Barbie led all films with eight wins at the Astra Film Awards on Saturday night, but the biggest winner of all may have been the HCA — an organization of “critics, entertainment journalists, content creators, industry insiders and creatives” formerly known as the Hollywood Critics Association and recently rebranded as the Hollywood Creative Alliance — which appears to have weathered external criticisms and internal dissension, given the sizable talent turnout at its flagship event.
Among those who came to the Biltmore in downtown L.A. to collect honors during a weekend packed with awards season activities leading up to the Golden Globe Awards: Barbie’s Greta Gerwig, who collected the best picture and best original screenplay prizes, the former with producer David Heyman, who, in turn, collected Margot Robbie’s best actress prize; Mark Ronson, who accepted best original song (“I’m Just Ken”) and, on behalf of Ryan Gosling, best supporting actor; The Color Purple’s Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks and Colman Domingo, who accepted the best cast ensemble award; Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’s Kelly Fremon Craig, accepting best comedy feature; the best adapted screenplay winner, American Fiction’s Cord Jefferson; and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s Hailee Steinfeld.
Also present were several people who were presented with pre-announced honors: The Color Purple’s Brooks (breakthrough performer award); Blackberry’s Glenn Howerton (game changer award); Poor Things’ Willem Dafoe (excellence in artistry award); American Fiction’s Jeffrey Wright (acting achievement award); Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’s Daniel Pemberton (artisan achievement award), Society of the Snow’s J.A. Bayona (filmmaking achievement award); and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’s Abby Ryder Fortson (star on the rise award).
Some former HCA members continue to express concern to journalists about the organization, even since its rebranding, alleging conflicts of interest related to its advisory board, among other things. But it appears that a sizable portion of the business is unbothered.
A full list of winners follows.
Best Picture
“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Actor
Paul Giamatti – “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
Best Actress – TIE
Lily Gladstone – “Killers of the Flower Moon” (Apple Original Films)
Margot Robbie – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Supporting Actor
Ryan Gosling – “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Supporting Actress
Da’Vine Joy Randolph – “The Holdovers” (Focus Features)
Best Director
Christopher Nolan – “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
Best Original Screenplay
“Barbie,” Written by Greta Gerwig & Noah Baumbach (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Adapted Screenplay
“American Fiction,” Screenplay by Cord Jefferson (Orion Pictures / Amazon MGM Studios)
Best International Feature
“Anatomy of a Fall” (France) (NEON)
Best International Actor
Gael García Bernal – “Cassandro” (Amazon MGM Studios)
Best International Actress
Sandra Hüller – “Anatomy of a Fall” (NEON)
Best International Filmmaker
Hayao Miyazaki – “The Boy and The Heron” (GKids)
Best Animated Feature
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
Best Short Film
“The After” (Netflix)
Best Action Feature
“John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)
Best Comedy Feature
“Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” (Lionsgate)
Best Horror Feature
“M3GAN” (Universal Pictures)
Best First Feature
Celine Song, “Past Lives” (A24)
Best Documentary Feature
“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie” (Apple Original Films)
Best Voice-Over Performance
Hailee Steinfeld – “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
Best Cast Ensemble
“The Color Purple” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Original Song
“I’m Just Ken” from “Barbie,” Written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt – Performed by Ryan Gosling (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Stunts
“John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)
Best Casting
Allison Jones & Lucy Bevan, “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Cinematography
Hoyte van Hoytema, “Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
Best Costume Design
Holly Waddington, “Poor Things” (Searchlight Pictures)
Best Editing
Nathan Orloff, “John Wick: Chapter 4” (Lionsgate)
Best Hair and Make-Up
Kazu Hiro, Sian Grigg, Kay Georgiou, and Lori McCoy-Bell, “Maestro” (Netflix)
Best Production Design
Sarah Greenwood & Katie Spencer, “Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Publicity Campaign
“Barbie” (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Best Score
“Oppenheimer,” Ludwig Göransson (Universal Pictures)
Best Sound
“Oppenheimer” (Universal Pictures)
Best Visual Effects
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures)
Additionally, the HCA bestowed eight Honorary Awards including:
Abby Ryder Fortson – Star on the Rise Award
Daniel Pemberton – Artisan Achievement Award
Danielle Brooks – Breakthrough Performer Award
Glenn Howerton – Game Changer Award
J.A. Bayona – Filmmaking Achievement Award
Jeffrey Wright – Acting Achievement Award
John Wick: Chapter 4 – Spotlight Award
Willem Dafoe – Excellence in Artistry Award
The HCA also announced that Yong Chavez has been named co-CEO of the organization. In this new role, Chavez will be responsible for overseeing overall operations for the organization including membership relations, working with studios and creating new initiatives for global representation.