Rotten Tomatoes™ Announces 2014 Golden Tomato Award Winners; Boyhood Wins for Best Reviewed Wide Release

Selma Wins Best Reviewed Film in Limited Release

Jane the Virgin Wins for Best Reviewed New TV Series

Rotten Tomatoes™, the most popular source of ratings and reviews from movie and television critics, today announced the recipients of the 16th  Annual Golden Tomato Awards—honoring the best-reviewed films and television series of 2014 according to professional critics (entire list follows). 

The Golden Tomato for the best-reviewed wide release of 2014 is presented to IFC Films' Boyhood, directed and written by Richard Linklater. According to the Tomatometer®, which measures the percentage of positive reviews from Rotten Tomatoes™ critics, Boyhood received a 98% Certified Fresh rating based on 253 reviews. Ava DuVernay's film Selma is presented the Golden Tomato Award for best-reviewed film in limited release. Selma received a 100% Certified Fresh rating based on a total of 76 reviews.

“I'm not going to try and play it cool. When I learned Selma had earned the Golden Tomato, I smiled. Now if I can just explain what the heck it is to my parents, this will truly be cause for celebration. Thanks to all.”

-Director Ava DuVernay, Selma (Best Reviewed Limited Release)

"As 'Hannibal' is, at its heart, a cooking show, it is a g-dash-d damned delight to be honored with the Golden Tomato, as rarefied a fruit as the Cannibal himself.‎"

-Writer/Executive Producer Bryan Fuller, Hannibal (Best Reviewed Returning TV Series)

“It was our dream to use these plastic bricks to inspire creativity and art-making among the masses and it means a lot that critics and audiences embraced both this film and its message. We will celebrate by wearing LEGO top hats, though in all honesty they aren't very comfortable.”

-Writers/Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, The LEGO Movie (Best Reviewed Animated Film)

"Holy s**t... way better than an Oscar! Thanks to everyone who enjoyed John Wick”

-Directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, John Wick (Best Reviewed Action/Adventure)

“The critical response to The Babadook on Rotten Tomatoes has been incredible. Having such a positive result has been a wonderful boost to our film, drawing in an audience worldwide that wouldn't have seen it otherwise. We are thrilled to be honoured with these awards. Thanks to all at RT!”

-Director Jennifer Kent, The Babadook (Best Reviewed Horror)

“It's an honor to accept the Golden Tomato on behalf of all the talented people who worked on the film. To be one of the best-reviewed films of the year is a testament to the long hours and commitment of all those involved. Thank you to the critics who helped make this happen, and to Rotten Tomatoes for such a meaningful award.”

                                     -Director Dan Gilroy​, Nightcrawler (Best Reviewed Thriller)

“The critics are very central to the conversation I have with both the audience and myself, so it's meaningful and inspiring when they respond to the work as personally as many have with Love Is Strange.”

-Director Ira Sachs, Love is Strange (Best Reviewed Romance)  

“This is such incredible news and I’m thrilled and surprised. This past year has been such a journey with this movie, and I’m deeply honored.”

-Director Damien Chazelle, Whiplash (Best Reviewed Musical/Performing Arts)

“When the film came out, seeing the Tomatometer go up every day gave me more pleasure than the solid box office averages. The Rotten Tomatoes number is all the more meaningful to me, because it was such a difficult process to release the director's cut of Snowpiercer. Like Tilda Swinton's strange and unique look in the film, I hope Snowpiercer too will always be remembered as a unique film.”

-Director Bong Joon-Ho, Snowpiercer (Best Reviewed Film Based on Comic

Book/Graphic Novel)

“I am delighted by the Golden Tomato news, and truly honoured that Starred Up is part of the 99% Club. It's a delight to receive so much praise universally, and probably a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. The film was a very positive experience to make—despite the tough subject matter—so it feels like a wonderfully positive end to that experience to be the Best Reviewed UK Film 2014, and to be both first
Fresh and now Golden!”

-Director David MacKenzie, Starred Up (Best Reviewed UK Film)

“This is incredible and I'm thrilled!  Thanks to the critics for saying nice things, and to Rotten Tomatoes! This is the culmination of things for me... tomatoes are my favorite food, a lifelong obsession.

-Creator/Showrunner Jennie Snyder Urman, Jane the Virgin (Best Reviewed New Series,

Best Reviewed Comedy Series)

Rotten Tomatoes™ Editor-in-Chief Matt Atchity comments, "2014 is, in many of these categories, a year for independents. Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is a unique, inspired work of art that was twelve years in the making. Selma proves that Ava DuVernay is filmmaker to watch, as predicted by the late Roger Ebert in another of this years' winning films, Life Itself. In the television categories, we have some interesting picks from the critics, including Jane the Virgin and Fargo. We encourage movie and TV fans whom have not yet seen the distinguished films and series on this list to seek them out."

The Golden Tomato winners for 2014 are:

Principal Awards

Best Reviewed Film in Wide Release:  Boyhood 

Best Reviewed Film in Limited Release:  Selma 

Best Reviewed New TV Series: Jane the Virgin Season One

Best Reviewed Returning TV Series:  Hannibal Season Two
 
Film Category Awards

Best Reviewed Action/Adventure Film:  John Wick

Best Reviewed Animated Film: The LEGO Movie

Best Reviewed Comedy Film: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Reviewed Comic Book/Graphic Novel Film: Snowpiercer

Best Reviewed Documentary Film: Life Itself

Best Reviewed Drama Film: Boyhood

Best Reviewed Foreign Language Film: Gloria

Best Reviewed Horror Film: The Babadook

Best Reviewed Kids/Family Film: Muppets Most Wanted

Best Reviewed Musical/Performing Arts Film: Whiplash

Best Reviewed Romance Film: Love Is Strange

Best Reviewed Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Best Reviewed Thriller Film: Nightcrawler

Best Reviewed UK Film: Starred Up

Best Reviewed AU Film: The Babadook

TV Category Awards

Best Reviewed Comedy Series: Jane the Virgin Season One

Best Reviewed Drama Series: The Good Wife Season Six

Best Reviewed Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Series: Hannibal Season Two

Best Reviewed TV Movie or Mini-Series: Fargo Season One

Media Contact for Rotten Tomatoes™:

Aaron Henry

Tel. 310.245.8218

aaron.henry@flixster-inc.com

About Rotten Tomatoes™


As the leading source of ratings and reviews from top entertainment critics, Rotten Tomatoes (www.RottenTomatoes.com) offers the most comprehensive guide to movies and television shows. Rotten Tomatoes has more than 30 million unique visitors every month across web and mobile, and features more than 2.5 billion user reviews and ratings. It is also the number one movies Twitter handle, with more than 1 million Twitter followers. Rotten Tomatoes is embedded in the Flixster Movies app, which has more than 70 million mobile installs and is the most popular app among movie fans on Facebook. The Tomatometer™ rating – based on the published opinions of hundreds of film and television critics – is a trusted measurement of movie and TV programming quality for millions of moviegoers. Rotten Tomatoes Radio, hosted by Editor-in-Chief Matt Atchity, Senior Editor Grae Drake and the Rotten Tomatoes editorial team – with frequent celebrity guests – airs live on SiriusXM Indie Channel 104 Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4 pm PT/ 7pm ET; with rebroadcasts Fridays at 3 am PT/ 6am ET & 4pm PT/ 7pm ET and Saturdays at 5am PT/ 8 am ET & 1 pm PT/ 4pm ET.

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