Movieguide Awards: Winners Highlighted As 'The Good in Hollywood'
/LOS ANGELES, CA — The Boss Baby, Darkest Hour and The Star, where among the movies that took home top prizes at the 26th Annual Movieguide® Awards Gala and Report to the Entertainment in Industry held at the Universal Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles on Friday (Feb. 2, 2018).
BY DAN WOODINGASSIST NEWS SERVICE
The glittering event which recognizes “the good in Hollywood” was started some 26 years ago by Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of Movieguide®, with a small gathering at the Hollywood Press Club, and has since grown to being one of the top gatherings in Tinsel town.Today, Movieguide®’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala is different than any other awards ceremony in Hollywood. It honors the best, most family-friendly movies and television programs honoring God and inspiring audiences with messages of biblical faith, hope, goodness, justice, redemption, forgiveness, and true divine love.
The winner of the $25,000 Ware Foundation Prize for the Best Movie for Families -- The Boss Baby (DreamWorks/20th Century Fox) -- is a 2017 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee and produced by DreamWorks Animation. Directed by Tom McGrath and written by Michael McCullers, the film stars the voices of Alec Baldwin as the title character, along with Miles Bakshi, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, and Tobey Maguire. The plot follows a baby who is a secret agent in the war for adult's love between babies and puppies.If British war-time hero, Winston Churchill was alive today, I am sure he would have be pleased that the Winner for Best Movie for Mature Audiences, was Darkest Hour, a 2017 British war drama film directed by Joe Wright and written by Anthony McCarten. It stars Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, and follows his early days as Prime Minister, as Hitler closes in on Britain during World War II. The film also stars Ben Mendelsohn, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lily James, Stephen Dillane, and Ronald Pickup.The Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie of last year went to The Star, an American computer-animated Christian adventure film directed by Timothy Reckart. Based on the Nativity of Jesus, and an original idea by Tom Sheridan, the screenplay was written by Carlos Kotkin and Simon Moore. It is produced by Sony Pictures Animation, with partnership from Walden Media, Affirm Films and The Jim Henson Company. It stars the voices of Steven Yeun, Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Keegan-Michael Key, Kelly Clarkson, Patricia Heaton,Kristin Chenoweth, Tracy Morgan, Tyler Perry, and Oprah Winfrey.
Before the start of the awards show, which will be televised on the REELZ Channel at 4 p.m. on April 1, 2018, I was able to join with journalists from around the world to interview many of the well-known and up-and-coming personalities walking the red carpet, for my “Inside Hollywood with Dan Wooding” TV show on the Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network.I also interviewed another icon of the 50s and 60s, Pat Boone, who joked around with my dear friend, Lance Wilder, a top artist on The Simpsons, pretending to interview him with his electric shaver. Lance later explained how the incident came about, saying, “I've known Pat Boone now for 16-17 years, mainly from walking the red carpet. He was late and was shaving in the limo and accidentally kept it in his hand when he got out. When he saw me, he threatened to shave my beard off, and then just pretended it was a microphone.”Probably, the best-known was Bo Derek, the American film and television actress, movie producer, and model, who is still remembered for her breakthrough role in the 1979 film 10. I was also able to interview famed game show host, Wink Martindale, and his wife, Sandy, who once dated Elvis Presley, and who told me that she felt that if Elvis was still alive, he would have attended a Movieguide® event like this one. Now that would have been something!As during the many times I’ve been to the red carpet event before the start of the Movieguide® awards ceremony, it was lots of fun for me and my cameraman/producer, Tim Hathaway, as endeavored to keep up with the steady stream of people that appeared before us.
