AARP The Magazine’s 17th Annual Movies for Grownups® Awards celebrates 2017’s standout films with unique appeal to movie lovers with a grownup state of mind and recognizes the inspiring artists who make them.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 5, 2018
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Paola Torres, AARP Movies for Grownups, 202.434.2555, ptorres@aarp.org
Eileen Thompson, Rogers & Cowan, 310.854.8137, eray@rogersandcowan.com
AARP The Magazine Celebrates the Winners for the 17th Annual Movies for Grownups® Awards in Los Angeles
Appearances by Helen Mirren, Gary Oldman, Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan, Blythe Danner, Mark Hamill, Guillermo Del Toro, Aaron Sorkin, Willem Dafoe, Jason Clarke, Alfre Woodard, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Cumming, Betty Gabriel, Richard Jenkins, Rian Johnson, Laurie Metcalf, Marcus Henderson, Michael Gracey and more
Awards to be broadcast for first time ever on Feb. 23 at 9/8c on PBS as part of the Great Performances series
LOS ANGELES, CA—AARP The Magazine’s 17th Annual Movies for Grownups® Awards were held tonight at the Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, celebrating 2017’s standout films with unique appeal to movie lovers with a grownup state of mind and recognizing the inspiring artists who make them. Co-produced by the Great Performances series, the awards will be broadcast for the first time on Friday, February 23 at 9 p.m. on PBS, (check local listings), pbs.org/gperf and PBS apps.
Highlights from the evening included a moving tribute to Career Achievement honoree Helen Mirren, “it’s a resume and a range that is barely believable to have come from one person,” noted Winchester co-star Jason Clarke who presented the esteemed award to Mirren. Mirren provided an insightful piece of advice about life, “it is unknown, nothing lasts forever, life keeps surprising us and that why it’s worth living.”
Mark Hamill and Kelly Marie Tran presented director Rian Johnson with Best Picture/Movies for Grownups honors for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, because “this incredible film series that began with the Baby Boomer generation and now crosses generations to be loved by moviegoers of all ages around the globe.” Darkest Hour co-star Ben Mendelsohn presented Gary Oldman with the Best Actor award for his captivating performance as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. Oldman talked about how life after 50 is getting better, “I have met the love of my life, I have the role of a lifetime.” Alfre Woodard handed Best Actress honors to Annette Bening for her role in “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool.” Actor Doug Jones presented friend Guillermo del Toro with the Best Director award for The Shape of Water, who spoke to the importance of storytelling and how “as we age we have a single duty and that is to tell our stories.”
Lady Bird Director Greta Gerwig and Actress Saoirse Ronan presented Laurie Metcalf, the Best Supporting Actress award for her role as the mother in the film, with Gerwig saying “there was never a day or take that she didn’t completely inspire me and blow me away.” Blythe Danner presented the Best Supporting Actor award to his co-star Richard Jenkins for The Shape of Water.
In a special moment, Director Sean Baker lifted child co-stars Christopher Rivera and Valeria Cotto to the mic, so they could thank AARP for receiving the Best Intergenerational Film for The Florida Project, with Cotto asking AARP “where can I sign up for this?”
Host Alan Cumming brought down the house with his musical parodies of Get Out, Lady Bird, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Cumming spoke to the heart of Movies for Grownups, saying that “these awards are special, they recognize compelling movies and dynamic performances that appeal to a mature state of mind.”
One of the most memorable moments of the evening included special guest Ken Sturdy, World War II veteran and survivor of the Battle of Dunkirk, receiving the Best Time Capsule award for Dunkirk, which looks at the brutality of war and the triumph of ordinary people coming together in a time of crisis. Sturdy commended the film’s tribute to the heroes lost and rescued on those harrowing days, stating how the film’s title should really be called the Miracle of Dunkirk.
Other distinguished guests included Frances Fisher, June Squibb, Keala Settle, Jane Seymour, Sean Baker, Shari Belafonte, Wendie Malick, Hébert Peck, Sherry Lansing, Molly Bloom, and more.
The complete list of the 17th Annual Movies for Grownups® Awards Winners:
- Career Achievement: Helen Mirren
- Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
- Best Actress: Annette Bening (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool)
- Best Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)
- Best Supporting Actress: Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)
- Best Supporting Actor: Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water)
- Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)
- Best Screenwriter: Aaron Sorkin (Molly’s Game)
- Best Ensemble: Get Out
- Best Grownup Love Story: The Greatest Showman
- Best Intergenerational Film: The Florida Project
- Best Time Capsule: Dunkirk
- Best Documentary: I Am Not Your Negro
Event proceeds raise funds for AARP Foundation, AARP’s charitable affiliate, which works to end senior poverty by building economic opportunity and social connections for vulnerable older adults in L.A. and across the country. Chase Card Services, through its AARP® Credit Card from Chase, is the presenting sponsor of the 17th annual AARP’s Movies for Grownups® Awards.
With weekly news and reviews, nationwide screenings, and an annual awards event, AARP’s Movies for Grownups® multimedia franchise continues to champion movies for grownups, by grownups. For more information about AARP’s Movies for Grownups® Awards, go online to www.aarp.org/moviesforgrownups.
Hashtag: #MoviesForGrownupsPBS
Facebook: Facebook.com/AARPGrownups/
Twitter: twitter.com/AARP
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About AARP The Magazine’s Movies For Grownups® Awards’ Philanthropic Goals
The annual Movies for Grownups® Awards raises funds for AARP Foundation, AARP’s affiliated charity, which helps struggling people 50-plus around the country transform their lives through programs, services and vigorous legal advocacy. The Foundation works to increase economic opportunity and social connections to prevent and reduce senior poverty.
About AARP The Magazine
With more than 38 million readers, AARP The Magazine is the nation’s largest circulation magazine – and the definitive lifestyle publication – for Americans 50 and older. AARP The Magazine delivers targeted content in three demographic versions – for readers age 50 to 59, 60 to 69 and 70-plus – including health and fitness features, financial guidance, consumer information and tips, celebrity interviews, and book and movie reviews. AARP has been publishing a magazine for members since its founding in 1958. AARP The Magazine is published bimonthly in print and continually online. Learn more at www.aarp.org/magazine/.
About WNET
WNET is America’s flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend and a range of documentaries, children’s programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNET’s groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-state’s unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Theater Close-Up, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere: www.thirteen.org/passport.
6 February 2018
