Film News: Jason Segel, James Earl Jones Among Guests at CFCA Awards

CHICAGO – Life was a happy song at the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards night, which celebrated the best cinematic achievements of 2011, while presenting honorary awards to some very special guests. The event was held January 7 at the Broadway Playhouse, and was highlighted by appearances from some of the brightest talents in show business.

Jason Segel, the exuberant star of “Freaks and Geeks,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “How I Met Your Mother,” was honored with the Comedia Extraordinaire Award for his triumphant efforts to resurrect the late Jim Henson’s waning franchise by co-writing and acting in “The Muppets.” At a press conference prior to the awards show, Segel was characteristically humble and self-deprecating while reflecting on his own work. In the case of his “Muppet” co-stars, he had nothing but praise.
 
“Working with [Amy Adams] and Chris Cooper, I realized why those people get nominated for awards and I don’t,” said Segel. “They really care about their acting. I just do a face that matches up to the words I’m saying.”

Jason Segel strikes a Bradley Cooper-inspired pose. Photo credit: Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com

Segel also responded to Fox News’s claims that his Muppet film aimed to brainwash young moviegoers with its socialist message about evil businessmen, embodied by the character of Tex Richman.
 
“I have two thoughts on that,” said Segel. “First time I saw that, I thought, ‘Should I respond?’ And then something occurred to me. I’d really hate to be the person who walks into the nicest movie of all time and walks out thinking of politics and vitriol. … I wrote the movie. There’s no political bent to it.”
 
The actor’s contented nature appeared unruffled by the words of agitated commentators, and he said, in all seriousness, that his priorities in life have kept him grounded.
 
“As I’ve gotten older, the things I care about have really narrowed,” said Segel. “It’s my family and my friends and being nice. Beyond that, this is ‘la la land,’ and I do the best I can. … You should pursue your passion with intense vigor but it’s not going to get me down if people don’t like a movie.”
 
When asked whether or not he knows the secret identity of Ted Mosby’s future wife on “How I Met Your Mother,” Segel’s comic charisma sprung back to life.
 
“There allegedly is a plan, but we don’t know,” said Segel. “I was really pissed off [during] season three of ‘Lost’ when I realized that they didn’t know what the f—k they were doing. I thought there was a master plan, and then I went, ‘Oh, you’re flying by the seat of your pants. F—k you.’ But there apparently is an actual arc [for our show], and I look forward to seeing it through.”

James Earl Jones. Photo credit: Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com

Earning three standing ovations during the ceremony was acting legend James Earl Jones, the recipient of the night’s Oscar Micheaux Award. It was named after the trailblazing artist who emerged as the first major African American filmmaker. Jones was presented the award by one of his former co-stars, actress and playwright Regina Taylor (“The Unit”). On the tail end of their press tour in Chicago, “Red Tails” stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Nate Parker stopped by the awards show to pay their respects to Jones.
 
The legendary star of “The Great White Hope,” “Field of Dreams” and “Star Wars” was clearly honored to receive an award named after Micheaux, who had directed the film debut of Jones’s father, Robert Earl. At the press conference, Jones spoke with great admiration about Micheaux’s innovations.
 
“He’s a man who said, ‘Let’s make a movie about black people,’ when they weren’t well represented or depicted in film,” said Jones. “He did comedies, dramas, musicals, westerns and used all-black [casts] in his movies. Some of the very pale folk played the roles of white people. Pretty neat. Better than paint.”

Dennis Farina. Photo credit: Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com

On the heels of his acclaimed performance in Joe Maggio’s festival darling, “The Last Rites of Joe May,” veteran character actor Dennis Farina was honored with the Commitment to Chicago Award. Farina’s Chicago roots and love of working in the city led him to propose a major script alteration in “Joe May.”
 
“I like to shoot in Chicago whenever I can,” said Farina. “[The film] was originally set in Brooklyn, and I asked Joe Maggio if we could switch the location to Chicago. He said, ‘Let me come there and take a look at some of the locations. If it works and it makes sense, then we’ll do it.’ So we took him around to see some of the old neighborhoods, and he fell in love with the city. He might be moving here, believe it or not.”
 
Among the night’s other honorees were Oscar-winner Shirley MacLaine, recipient of the Commitment to the Craft Award, and The Second City itself, which received the Big Shoulders Award. MacLaine was unable to attend the ceremony, but she did submit a thoughtful video acceptance speech, as did Best Supporting Actor winner Albert Brooks (“Drive”). The beloved comic actor earned some of the night’s biggest laughs by declaring that he had in fact made the trip to Chicago, but no one remembered to pick him up.
 

Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz. Photo credit: Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com

Fortunately, two of the night’s big winners were in attendance. “Hoop Dreams” director Steve James accepted his Best Documentary award for “The Interrupters,” along with producer Alex Kotlowitz (author of “There Are No Children Here”), whose 2008 article “Blocking the Transmission of Violence” in New York Times Magazine served as the film’s inspiration. They were joined onstage by various members of the cast, including violence interrupters Ameena Matthews and Cobe Williams.
 
The film follows the Interrupters as they attempt to obstruct violence in their own Chicago communities. While this task is a challenging and dangerous one to perform, James said that it also serves as an opportunity.
 
“For many of these guys, it’s really their second chance,” said James. “To be honest, most of them have major felonies in their background, so it’s really tough for them to find work. For many of them, this is their life. Some of the Interrupters have been there for five or six years. There’s no question that there’s an immense amount of pressure on these guys. At their Wednesday meetings, there’s a group therapy that takes place where everyone reaches out and helps each other.”
 

Asghar Farhadi. Photo credit: Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com

One of the great surprises of the night was the in-person acceptance speech of Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, whose acclaimed drama, “A Separation,” was named Best Foreign Film. It’s one of many prizes recently garnered by Farhadi’s film, which is currently the front-runner for the Academy Award. The filmmaker said he was surprised by how well-received the picture had been in America, and thought that its Farsi dialogue and plot complexity would make it inaccessible.
 
“One thing that made me really happy was that the movie was not just viewed by festival people and critics,” said Farhadi. “It was viewed by ordinary people. Just a few nights ago, I was in a hotel in New York, and I started chatting with the usher. He started telling me about how much he liked this new Iranian movie that he just saw. He didn’t know I had directed it. That made me so happy. … The reception for this film has been similar throughout the world. This proves that the people of the world have a lot more in common than they think they do.”

[13]	By MATT FAGERHOLM [14] Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com matt@hollywoodchicago.com [13]