Tonight, a somewhat under-the-radar, anti-awards-show awards show takes place at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles: The 2011 Britannia Awards.
They’re different than your typical American kudosfest, largely because it’s the Brits — the Los Angeles wing of BAFTA, specifically — who’re handing them out. And they’re — gasp! — untelevised. Plus, the awards — which are more lifetime achievement in style — are predetermined. This year, Warren Beatty, John Lasseter, David Yates, Helena Bonham Carter, and Ben Stiller are being honored, and presenters include Robin Williams, Anne Hathaway, Helen Mirren, and Jason Isaacs.
And the master of ceremonies? An appropriately unconventional choice: Good Wife star Alan Cumming will be playing host. EW recently caught up with him to talk about why he wanted to host, his style, and why we should care about these awards at all.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What made you want to host the Britannia Awards?
ALAN CUMMING: I’ve done it before — maybe about 10 years ago I did it twice. It’s always been a good laugh, and it’s kind of gotten bigger over the years, as these things tend to do. It’s just a nice thing to do. It’s a link to both my homes, Britain and America. I hosted the year the Stanley Kubrick Award was inaugurated, and his wife came. I’ve got a lot of connections to it. A lot of people I know from when I first came to America to live in L.A. They were members of BAFTA Los Angeles, so keeping it in the family.
