Great Performances Presents Movies for Grownups® Awards with AARP The Magazine Premiering Sunday, January 19 on PBS
Hosted by Tony Danza and featuring appearances by Alan Alda, Pedro Almodóvar, Noah Baumbach, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Billy Crudup, Jamie Lee Curtis, Robert De Niro, Don Johnson, Rian Johnson, Harvey Keitel, Emma Koskoff, Diane Ladd, Kasi Lemmons, Juliette Lewis, Tzi Ma, Maria Muldaur, Conan O’Brien, Linda Ronstadt, Adam Sandler, Martin Scorsese, Zhao Shuzhen, Lulu Wang, Finn Wittrock, Khari Wyatt, Renée Zellweger, and more
Hosted by iconic stage and screen performer Tony Danza, Great Performances: Movies for Grownups® Awards with AARP The Magazine premieres nationwide Sunday, January 19 at 6 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and will be available to stream the following day on pbs.org/moviesforgrownups and the PBS Video app. This is the third consecutive year the awards will be broadcast on PBS in a co-production with Great Performances and AARP Studios. For nearly two decades, AARP’s Movies for Grownups program has championed movies for grownups, by grownups, by advocating for the 50-plus audience, fighting industry ageism, and encouraging films that resonate with older viewers.
“Great Performances spotlights a variety of high-quality performances from around the world,” said series Executive Producer David Horn. “We’re happy to also celebrate the art of cinema and the artists who create it with our audience.”
The star-studded awards ceremony includes a tribute to Career Achievement Award honoree Annette Bening, who spoke of shared purpose, vulnerability and camaraderie in filmmaking after the award was presented to her by “20th Century Women” co-star Billy Crudup.
Other highlights of the evening include Diane Ladd presenting the Best Supporting Actress award to daughter Laura Dern for her performance in “Marriage Story,” returning a gesture Dern gave to Ladd at the Movies for Grownups Awards four years ago; Conan O’Brien teasing Adam Sandler as the “desperate” Best Actor awardee descended on the stage before O’Brien could finish talking up Sandler’s performance in “Uncut Gems;” and Finn Wittrock presenting the Best Actress award to Renée Zellweger for “Judy,” 80 years after Judy Garland starred in “The Wizard of Oz.” The broadcast also features the awards for Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Ensemble, Best Documentary, and more. The awards were filmed on Saturday, January 11 at the Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, California.
“The Movies for Grownups Awards bestow recognition on the outstanding performances of experienced talent and on the year’s best films that resonate with a mature audience,” said Heather Nawrocki, AARP Vice President and Director of Movies for Grownups. “We are thrilled to once again work with Great Performances and bring this showcase of talent to the PBS audience.”
Throughout its more than 40-year history on public television, Great Performances has provided viewers across the country with an unparalleled showcase of the best in all genres of the performing arts, serving as America’s most prestigious and enduring broadcaster of cultural programming. Select episodes of the series are available for streaming simultaneously on all station-branded PBS platforms, including PBS.org and the PBS Video app, which is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Chromecast.
Great Performances is produced by THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET. Mitch Owgang is producer and Bill O’Donnell is series producer; David Horn is executive producer.
With weekly news and reviews, a nationwide movie screening series and an annual awards event, AARP champions movies for grownups, by grownups. For more information go to www.aarp.org/moviesforgrownups.
Major corporate funding for Great Performances: Movies for Grownups Awards with AARP The Magazine is provided by Consumer Cellular, with additional funding from RR Donnelley. Major funding for Great Performances is provided by The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Arts Fund, the LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Seton J. Melvin, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, The Starr Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold, the Philip and Janice Levin Foundation, and the Thea Petschek Iervolino Foundation.
About AARP The Magazine’s Movies For Grownups® Awards’ Philanthropic Goals
The annual Movies for Grownups® Awards raises funds for AARP Foundation, AARP’s affiliated charity, which helps vulnerable older adults around the country transform their lives through programs, services and vigorous legal advocacy. AARP Foundation works to increase economic opportunity and social connections to prevent and reduce senior poverty.
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