Olivia Wilde to Be Honored by Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (Exclusive)

In recognition of her directorial debut Booksmart, GALECA: the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, revealed Tuesday that Olivia Wilde will receive the “Wilde Artist of the Year” honor for 2019. 

“Olivia’s inventive direction of Booksmart, with its vivid, heartbreaking and humanly funny depiction of teen lives — be they straight or gay — makes the movie a much-needed enlightened update to even the most beloved genre classics,” said GALECA executive director John Griffiths in a statement. In correspondence with The Hollywood Reporter, he clarified that the matching of Wilde’s name to the honor title is “a mere and happy coincidence.” 

Griffiths continued, “As an organization whose awards go to all of film and TV, not only LGBTQ-centric, we love how Olivia’s dedication to keeping all of Booksmart‘s characters’ emotions so affectingly real — amid the movie’s fresh and layered plot, no less — practically leaps off the screen. She’s too smart to ever let the cast — a diverse group that reflects actual high school campus experience for a change — slip into stereotypes.”

Added GALECA president Diane Anderson-Minshall, “We’re thrilled to be able to raise a glass to the woman who directed one of the year’s best-reviewed films.”

GALECA highlighted Wilde’s acting roles in Sarah Daggar-Nickson’s independent film A Vigilante and Spike Jonze’s Her, as well as her involvement in social and educational activism, in addition to her work on Booksmart. 

Comprising entertainment journalists, GALECA is a nonprofit that sponsors the Dorian Awards honoring the best work in film and on television. Nominations across all 27 categories will be revealed Jan 3, 2020.  

Meanwhile, a tribute to Wilde is set for Feb. 2 at the 11th annual Dorian Award Winners Toast.

Previous winners of the Dorian Award for Wilde Artist of the Year include Jordan Peele, Todd Haynes, Kate McKinnon, Jill Soloway and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Last year, Ryan Murphy received the honor. 

Last week, Wilde guest-edited THR‘s Women in Entertainment issue highlighting the Power 100 list and leading female executives.

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