The 2024 awards season is in full swing, with the Critics Choice Awards ceremony underway right now.
For the second year in a row, the ceremony is hosted by comedian and television host, Chelsea Handler, who promised nominees have “nothing to worry about”.
“We’ve all been through enough this year so I won’t put you through any more,” Handler said, opening her monologue. “Think of me as your 5th time doula, there is a party inside of you and I’m here to help you birth it.”
Barbie is leading the film nominations this year with a huge 18 nods, closely followed by Oppenheimer and Poor Things each receiving 13 nods.
IN PHOTOS: Best celebrity red carpet looks at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards
READ MORE: All the 2024 Critics Choice Awards nominations
9honey Celebrity is bringing you all the big moments and highlights as they happen – from the dirty joke that left Margot Robbie in stitches to Meg Ryan’s return to the stage. All times in AEDT.
Watch the 29th Annual Critics Choice Awards live and on demand, exclusively on Stan.
12:47pm: Harrison Ford accepts the Lifetime Achievement award
The Indiana Jones actor took to the stage and accepts the coveted Lifetime Achievement award.
“I’m really happy to be here tonight to see what our business is turning into,” said Ford, accepting his trophy. “I’m here because of a combination of luck and the work of wonderful directors writers filmmakers.
“I feel enormously lucky and happy for this honour and I appreciate it very much.”
He took the time to thank his wife of 14 years Calista Flockhart, for supporting him “when I need a lot of support and I need a lot of support.”
He continued: “I’m grateful to all the fine actors, I see many of them here tonight that I’ve worked with, I’m deeply happy to have had the opportunities that I’ve had and I’m grateful, I won’t take anymore of your time, thank you.”
12:32pm: Meg Ryan presents award for Best Acting Ensemble
’90s icons Meg Ryan and David Duchovny took to the stage to present the award for Best Acting Ensemble.
Ryan, who rarely makes an appearance at awards shows, announced Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer as the winner of the award.
The actress has recently made her comeback to Hollywood with her new rom com What Happens Later, which she directs and stars in, alongside Duchovny.
“I took a giant break because I felt like there’s just so many other parts of my experience as a human being I wanted to develop,” she said in October 2023, explaining why she decided to take a break from acting at the peak of her career.
“It’s nice to think of it as a job and not a lifestyle. And that is a great way of navigating it for me.”
Paul Giamatti at In ‘N’ Out burger after winning Golden Globe
12:05pm: Margot Robbie presents America Ferrera with the SeeHer award
America Ferrara was honoured with the 8th annual SeeHer award, representing a global movement dedicated to the accurate portrayal of women and girls in entertainment.
Her Barbie co-star, Margot Robbie took to the stage to present Ferrera with the honour.
“America is both my co-star and my friend so I feel extremely qualified to tell you she is authentic in everything she does,” said Robbie. “On screen she plays characters that defy stereotypes, push boundaries and inspire the next generation to see themselves as they are.
“Off screen she is remarkably grounded, surprisingly silly, seemingly unaffected by the talent she possesses and always, always on the right side of a cause.”
Ferrera gave a moving speech when accepting her award, explaining how growing up she, “yearned to see people like myself on screen as full humans.”
“It seemed impossible that anyone could make a career portraying fully dimensional Latina characters,” she said. “But because of writers, directors, producers and executives who were daring enough to rewrite outdated stories and to challenge deeply entrenched biases, I and some of my beloved Latina colleagues have been supremely blessed to bring to life some fierce and fantastic women.”
She also honoured her fellow Barbie Crew and cast, thanking Greta Gerwig for the opportunity to play the role of Gloria.
She closed out her speech by saying, “Unabashedly telling female stories does not diminish your power, it expands them.”
1:30am: Elizabeth Debicki wins Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
The Aussie actress took out the top gong for Best Supporting actress for her role as Princess Diana in The Crown for the second time, after winning the award at the Golden Globes last week.
”Thank you I truly did not expect this,” she said, accepting her trophy. “This role has been an incredible gift to me it has been an incredible challenge, a terrifying challenge and I will always be grateful for it.
“My only hope for it really, is that I would do this remarkable women, this incredible glorious woman proud by playing her in this show.”
She also gave a shoutout to her co-star Khalid Abdalla who plays Dodi in The Crown: “If I did anything good in this show, you are half of it and you held me through it… you are a dear friend and I love you. ”
11am: Chelsea Handler deems Margot Robbie ‘Dirty Barbie’
Chelsea Handler left Margot Robbie red in the face with a joke about her production company’s new film starring fellow Aussie Jacob Elordi.
Watch the video above.
Talking about how 2023 was not only the “year of women” but also “the year that everyone was horny”, Handler highlighted some of the controversial scenes in the film Saltburn.
“And Margot Robbie produced that film, which means you’re a Dirty Barbie and I like that,” she added, with cameras catching Robbie cracking up in her seat.
The comedian also took the opportunity to celebrate the many achievements of women in her monologue.
“This was a huge year for women, women were victorious in all venues, Barbie at the box office, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé on their tours, Gwyneth Paltrow at those ski trials… you could almost say it was the year of women.”
She went on to celebrate Greta Gerwig’s achievements as the highest grossing female director, ”Which can only mean one thing: Hollywood executives are currently debating if Greta is worth taking a second chance on.”
10:21am: The Aussies have arrived
Aussie stars Margot Robbie, Sarah Snook and Elizabeth Debicki have arrived!
At the Golden Globes last week, Barbie took out the the trophy for Outstanding Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, but star Margot Robbie missed out on the top gong for best actress.
Today, she gets a second chance at the win with her Critics Choice nomination for Best Actress in a Film.
Speaking with red carpet host Sam Rueben, Robbie said of Barbie’s record breaking 18-nominations: “It means so much, you know you really care what the critics think… its really nice in the instance of Barbie to know the general public loved it and the critics loved it, I feel like so rarely do movies meet in the middle like that.”
The superstar also made sure to give a nod to her fans back home. “I know I said I care what the critics thing but I care most what Australians think,” she said. “So I’m happy to know they’re watching right now.”
Also up for an award are Aussies Sarah Snook for Best Actress in a Drama Series and Elizabeth Debicki for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, for their roles in Succession and The Crown respectively.
9:58am: Harrison Ford on the red carpet
Harrison Ford is taking home the Lifetime Achievement Award tonight.
Speaking with red carpet host Sam Rueben, Ford said: “It all ends at a certain point, it’s a lifetime so there’s an end, but I’m grateful for the attention thank you.
“I’m grateful for the public support, I’m grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to make films that other people directed, that were other people’s ideas that have created the opportunities I’ve had for the career I’ve had,” he continued.
“But I’ve been around a longtime, I’m sure they know what Abraham Lincoln looks like too.”
9:43am: Preparations are underway
As the stars march down the red carpet, we’ve been given a sneaky glimpse of what they’ll be eating during this evening’s ceremony.
It seems the event is catered by Baja Fresh, with what looks like mini-charcuterie boxes awaiting the celebs.
Grapes, crackers, meats and a side of corn chips are all on the menu for tonight!
9:03am: Dominic Sessa wins Best Young Actor/Actress
Dominic Sessa has taken out the top gong for Best Young Actor/Actress.
He was nominated for his role as Angus in The Holdovers and was up against talent such as Ariana Greenblatt for her role in Barbie and Calah Lane for her role in Wonka.