(Los Angeles, CA – December 3, 2019) The Hollywood Critics Association today announced their selections for honorary awards which will be presented at their annual awards ceremony on January 9, 2020. These honorary awards are the HCA Trailblazer Award, the HCA Game Changer Award, the HCA Newcomer Award, and the HCA Star on the Rise Award.
Created to highlight and celebrate individuals within the industry who speak out about important social topics while advocating for change, this year’s Trailblazer Award recipient is Olivia Wilde. Praised by critics and audiences alike for her directorial debut, Booksmart, Wilde is known for being an advocate for change as evidenced by her participation in women’s marches across the country as well as being a supporter of Planned Parenthood and a vocal supporter of the #TimesUp movement. Most recently, Wilde took to Twitter to voice her concerns when Delta Airlines edited Booksmart for showing on its in-flight video service. Wilde stated that she felt like the removed scenes were unfairly censored as they featured “homosexual content.” Delta quickly responded to her concerns with an apology and restoration of the film to its original cut for their in-flight showings. Previous winners of this award include Brie Larson and Jessica Chastain for their work in advocating for more female filmmakers within the industry, in addition to underrepresented voices in film criticism.
According to HCA Founder Scott Menzel, “The Newcomer Award is a very special award because it not only honors new faces in the industry but those whose work stands for something. Last year, Aneesh Chaganty received the award for his directorial debut Searching, which not only was one of the most inventive films of the year but was the first Hollywood thriller to have an Asian-American actor featured in a leading role.” This year the HCA Newcomer Award recipient will be The Peanut Butter Falcon star Zack Gottsagen. HCA COO Ashley Menzel further notes, “One of the primary reasons as to why we created the HCA was to promote representation and bring awareness to diverse and underrepresented voices. This goal goes beyond the realm of criticism as it applies to all those working in the industry.”
For in its inaugural year, the HCA Game Changer Award goes to Richard Jewell star, Paul Walter Hauser. Previously best known for his supporting roles in I, Tonya and BlacKkKlansman, Hauser is front and center delivering a nuanced and powerful performance as Richard Jewell in this Clint Eastwood drama of the same name.
Another inaugural award to be presented this year is the HCA Star on the Rise Award. Be it her work in Escape Room, Falling Skies or Lost In Space series, or her standout emotionally powerful performance this year as “Emily” in Waves, Taylor Russell’s star is definitely on the rise and will be a cinematic force to be reckoned with in the future.
HCA previously announced the HCA Next Generation Award for recipient Kelvin Harrison, Jr. thanks to his star-making performance in Luce.
HCA will be announcing its end of the decade awards on December 12, 2019. These awards are decade-specific and will only happen once every 10 years. The categories for these awards include Actor of the Decade, Actress of the Decade, Filmmaker of the Decade, Producer of the Decade, and the Next Generation Award.
About HCA
Formerly known as the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society (LAOFCS), the goal of the Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) is to create a diverse community of passionate and professional critics with a passion for entertainment, including film and television.
