Mel Brooks speaks onstage at the 20th Annual AFI Awards (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI)
BEVERLY HILLS.CA (LA ELEMENTS) 1/11/2020 – Even by Hollywood awards season standards, the annual Audi Presents the AFI Awards Luncheon is a standout. Celebrating the best of film and television from 2019 at the Four Seasons Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, the non-profit organization has been “dedicated to educating and inspiring artists and audiences” since 1967; and they have put on this exclusive event for the past 20 years.
Which is why so many famous faces jammed the filled-to-capacity ballroom on January 3, 2020 for the American Film Institute’s event, despite not one person taking home a trophy. And as AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale joked to the assembled stars and Hollywood executives on hand, “Here’s the game. The game is, there is no game. Our unashamed goal is to free you, to provide an oasis from all the judging and all the red carpets and all the stress that comes with selling. At AFI, we do not sell. We celebrate! And that’s why we brought you all together as one. One community, to be proud of your work and proud of each other.”
JoJo Rabbit star, writer and director Taika Waititi was proud to be sitting at the front table for the AFI Awards Luncheon with his stars Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie, with the stellar Once Upon a Time In Hollywood table directly behind his.
“It’s really weird to be one of the favorites,” said the New Zealander with a laugh, “and for me it’s actually really nice that at things like this I get reunited with people, because I don’t get to see many people that I know, normally.”
Waititi was proud, too, to do a meet-and-greet with Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt, Margaret Qualley and Leonardo DiCaprio at that nearby table, as was Fleabag creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who positively glowed when she was introduced to Pitt. Margaret Qualley had a giggly moment with Kaitlyn Dever, whose movie Booksmart was not on the AFI Top Ten honored at the awards, but her TV series Unbelievable was (she had a very good 2019!), while just before the program began, everyone’s eyes went to the next table back, as Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese slid in at the last minute to their The Irishman table.
(L-R) Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sian Clifford and Joaquin Phoenix attend the 20th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills(Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI)
Clint Eastwood arrived early – his Richard Jewell film was among the honorees, along with his stars Kathy Bates, Sam Rockwell and Paul Walter Hauser; and while Joker duo Joaquin Phoenix (star) and Todd Phillips (director) were also fashionably late, that film’s producer, Bradley Cooper, was right on time. He and Leo DiCaprio had a long conversation while Pose star Billy Porter flitted by.
Once the program began, which featured clips from all ten films and all ten television shows being honored, as well as a luncheon of beet salad and grilled salmon, there was a big surprise. AFI president Bob Gazalle happily introduced Mel Brooks, the first of two special guests, to the standing-ovation delight and cheers of everyone in the room. He spoke about his wife Anne Bancroft, who received help back in the 1970s from the AFI; then did a funny shout out to Taika Waititi and his film JoJo Rabbit.
“He did not ask my permission to use Hitler in a motion picture! I’m a little peeved, I am a little upset,” Brooks cracked. “But I must say, it is really a terrific, eloquent picture, and Taika, you did good.”
(L-R) Quentin Tarantino and Rita Moreno (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI)
Later, Rita Moreno took to the podium as well, as the room filled with stars cheered her on. Among those giving her a standing ovation at the 2020 AFI Awards Luncheon were Awkwafina, Kit Harington, Saoirse Ronan, Jon Hamm, Adam Driver, Jamie Lee Curtis, Laura Dern, Brian Cox, Ray Romano and Greta Gerwig.
And as the AFI Awards came to a close, the 88-year-old Moreno reminded the glittery assemblage that it is the new blood in the room that is going to keep Hollywood fresh and impactful in the coming years.
“I see before me a diverse, bold, brilliant new generation of directors, producers, actors and writers who declare, ‘It’s my turn now,'” Moreno said. “You are the voices in a democracy that will keep us moving in the direction of liberty and justice for all.”
Cover photo of Brad Pitt, Margaret Qualley and Leonardo DiCaprio courtesy of AFI.
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