Sure, the inaugural People Magazine Awards, which took place on Thursday evening at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles and was televised nationally on NBC, was a blatant “pseudoevent,” in the sense that it only existed as an excuse to generate attention for those associated with it. The most prominent Oscar hopeful in the room was fan favorite Jennifer Aniston, the former Friends star-turned-serious dramatic actress, whose performance as a woman suffering from chronic pain in the indie Cake — for which she has already been recognized with best actress SAG, Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice noms — was celebrated with the Movie Performance of the Year Award by an Actress.