Now here is the full list of winners and nominees, sponsored by the Christian Film & Television Commission®:The Jeannette Clift George Award for Furthering Entertainment with Faith & Values, was a special award went to Rich Peluso “for his tireless and superior efforts over many years to present the truth of the Gospel through Hollywood movies.” Peluso is the Executive Vice President of AFFIRM Films, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) that is focused on the development, production, acquisition, and marketing of faith-based and inspirational films.Ten Best Movies for FamiliesWinner of the $25,000 Ware Foundation Prize for the Best Movie for Families – The Boss BabyThe Boss Baby (DreamWorks/20th Century Fox)The Star (Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Ent.)Cars 3 (Pixar/Walt Disney Studios)Despicable Me 3 (Illumination/Universal Studios)The Case for Christ (PureFlix Films)The Man Who Invented Christmas (Bleecker Street Media)The LEGO Batman Movie (Warner Bros. Pictures)Smurfs: The Lost Village (Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Ent.)The Emoji Movie (Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Ent.)Ferdinand (Blue Sky/20th Century Fox)Ten Best Movies for Mature AudiencesWinner for Best Movie for Mature Audiences: Darkest HourDarkest Hour (Focus Features/Comcast)All Saints (Sony Affirm/Sony Pictures Ent.)Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Walt Disney Studios)Thor: Ragnarok (Marvel/Walt Disney Studios)The Promise (2017) (Open Road Films)Bitter Harvest (Roadhouse Attractions)Wonder (Lionsgate Films)Dunkirk (2017) (Warner Bros. Pictures/Time Warner)Wonder Woman (Warner Bros. Pictures/Time Warner)Justice League (Warner Bros. Pictures/Time Warner)Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring MovieWinner: The StarNominees:All SaintsBitter HarvestThe Boss BabyThe Case for ChristLet There Be LightThe Promise (2017)The StarEpiphany Prize for Most Inspiring TV ProgramWinner: The Long Road Home: Black Sunday, Part 2Nominees:Blue Bloods: Cutting LossesThe Crown: VergangenheitLast Man Standing: Take Me to ChurchLittle Big Shots: Tiny DancerThe Long Road Home: Black Sunday, Part 2Victoria: An Ordinary Woman and The Queen’s HusbandFaith & Freedom Award for MoviesWinner: The PromiseNominees:Bitter HarvestThe Boss BabyDarkest HourDunkirk (2017)The LEGO Batman MovieThe PromiseWonderFaith & Freedom Award for TVWinner: The Long Road Home: Black Sunday, Part 2Nominees:Blue Bloods: Cutting LossesThe Crown: VergangenheitFive Came BackThe Long Road Home: Black Sunday, Part 2The Middle: The 200thVictoria: An Ordinary Woman and The Queen’s HusbandThe Faith and Freedom Awards are supported by a grant from The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.Grace Award for Most Inspiring Performance in MoviesWinner: John Corbett for All SaintsNominees:Erika Christensen for The Case for ChristJohn Corbett for All SaintsOscar Isaac for The Promise (2017)Kevin Sorbo for Let There Be LightSam Sorbo for Let There Be LightTerrence Stamp for Bitter HarvestDan Stevens for The Man Who Invented ChristmasMike Vogel for The Case for ChristChristie Peters Grace Award for Most Inspiring Performance in TVWinner: Paul Sparks for The Crown: VergangenheitNominees:Tim Allen for Last Man Standing: Take Me to ChurchLen Cariou for Blue Bloods: Cutting LossesJenna Coleman for Victoria: An Ordinary Woman and The Queen’s HusbandBill Engvall for Last Man Standing: Take Me to ChurchClaire Foy for The Crown: VergangenheitSteve Harvey for Little Big Shots: Tiny DancerTom Hughes for Victoria: An Ordinary Woman and The Queen’s HusbandMichael Kelly for The Long Road Home: Black Sunday, Part 2Tom Selleck for Blue Bloods: Cutting LossesPaul Sparks for The Crown: Vergangenheit$15,000 Kairos Prize for Most Spiritually Uplifting Screenplay by a First-Time or Beginning ScreenwritersWilliam Gebby for North Star$15,000 Kairos Pro Prize for Most Inspiring Screenplay by an Experienced FilmmakerAlexandra Boylan for SwitchedThe Kairos Prizes are supported by a grant from The Timothy Plan.Now in their 33rd year, CFTVC and Movieguide® are the largest, longest-running international, non-profit ministry dedicated to “redeeming the values of the entertainment industry by influencing industry executives and by informing and equipping the public about the influence of the entertainment media.”At the Gala, Dr. Baehr presented highlights from Movieguide®’s Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry, a comprehensive financial analysis of the entertainment business showing that audiences generally prefer movies and television programs with positive, biblical faith and values.For more information about Movieguide® or CFTVC, visit www.movieguide.org or call (805) 383-2000.Photo captions: 1) Poster for Darkest Hour. 2) Dr. Ted Baehr and his daughter, Evy, on the red carpet. 3) Dan Wooding with Wink Martindale with his wife, Sandy, who once dated Elvis Presley. 4) The Promise movie poster. 5) Pat Boone pretending to interview Lance Wilder with his electric shaver. 6) Dan Wooding with Bo Derek. (Photo: Alex Murashko Jr.)About the writer: Dan Wooding, 77, is an award-winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, Alfred and Anne Wooding, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for nearly 55 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. Dan has written numerous books, the most recent of which is Mary, My Story from Bethlehem to Calvary, a novel about the life of Jesus through the eyes of his beloved mother. It is based on some 365 scriptures. Before he and his family moved to the United States, Dan was a senior reporter with both the Sunday People and the Sunday Mirror and also did interviews for the BBC.The above article was originally published at ASSIST News Service.