The people behind the Hollywood Film Awards don’t announce the nominees in any category nor is there any info on who actually decides the winners or how those decisions are made. However, the awards gala, which proclaims itself the kick-off of the awards season, was broadcast for the first time in the HFA’s 18-year history on a major network (CBS).
The primetime special aired on November 14, 2014 but it appears as though the TV audience either forgot it was on or opted to ignore the show. Ratings for the inaugural CBS broadcast were abysmal, and the majority of the attention the show did generate was due to Johnny Depp’s bizarre, rambling speech, which led many on Twitter to speculate he was under the influence. (Watch the video below to judge for yourself.)
Queen Latifah hosted the show, and while we’ll never know who was actually considered for an award in any of the categories, the following is a list of the winners who knew they’d be accepting awards in advance:
Hollywood Career Achievement Award
– Michael Keaton
Hollywood Film Award
– Gone Girl
Director Award
– Morten Tyldum, The Imitation Game
Actor Award
– Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Actress Award
– Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Supporting Actor Award
– Robert Duvall, The Judge
Supporting Actress Award
– Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Ensemble Award
– Foxcatcher cast
Breakout Performance Actress Award
– Shailene Woodley, The Fault in Our Stars
Breakout Performance Actor Award
– Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Breakthrough Director Award
– Jean-Marc Vallée, Wild
New Hollywood Award
– Jack O’Connell
Screenwriter Award
– Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
Song Award
– “What Is Love” from Rio 2
Animation Award
– How To Train Your Dragon 2
Blockbuster Award
– Guardians of the Galaxy
Documentary Award
– Mike Myers for Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon
Comedy Film Award
– Chris Rock, Top Five
International Award
– Jing Tian
Cinematography Award
– Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Visual Effects Award
– Scott Farrar, Transformers: Age of Extinction
Film Composer Award
– Alexandre Desplat, The Imitation Game
Costume Design Award
– Milena Canonero, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Editing Award
– Jay Cassidy and Dody Dorn, Fury
Production Design Award
– Dylan Cole and Gary Freeman, Maleficent
Sound Award
– Ren Klyce, Gone Girl
Make-Up and Hairstyling Award
– David White (Special Make-up Effects) and Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou (Hair Designer and Make-up Designer), Guardians of the Galaxy
