Oscar Hopefuls From Cate Blanchett To Steven Spielberg Hit Palm Springs As Awards Season Cranks Up

In Palm Springs they do it all a little differently. At least that is the impression you might have gotten if you attended Thursday night’s 34th annual International Film Awards gala that kicked off the Palm Springs Film Festival, back in action for the first time since January of 2020, just weeks before Covid would shut everything down. However, the bejeweled and upper crust of Palm Springs society were gathered again at the massive Palm Springs Convention Center to celebrate a select group of stars who not so coincidentally happen to be among the most buzzed of Oscar contenders.

Related Story

Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards 2023: Best Of The Red Carpet & Party Gallery

Related Story

Peter Bart: Could Awards-Season Galas Help Cure Hollywood's Movie Malaise?

Related Story

New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Martin Scorsese's 'Tár' Rave; Surprise Appearances By Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, David Byrne

With a red carpet that doesn’t stop at the front doors but actually continues all the way through the huge lobby and then into the actual ballroom itself, this event was (and by the looks of it) a must-stop on the way to the Dolby in March.

More from Deadline

• Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards 2023: Best Of The Red Carpet & Party Gallery

• Peter Bart: Could Awards-Season Galas Help Cure Hollywood's Movie Malaise?

• New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Martin Scorsese's 'Tár' Rave; Surprise Appearances By Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, David Byrne

Perhaps that is why we saw the likes of Steven Spielberg and his entire cast of The Fabelmans, Viola Davis, Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell, Brendan Fraser, Bill Nighy, Michelle Yeoh, Sarah Polley, Danielle Deadwyler, and Austin Butler gracing the stage to accept various awards negotiated with the studios in order to put a spotlight on their campaigns in the glitziest way possible. The gala touted its strong correlation to Oscar nominations and wins for its chosen recipients in the past, and there is no doubt that will continue.

Even most of the presenters are in the hunt this awards season including Jamie Lee Curtis, Baz Luhrmann, Brian Tyree Henry, Hong Chau and Stephanie Hsu among others. At this event it isn’t just the winners who get to make heartfelt speeches, it is also those presenters, and there is no 45-second limit on how long they can all go on — and indeed they make the most of it. This aspect of it is important as it is one of the first opportunities to try out your potential Oscar speech, and I have to say the group selected this year pulled it all off in great style.

And as I noted, Palm Springs does the whole thing differently, and that includes a full orchestra, in numbers of musicians that would rival the Oscar show itself; a stage that goes on for miles; and a huge and enthusiastic audience made up mostly of locals. The PS crowd by the way gets the best seats closest to the stage, and unlike every other awards show the actual winners and industry guests are seated at tables in a roped-off area near the back of the giant auditorium. In past years they were situated more in the middle of the room, but as one wag put it to me last night that made it more like a “petting zoo” where the desert’s most beautiful people could whip out their phones and crash the tables for selfies. I recall sitting there one year when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie made their way to their table and it was pure uncontrolled mayhem. Last night it was more civilized, those stanchions apparently intimidating to the locals who nevertheless lined up at the indoor red carpet to get a good photo op as the stars, and even Entertainment Tonight hosts Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner made their way through the throng (longtime gala host Mary Hart had been announced to return, but for whatever reason Frazier and Turner would up doing the MC’ing instead).

As for those speeches, it was a home run for most. Causeway Supporting Actor contender Henry presented the Breakthrough Performance Actress award to Deadwyler, who was beautifully gowned and movingly talked about the importance of her film Till. She was followed by Fraser receiving the Spotlight Award from his The Whale co-star Chau, who noted she learned of the actor’s unique and fanatical following, hearing it was known as Brenaissance. “Crowds of people burst into goofy grins just upon hearing his name,” she said, noting this “role of a lifetime” was not a comeback because he really has always been a dedicated working actor even when it seemed he was out of the spotlight, hence the perfectly named Spotlight Award is proof positive he is now right back in it. Fraser talked about the “diversity” of the roles he has gotten to play in the past three decades, and looks forward to continuing the work for another 32 years to come. “Just try and stop me,” he exclaimed.

And so it continued thoughout the three-hour show with no break for dinner; salad and the entrees were served during the speeches. I was at the MGM/UA table for Women Talking. The film’s writer-director Polley received the Director of the Year honor presented by Eric Idle, who once made a film with her when she was then a 9-year-old actress. Her acceptance was truly elegant. “I think about how many untold stories there are like this one,” she said. Lurhmann presented the Breakthrough Actor award to his Elvis star Butler, who noted he hadn’t been to the city since his grandparents would take him to the Palm Springs Tennis Club.

The International Star Actress award went to Yeoh, presented by her Everything Everywhere All at Once co-star Hsu, and the Corresponding International Star Actor trophy went to Living’s Nighy, who wins the award for the shortest speech of the night but one that seemed just right. Both those deserving veterans have never been Oscar nominated, incredibly enough, but the warmth in the room for each of them is all the proof you need that will be changing come January 24th. In fact, I would take a guess that all five eventual Oscar nominees for Best Actress were in Palm Springs on Thursday for this ritual.

Presenter of the night, hands down, was Curtis, who had recently co-starred in the still-to-be-released Bordertown with Cate Blanchett, who was receiving the Desert Palm Achievement Award Actress for Tár. Curtis said she only agreed to do it if Blanchett agreed to let her drive her to the desert. “I was born in the City of Angels,” the daughter of two genuine movie stars noted. “I have driven to Palm Springs and back a billion times.” Her speech was alternately hilarious and dead-on accurate about what makes Blanchett the film artist she is. “Cate Blanchett knows and loves the light, and the light knows and loves her.”

Both Farrell, who took the Desert Palm Actor honor for The Banshees of Inisherin (presented by his good friend Sam Rockwell) and Blanchett could write a textbook on how to give an acceptance speech. Farrell in his thank-you also gave a special shout out to his “three co-stars” Jenny the donkey, Morris the Border Collie and “well maybe the horse.”

Viola Davis, still basking in the glow of the praise she has gotten for The Woman King since its early fall debut at Toronto, once again socked it home when she accepted the Chairman’s Award from Blanchett, who was doing double duty last night and publicly pleaded for someone to cast her in a film with Davis.

Spielberg also charmed the crowd, flanked by his entire cast of The Fabelmans who received the Vanguard Award including Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen, Julia Butters, Sam Rechner, Gabriel LaBelle and Keeley Karsten, along with producer Kristie Macosko Krieger. It was presented by the director’s longtime friend and Lincoln star Sally Field, who came in a close second for most engaging presenter speech. Universal’s chief Donna Langley sat next to Spielberg.

The Palm Springs gala is just the first of a boatload of awards ceremonies in the next few days including National Board of Review, the Golden Globes, the AFI Awards and the Critics Choice Awards to name a few. ‘Tis the season indeed.

Best of Deadline

• TV Cancellations Photo Gallery: Series Ending In 2023 & Beyond

• Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries

• 2022 The Year In Photos: Courtrooms, Kanye, Twitter, Tom Cruise & Zendaya

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.