsgård (Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries).
Reese Witherspoon was also nominated for her starring role in the show in the Best Actress category alongside Kidman.
No Big Surprises
Elsewhere, the 2018 awards trend continues with Gary Oldman given Best Actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, while Frances McDormand picked up Best Actress for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Allison Janney also won for her role in I, Tonya alongside Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards, surprising nobody.
On TV, Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale picked up Best Drama and Best Actress for star Elizabeth Moss, while Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel won Best Comedy and Best Actress for its star Rachel Brosnahan.
On the more eccentric side of things, Jordan Peele's celebrated horror movie Get Out won Best Sci-Fi or Horror Movie, while Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman nabbed Best Action Movie, with actress Gal Gadot later taking the stage to accept the #SeeHer award and giving a rousing call to arms for women's equality, and Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon's true-life rom-com The Big Sick received the Best Comedy award.
Get Out also won Best Screenplay alongside Luca Guadagnino's LGBT love story Call Me By Your Name.
Notably absent was actor James Franco, recently accused of sexual assault by five women, who didn't show up to collect yet another Best Actor award for his role in Tommy Wiseau life story The Disaster Artist.
