‘Spotlight’ captures Best Picture at Critics Choice Awards

LOS ANGELES — There's something undeniably cool about the Critics Choice Awards being held at the Santa Monica Airport, where so many of the rich and famous park their planes. And with the golden sun setting upon the Barker Hangar, this year's 21st annual ceremony, hosted by 'Silicon Valley' star T.J. Miller, combined both the glamour of Hollywood with the inevitable crush of awards season, cramming in both TV and film accolades and running over three hours long.

Leonardo DiCaprio, an Oscar favorite for the gritty wilderness survival story "The Revenant," won best actor, broadcasting his acceptance speech from London, where he's promoting the film. Sharon Stone announced the best picture award, which went to "Spotlight."

Brie Larson, who wasn't able too attend the event, won best actress for her heartbreaking turn in "Room" and in the TV awards, Rami Malek nabbed best actor in a drama series for "Mr. Robot." "Mr. Robot" also took home best drama, and Aziz Ansari's Netflix series "Master of None" nabbed best comedy. "I'm so proud to be counted among such great actors," Malek told the chatty crowd. "It's not just good to be different — it's better to be different."

"I'm not going to Ricky Gervais this thing," said Miller, taking the stage for his opening bit. "The critics are more valuable than ever. We need professional sifters to pan for the gold. Tonight, it's not just honor to be nominated. It's an honor to be here."

Other key winners of the night included George Miller, who got a directing nod for "Mad Max: Thunder Road" — "This film was truly inspired by women," said "Mad Max" actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley — and Amy Schumer for best actress in a comedy for "Trainwreck." 'I love my sister so much, she's so stupid," Schumer cracked.

Shortly thereafter Christian Bale won the award for best actor in a comedy, locking lips with director Adam McKay, and "The Big Short" took home the award for best comedy. "We appreciate the critics' love," said McKay. By the time Carrie Coon won the award for best actress in a drama series for "The Leftovers," most guests were so deep in their cups they talked throughout her acceptance speech.

Guests dined while the awards — 28 in total, with many others handed out beforehand — were announced. In the early part of the evening, the actors of "Spotlight" took home the best ensemble acting award. "The true (winners) are the real life heroes in 'Spotlight,'" said Rachel McAdams, naming the Boston Globe journalists who broke the story of the Catholic Church molestation scandals upon which the film was based. "Thank you to Tom McCarthy for bringing that brilliant ensemble into our lives."

Sylvester Stallone got a standing ovation when his name was announced as the winner of best supporting actor for "Creed."

"I guess there's at least one upside to getting older," he told the crowd. "I am truly amazed, I did not expect this. I'm kind of late to this party and I'm very appreciative of it. Thank you to my director Ryan Coogler. He really is a genius. Michael B Jordan, you are here for a very long time."

Alicia Vikander, who seemed genuinely verklemt after winning the accolade for best supporting actress in "The Danish Girl," said, "I remember two years ago when I found myself in this film. I was trying to find information online and I was surprised I couldn't find enough so it was so great when I was invited to shed light on a story that all of us felt was so moving and important to tell."

Mayim Bialik, who's "never won anything," was stunned to take home the award for best supporting actress in a comedy series for "The Big Bang Theory."

"My dad died nine and a half months ago and he was my harshest critic and never lived to see me win anything. So 'abba,' (father in Hebrew), this is for you."

But perhaps no award drew more oohs and coos than Jacob Tremblay, who won the award for best young actor in "Room," and plans to place his statuette beside his toy Millennium Falcon.

"This is super cool," said the pint-sized star, clad in a dapper tuxedo. "This is the best day of my life."

Later, when the award for best supporting actress in a drama series was called, "Unreal" actress Eden Sher jumped up and down and screamed with unbridled joy from the back of the hangar when her costar Constance Zimmer's name was announced. And just to show what a good sport he is, T.J. Miller recounted one of the worst reviews he's ever gotten, reading from an issue of Variety.

Judd Apatow was plucked to bestow upon Amy Schumer the first annual Critics Choice MVP award, which inevitably lent itself to many a joke about how how accomplished the comedian-actress-writer is: "What has J.J. Abrams done?" Judd joked in his intro. "I can't believe that this whole year happened," said Schumer. "I felt seen and heard by you guys."

COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

FILM

BEST PICTURE: "Spotlight"

ACTOR: Leonardo DiCaprio — "The Revenant"

ACTRESS: Brie Larson — "Room"

DIRECTOR: George Miller — "Mad Max: Fury Road"

COMEDY: "The Big Short"

ACTOR IN A COMEDY: Christian Bale — "The Big Short"

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY: Amy Schumer — "Trainwreck"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Alicia Vikander — "The Danish Girl"

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Sylvester Stallone — "Creed"

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy — "Spotlight"

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Charles Randolph and Adam McKay

ACTING ENSEMBLE: "Spotlight"

YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS: Jacob Tremblay — "Room"

SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE: "Ex Machina"

ACTION MOVIE: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

ANIMATED FEATURE: "Inside Out"

ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Tom Hardy — "Mad Max: Fury Road"

ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE: Charlize Theron — "Mad Max: Fury Road"

CINEMATOGRAPHY: "The Revenant" — Emmanuel Lubezki

PRODUCTION DESIGN: "Mad Max: Fury Road" — Colin Gibson

EDITING: "Mad Max: Fury Road" — Margaret Sixel

COSTUME DESIGN: "Mad Max: Fury Road" — Jenny Beavan

HAIR & MAKEUP: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

VISUAL EFFECTS: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

SONG: Furious 7 — "See You Again"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: "Son of Saul"

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: "Amy"

SCORE: "The Hateful Eight" — Ennio Morricone

TELEVISION

COMEDY SERIES: "Master of None" — Netflix

DRAMA SERIES: "Mr. Robot" — USA

ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Rami Malek — "Mr. Robot"  (USA)

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Carrie Coon — "The Leftovers" (HBO)

ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Jeffrey Tambor — "Transparent" (Amazon)

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Rachel Bloom — "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend"

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES: Andre Braugher, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Mayim Bialik — "The Big Bang Theory"

MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: "Fargo" — FX

ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Idris Elba — "Luther" (BBC America)

ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Kirsten Dunst — "Fargo" (FX)

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Christian Slater — "Mr. Robot" (USA)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Constance Zimmer — "UnREAL" (Lifetime)

GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Margo Martindale — "The Good Wife" (CBS)

REALITY SHOW - COMPETITION: "The Voice" — NBC

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Jesse Plemons — "Fargo" (FX)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION OR LIMITED SERIES: Jean Smart — "Fargo" (FX)

GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES: Timothy Olyphant — "The Grinder" (Fox)

ANIMATION SERIES: "BoJack Horseman" — Netflix

REALITY SHOW HOST: James Lipton — "Inside the Actors Studio"

STRUCTURED REALITY SHOW: "Shark Tank" — ABC

TALK SHOW: "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" — HBO

UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SHOW: "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" — CNN

OTHER AWARDS

MVP AWARD: Amy Schumer

GENIUS AWARD: Industrial Light and Magic