Amy Madigan reunites with 'Field of Dreams' daughter at NYFCC Awards

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Read moreAmy Madigan won the New York Film Critics Circle Supporting Actress award for the horror thriller "Weapons" and hinted at a planned prequel focused on her Aunt Gladys character, while also preparing for the upcoming Golden Globes and reflecting on her long‑standing Academy involvement.

NEW YORK — She can make your parents eat each other if she wants to.

But for now, Aunt Gladys will just have to settle for her very own prequel movie. After the eye-popping success of horror thriller "Weapons" last summer, writer-director Zach Cregger announced that he's planning a follow-up centered on Amy Madigan's wig-snatching, child-catching villain.

Madigan, for her part, is staying tight-lipped about Gladys' sorcerous new outing.

"We talk, but I can't really say too much about it," she tells USA TODAY at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 6. "I mean, if it happens, that would be great, but I don't really know what's going on. I'm not lying to you!"

In the meantime, Madigan is just trying to soak in all the love that she’s been getting for "Weapons," earning a one-two punch of NYFCC and Critics Choice awards this week alone. She'll next compete for best supporting actress at the Golden Globes on Jan. 11.

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"I'm surprised by all of this, but it's very special when people recognize your work," says Madigan, 75, who's attempting to stay centered amid the constant travel and events that awards season demands.

"It's hard!" she acknowledges. "But you get to know the other people from the other films. I'm getting to know the people from 'One Battle After Another.' Benicio (del Toro) and I are friends from the old days, and so in that sense, it's been nice. But you know, hair and makeup and all that stuff ‒ I'm not used to that! Imagine if you had to do that every day?"

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Madigan is not one for New Year’s resolutions, instead preferring to "just get into whatever's going to happen next," she says. That includes voting for the Oscars ‒ a job she takes very seriously.

"I'm a member of the Academy, so I try to see as many films as I can," says Madigan, who was last Oscar-nominated for "Twice in a Lifetime" in 1986. Recently, "I really liked 'Sentimental Value.' And I love Rose Byrne in 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.' It's an extraordinary performance."

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Byrne was one of the big winners at the annual NYFCC Awards, where guests dined on orange chicken and vegetable pad Thai at Tao Downtown restaurant. In her speech, the comedy queen hilariously thanked her husband, Bobby Cannavale, "who consistently gets better reviews than me and generates love on the street like he's Zohran Mamdani."

"The Secret Agent" star Wagner Moura paid tribute to his wife and the country of Brazil as he accepted the best actor prize, later going viral as he posed for pictures with Lupita Nyong'o and a specialty cocktail named in his honor: The Wagner Moura-tini.

Accepting best picture for "One Battle After Another," filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson sweetly honored the film's young star, Chase Infiniti. "I started writing this movie before she was born," he said at the podium. "I can't help but feel like I was waiting for her."

But the highlight of the 3 1/2-hour ceremony was Gaby Hoffmann, who was there to present Madigan with the supporting actress trophy. Hoffmann played Madigan's onscreen daughter Karin in 1989's "Field of Dreams," and also appeared with her that same year in John Candy comedy "Uncle Buck."

"I was 7 years old when I last saw Amy," Hoffmann said on stage. "I'll be 44 in a couple of days ‒ that was 36 years ago now. But I have thought a lot about Amy over the years, probably more so than anybody else that I met as a kid making movies."

Holding back tears, the actress reflected on Madigan's "warmth," "laughter," "presence" and "giant, beautiful heart": "I was a little girl and you were the ultimate mommy."

She also earned laughs as she recounted watching "Field of Dreams" for the first time in three decades.

"Oh, my God, it's so good!" Hoffmann exclaimed. "This is a movie about hippie, stoner, back-to-the-landers ‒ this is a movie about me! Not dumb, horny men! I also realized this isn't a movie about baseball. It's a movie about dreams ... and putting Amy Madigan at the center of your dream is a pretty damn smart move, because it seems to me that she can't help but share her full self with us."