Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards

Hamilton and Los Angeles Confidential celebrate the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards.

December 10, 2012

As we fête Hamilton’s 120th anniversary, we take a look back at the significant role the iconic watch brand has played in the film industry. Although Hamilton began in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1892, it made its Hollywood debut in 1951 in The Frogmen, and since then several of the brand’s beautiful watches have appeared in more than 400 films, including the recent blockbuster Men in Black 3. Los Angeles Confidential partnered with Hamilton for the 6th annual Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards, where we honored Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes elite at the House of Blues in West Hollywood.

Before the event, Hamilton’s CEO Sylvain Dolla mingled with presenters like Lisa Bonet and Ben Lyons in the House of Blues’ green room, where guests were able to enjoy Ketel One cocktails, wine by Beaulieu beer by Stone Brewing Co., and canapés like popcorn shrimp and crab cakes. “Both watchmaking and filmmaking take skill, patience, vision, and commitment,” noted Dolla.

During the ceremony, Ewan McGregor, Mena Suvari, Harrison Ford, Brent Ratner, and other stars graced the stage to present well-deserved awards to Hollywood creatives like actress/screenwriter Zoe Kazan and Benh Zeitlin, who directed Beasts of the Southern Wild, as Chris Harrison emceed the evening. “I think the Hamilton Behind the Camera Award is really important because so many times, as an actor, we sort of take all the glory, but it takes a village,” said presenter Garcelle Beauvais. “We can’t do it alone.” “Many times we honor the headliners of projects, and we don’t really acknowledge a lot of the crew that goes into making a project,” echoed presenter Mena Suvari.

Each award, designed by Shlomi Haziza, of H Studio and modeled after Hamilton’s signature Ventura watch, was brought to the stage by Alex Frnka, one of the stars of MTV’s new comedy, The Inbetweeners. “Hundreds, hundreds, and hundreds of people are involved in making a film, and so to have them all honored, is of course right because everybody is involved in what we see on the screen at the end of the day,” said presenter Ewan McGregor before honoring Belén Atienza with the award for Producer for the film The Impossible they both worked on. Noting how special the Hamilton Behind The Camera Awards are for those in the industry, honoree Andrew M. Siegel explained to the audience: “Property masters aren’t eligible for Oscars, Emmys, or Golden Globes, so on behalf of all us prop guys and gals, thank you, Hamilton, for recognizing that props are an important part of the film-making process.”

Hamilton’s Murielle Raveloson later commented on the watch brand’s commitment to highlighting those behind-the-scenes: “We realize that a lot of prop masters have placed Hamilton in their movies throughout the years; we have to do something to give back to the Hollywood community.”

Following the awards presentation, guests enjoyed creative Southern cuisine like truffle mac ‘n’ cheese with rosemary panko crust, aged goat and cheddar cheese buttermilk biscuits, and red velvet waffles by chef Sean Dent while DJ Benjamin Walker spun tunes after which celeb guests were chauffeured home by Quintessentially Driven.

During his presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Film Editing to Michael Kahn, Harrison Ford, who has worked with Kahn on numerous projects throughout his career, including all of the Indiana Jones films, said: “The last thing an editor wants to see in an editing room is an actor, which makes tonight actually so special because we all have a chance—I have a chance—to applaud Michael.”


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