Hoda Kotb – Host of Grownup Movie Awards (Photo by NBC News / Nathan Congleton
On Sunday, March 28, Hoda Kotb hosts the Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP The Magazine, airing on PBS “Great Performances” at 8 p.m./7 p.m. CT.
The AARP Movies for Grownups multimedia franchise was established in 2002 to celebrate and encourage filmmaking with unique appeal to movie lovers with a grownup state of mind—and recognize the inspiring artists who make them.
Also featuring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sacha Baron Cohen, Demián Bichir, Lee Daniels, Andra Day, Jodie Foster, Marielle Heller, Anthony Hopkins, Sophia Loren, Leslie Odom Jr., Catherine O’Hara, Eddie Redmayne, Mark Ruffalo, Aaron Sorkin, Milo Ventimiglia, Yuh-Jung Youn, and Chloé Zhao.
The Movies for Grownups Awards champion films made by and for grownups, by advocating for the 50-plus audience, fighting industry ageism and encouraging films that resonate with older viewers. And AARP’s Movies for Grownups this year continues its commitment to celebrate quality content by expanding to honor standout TV programs in new categories.
“Each year at Movies for Grownups, we spotlight films that feature today’s crucial issues and top grownup talents. In this pandemic year, when movies loomed larger than ever in our lives, we are excited to have such a bumper crop of masterworks — and to recognize achievements on TV for the very first time,” said Tim Appelo, AARP film and television critic.
2020 Movies for Grownups Awards Nominees
By Tim Appelo, AARP, February 8, 2021 | Many of the best known actors over 50, as well as some newcomers, are nominees for AARP’s annual Movies for Grownups Awards, it was announced today. The awards will be broadcast on the PBS show Great Performances on March 28 at 8 p.m. (check local listings) pbs.org/moviesforgrownups and on the PBS Video app.
The Movies for Grownups Awards champion films made by and for grownups, by advocating for the 50-plus audience, fighting industry ageism and encouraging films that resonate with older viewers. And AARP’s Movies for Grownups this year continues its commitment to celebrate quality content by expanding to honor standout TV programs in new categories.
“Each year at Movies for Grownups, we spotlight films that feature today’s crucial issues and top grownup talents. In this pandemic year, when movies loomed larger than ever in our lives, we are excited to have such a bumper crop of masterworks — and to recognize achievements on TV for the very first time,” said Tim Appelo.
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BEST MOVIE FOR GROWNUPS
• Minari
A Korean American family chases the American dream from California to a farm in the Ozarks — a trip to the heartland in more ways than one.
• Nomadland
This adaptation of a nonfiction book about retirement-age Americans who become RV nomads brilliantly blends fiction filmmaking and documentary style.
• One Night in Miami
A knockout film about Muhammad Ali’s actual 1964 championship bout — witnessed by Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown — and the debate they have about the responsibilities of success.
• The Trial of the Chicago 7
A vivid dramatization of the real trial of Chicago’s 1968 convention demonstrators that turns what was a chaotic circus into a thoughtful spotlight on a schism in society.
• The United States vs. Billie Holiday
A jazzy biopic that centers on the FBI’s undercover setup of Holiday as she performs on stages all over America. Andra Day’s moving voice may break your heart.
BEST ACTRESS
• Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Resplendent with ostrich feathers and gold teeth, Davis growlingly summons the indomitable spirit of America’s first professional blues singer.
BEST ACTOR
(none for a movie where music is important)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
• Paul Raci, Sound of Metal
Raci is uncommonly convincing as the addiction program director for the film’s hearing-impaired musician hero. (He was once an addict himself and both his parents were deaf.). And now this renowned stage actor is breaking out at last as a film star.
BEST DIRECTOR
• Lee Daniels, The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Diana Ross’ 1972 drama Lady Sings the Blues inspired Daniels to become a director (who later earned an Oscar nomination for Precious). His Billie Holiday biopic is even better.
BEST SCREENWRITER
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Ruben Santiago-Hudson)
A noted Broadway and TV actor, Santiago-Hudson knows August Wilson’s work as an actor and a director. His expertise shows in this Wilson adaptation.
BEST ENSEMBLE
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
In a band room the filmmakers conceived of as a boxing ring of drama, an all-star cast puts on a bout in which everyone comes out a champion.
BEST BUDDY PICTURE
• Bill & Ted Face the Music
In their third time-tripping comedy, Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter meet not only Louis Armstrong, Mozart and Jimi Hendrix, but also themselves in youth and extreme age.
BEST TIME CAPSULE
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
The film recreates Chicago in the 1920s, when Ma Rainey’s song helped make the Black Bottom Dance more popular than the Charleston.
• The United States vs. Billie Holiday
Not simply the story of one woman’s life, it describes an era when Black musicians had their work stolen by white culture and the government used drug laws to target an artist.
https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/movies-for-grownups/info-2021/awards-nominations.html
http://www.pbs.org/moviesforgrownups