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To the Peloton instructor who criticized a Christopher Nolan<\/strong> movie during a recent class: You might want to check the leaderboard before weighing in next time.<\/p>\n Onstage at the New York Film Critics Circle dinner in Manhattan Wednesday night, where Nolan accepted the best-director prize for Oppenheimer,<\/em> the filmmaker put his own spin on the adage that everyone\u2019s a critic. \u201cI was on my Peloton doing some high-interval gasping, some shit,\u201d he started, vaguely but accurately describing the sensation of being mid-workout. \u201cThe instructor started talking about one of my films, saying, \u2018That\u2019s a couple of hours of my life I\u2019ll never get back.\u2019\u201d After a pause for laughs, Nolan expressed his gratitude for actual movie critics: \u201cWhen Rex Reed<\/strong> takes a shit on your film, he doesn\u2019t ask you to work out more with him.\u201d<\/p>\n Untelevised and with the winners announced a month in advance<\/a>, the NYFCC dinner is a loose, lower pressure opportunity for the year\u2019s biggest contenders to step onstage just days into the New Year. Many of Wednesday night\u2019s winners, Nolan included, are likely to have repeat victories<\/a> at the Golden Globes on Sunday. But televised awards shows have infamous countdown clocks, and a lot of pressure to give a good sound bite. At the NYFCC dinner, meanwhile, speeches ran long, introductions were heartfelt\u2014and according to NYFCC chair Matt Singer,<\/strong> the whole thing wrapped up 15 minutes early anyway.<\/p>\n It\u2019s traditional for each of the night\u2019s honorees to be introduced by another high-profile figure in the film world, making room for some surprising stories that might never otherwise make it to an awards show stage. Richard Jenkins<\/strong> was on hand to introduce The Holdovers<\/em> star Da\u2019Vine Joy Randolph,<\/strong> the night\u2019s best-supporting-actress winner, and revealed that after they\u2019d worked together on one film, he specifically requested her for a role in his next one. (They both appear in the 2020 films Kajillionaire<\/em> and The Last Shift,<\/em> though nobody specified which came first.) \u201cWe actors have a way of seeking out greatness in other actors,\u201d Jenkins said onstage. \u201cIt\u2019s called jealousy.\u201d<\/p>\n Supporting-actor winner Charles Melton<\/strong> was seated at the Netflix table next to the actor who introduced him, Lucas Hedges,<\/strong> who recalled meeting the May December<\/em> star over karaoke years ago. \u201cLike Todd Haynes<\/strong> [the director of May December<\/em>], I had no idea what to do with how good looking he was,\u201d Hedges said. Praising Melton\u2019s charisma and talent\u2014the former Riverdale<\/em> star\u2019s karaoke song was \u201cHalo,\u201d an incredible flex\u2014Hedges added a warning: \u201cNow, if anyone knows anything about stardom or being a successful actor, everything I just said about Melton is as much a red flag as it is beautiful. Melton could so easily be a monster. But this is not who he is. I can say this with certainty: Melton deserves his light.\u201d<\/p>\n Experiencing his first awards season, Melton was effusive in his enthusiasm for his fellow winners and many presenters too. He shouted out Paul Dano,<\/strong> in the room to present Justine Triet<\/strong> with the best-international-feature prize for Anatomy of a Fall,<\/em> as an inspiration to him as a young actor. After Dano\u2019s own moment onstage, he flagged down Melton, and the two shared a hug in a corner of the room, talking animatedly for a few minutes before returning to their tables.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n