Quentin Tarantino’s “Iambic Quintameter” and other Rhythms at the 85th Annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards Dinner

Back in 2012, when Brad Pitt received a Best Supporting Actor Award from the NYFCC, he proclaimed that he loved this award evening best of all because these awards will not be televised. Does that explain why this awards night breathes relaxation, friends awarding friends despite a gripe (from Adam Sandler) about mean reviewers? Not to mention Quentin Tarantino’s whine about critics, ones he loved and ones he hated, even though Pitt was presenting him with a Best Screenplay honor at this year’s NYFCC ceremony at Tao Downtown. Cued in to critics as scribes, Pitt emphasized Tarantino’s process: “Quentin writes his scripts by hand; he writes novelistic chapters of backstory for his characters, he loves them so much. I call his rhythms iambic quintameter.”

Alison Willmore, by way of welcome, underscored, sometimes the critic-artist relation can be testy, as in the oft told story of Sylvia Miles dumping a plate of food on John Simon’s head because she did not like what he had written about her. To be clear, Miles objected to Simon’s calling her a “gatecrasher,” and she suggested “plate crasher” would be more accurate. Both, sometime guests at this dinner, died this year, and would have relished some of its high points.

Presenting Best Actor to Antonio Banderas, Ethan Hawke remembered first seeing him in Tie Me Up Tie Me Down, thinking: “Who the fuck is that guy?” Banderas had made this stop on the way to the airport for Malaga, to the stage, with almost no sleep. Of his work in Pain and Glory, “I am an actor and I love to act. I made eight movies with Almodovar. Playing him, I had the opportunity to be directed by my own character!”

Ben Stiller presenting to Bong Joon Ho, director of the Best Foreign Language film Parasite: “I just met him at lunch. All I know is that he won the Palme d’Or in Cannes, and a Golden Globe.”

Apologizing for his English, the South Korean director said, “This is a very cool ceremony. It awarded Goodfellas so I know it is a good award ceremony. It is surreal.” Looking at Martin Scorsese and his posse seated at the front table. “They are all in front of me now. And this is the first awards ceremony we are eating Asian food.”

Presenting Best Director to the brothers Safdie, Adam Sandler laced into the hosts: “All you critics, I know what you have said about me over the years. It’s ok. You’re just mean. But this is not about me. People always want to know, what was it like working with the Safdie brothers? They are really different. They shared a vision of how great I was.

“Working with them was like a three-some. You cannot indicate you got more pleasure from the other.” After making Uncut Gems, “We are more than family.” Which just about says it for the NYFCC’s special night.