The top moments at Palm Springs Film Awards, from Ariana Grande to Nicole Kidman

PALM SPRINGS, California − The Palm Springs International Film Society Film Awards is always full of glamorous outfits, gracious speeches and prolific moments.

But this year, some f-bombs and some playful jabs kept the crowd extra-entertained.

The awards ceremony, which took place Friday at the Palm Springs Convention Center, is the most star-studded of the Palm Springs International Film Festival's various events, and this year, eight actors, two directors and two casts were recognized for their cinematic achievements in 2024.

From the emotional to the humorous, here are the most memorable moments.

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Sharon Stone described Kieran Culkin's trajectory from child actor to TV and movie star as 'extraordinary'

Before Sharon Stone presented "A Real Pain" actor Kieran Culkin with the breakthrough performance award, she spoke of the difficulty child actors face in the industry and how "rare" it is for them to come out intact. She said Culkin, who, alongside his older brother, Macaulay, began his career as a child actor, is an "exception."

"It is such an extraordinary pleasure to be here tonight to celebrate this actor whose career has been nothing short of extraordinary," Stone said. "He didn't just survive as you have all witnessed, he excelled. He remained sane, sweet and funny as hell, all while building a body of work that is impressive as it is diverse."

Stone and Culkin appeared together in the 1998 film "The Mighty," which Culkin mentioned during his speech and included her in the list of actors and actresses who played his "film parents" as a child actor. He also quipped about receiving a "breakthrough award" at this point in his career.

"I've been doing this a long time. It's weird to be here, to have been doing this for 36 years − (I guess it) took time to get my breakthrough," Culkin said.

Timothée Chalamet makes playful dig at Jake Gyllenhaal while presenting a Palm Springs Film Award

Timothée Chalamet has been in director Denis Villeneuve's recent acclaimed films, and on Friday night, he made sure a fellow actor didn't forget it.

While presenting the "Dune: Part One" and "Dune: Part Two" director with the Sonny Bono Visionary Award, Chalamet made a playful jab at Jake Gyllenhaal, noting that he's sorry to his elder colleague who's also been in several Villeneuve films, but unfortunately, they were the director's "earlier, smaller" films "Prisoners" and "Enemy."

Chalamet was in good spirits Friday, even making a joke about how the description of the movie "Arrival" that he read off earlier in his speech was completely wrong, but he just wanted to "make sure everyone's paying attention." (He then thanked co-presenter Amy Adams for being one of the only people who noticed − probably because she starred in it.)

Colman Domingo thanked his mom and reminded that 'art saves lives'

Colman Domingo delivered an emotional speech after Demi Moore presented him with the spotlight actor award for his work in "Sing Sing."

Domingo got teary as he told a story about his late mother − who he called his "best friend" − encouraging his imaginative spirit as a child, despite how much it worried his teachers.

He encouraged young people to lean into that part of themselves, despite what others might say, and ended his speech by talking about how "art saves lives" and how it "might just be the parachute that saves us all."

Ariana Grande credits 'Botox and Juvéderm' with her rising star award

"American Pie" and "White Lotus" actress Jennifer Coolidge presented Ariana Grande with the rising star award for her performance in "Wicked" and questioned why, of all awards, this is the honor the film society chose to bestow upon Grande.

"Hasn't Ariana Grande already risen?" Coolidge said. "The girl's barely 30 and it feels like she's been famous since the Eisenhower administration."

She went on to joke that she has a theory that Grande is actually a really old person, "maybe 90, who knows," but she just has great skin.

Grande picked up the joke during her own speech, when she said it was an honor to still be a rising star at 31.

"I want to start by thanking my good friends Botox and Juvéderm," she said. "I thought I'd be a slightly withering star by now."

Jamie Lee Curtis profanely told a rowdy table to 'shut up'

When Jamie Lee Curtis took the podium to present Nicole Kidman with the international star award for her performance in "Babygirl," a table near the front was being particularly loud. She asked the rowdy attendees, "What table number are you?" and later replied, "Shut the (expletive) up, table 108!"

Curtis dropped another f-bomb when describing her friend and "Scarpetta" co-star Kidman as "brave as (expletive)" for exposing complications of "meaningful sexuality, marriage, motherhood, power and vulnerability" with her performance in "Babygirl."

"The extraordinary and vastly diverse work stands and speaks for itself in perpetuity and has certainly created the emotional stepping stones to this moment here in Palm Springs," Curtis said.

Nicole Kidman cried and dedicated her speech to her late mother

Christmas wasn't the same for Nicole Kidman after losing her mother.

"I’ve lost both my parents (now), so I’m in that place of, 'Huh this is different,' but they’ve given me the resilience and the love and the strength to keep moving forward," she told the crowd.

She thanked "Babygirl" director Halina Reijn for fearlessly making a movie about sex and desire that revolves around a woman in her 50s, but mostly, she just wanted to talk about her mom.

"Thank you for giving me the chance to say this is for my mom. My whole career has been for my mom and my dad, and they’re not here now, but I still want to keep making and giving to the world."

The crowd erupted in a supportive applause for Kidman after she apologized for crying.

"I feel my momma right now," she said. "This is for you, Momma."

Nicole Kidman cries onstage: 'Babygirl' star tearfully dedicates her Palm Springs Film Award to late mom

Adrien Brody described his hotel as both a 'lovely place' and an 'exotic animal petting zoo'

"The Brutalist" actor Adrien Brody described the luxury Parker Palm Springs hotel as a "lovely place" after receiving the Desert Palm Achievement Award from fellow actor Andrew Garfield.

"There were all these famous people there that I recognized and didn't know," he said of his experience earlier that day at the famed hotel where most of the celebrity attendees stay.

"I was tempted to approach them, but I didn't want to interrupt ... it felt like it was an exotic animal petting zoo on those grounds. You know what I mean? It was like, 'You don't approach that one who's been known to get aggressive. If you look to the right, you might see this one.' It was really very interesting," Brody said.

Contributing: Niki Kottmann and Shad Powers

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Biggest celebrity moments at the 2025 Palm Springs Film Awards