Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker (Jonathan Olley / Summit Entertainment)
The National Board of Review, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Screen Actors Guild, and critics from Los Angeles, Boston, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Indiana, Dallas-Ft. Worth, and Las Vegas, among others, have already announced their lists of 2009 winners and/or nominees. But that's not all, folks. Several more critics' groups are expected to announce their year-end winners or nominees in the next couple of weeks.
Among those are: Detroit critics' winners, London nominations, Chicago winners, St. Louis winners, Florida winners, Houston winners, and nominations from the Online Society of Film Critics. Plus results from Utah, Phoenix, Central Ohio, and Oklahoma critics' groups.
Expect to hear of more honors going to the same five or six films and the same five or six performances: The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, George Clooney in Up in the Air, Colin Firth in A Single Man, Carey Mulligan in An Education, Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia, Mo'Nique in Precious, Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds.
Expect either Up or Fantastic Mr. Fox to win more best animated feature awards. Expect The Cove to get more accolades as best documentary. Expect Sin Nombre or Summer Hours to be named — once again — best foreign language film. And expect Quentin Tarantino (for Inglourious Basterds) or Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (for Up in the Air) to be named best screenwriter(s) of 2009.
Expect also a few (always welcome) off-the-wall surprises as well. Michelle Pfeiffer for Chéri? Paul Schneider for Bright Star? Olivia Williams for An Education? Charlotte Gainsbourg for Antichrist?
Hell, Lars von Trier for Antichrist?
Dec. 18 – Detroit (winners)
Dec. 19 – Houston (winners)
Dec. 20 – Satellite Awards (winners)
Dec. 21 – London (noms)
Dec. 21 – Chicago (winners)
Dec. 21 – St. Louis (winners)
Dec. 21 – Florida (winners)
Dec. 31 – Online Film Critics (noms)