The BFCA voters usually get it right, e.g., The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, Sean Penn for Milk, Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight, The Departed, Helen Mirren for The Queen. At times, the Oscars take a weird turn and the BFCA gets it wrong, e.g., Brokeback Mountain in 2005, Kate Winslet’s unexpected Best Actress – instead of Best Supporting Actress – Oscar nomination (and eventual win) for The Reader in 2008.
When not presaging the Oscars, the BFCA voters have usually gone for the most famous name in any particular category (Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls, Quentin Tarantino’s screenplay for Inglourious Basterds, Bruce Springsteen’s song for The Wrestler, etc.)
And then there are the ties: Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep last year; Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway the previous year; Amy Adams and Michelle Williams in 2005.
After all, much like the Golden Globes, the Critics’ Choice Awards are all about who will come to the (televised) party. The Globes, for instance, have all those drama and comedy/musical categories in both film and television, which result in dozens of stars being nominated each year. The Critics’ Choice Awards, for their part, have been listing ten Best Picture nominees, six nominees in the directing, and in each of the acting and screenwriting categories – but, ahem, a mere three nominees in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Yet, no less than six movies are in the running for Best Comedy and five for Best Action Movie. The Broadcast Film Critics Association clearly knows their audience.
The Best Documentary will likely be Davis Guggenheim’s much talked about Waiting for ‘Superman’ (though I believe the Oscar will go to Inside Job). Best Song: “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me Yet” from Burlesque. It may not win the Oscar; in fact, it may not even be nominated (though you never can tell), but Cher sings it and Diane Warren wrote it. If Joan Rivers can’t go up on stage to pick up the Best Documentary Award for Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work and do a one-woman show while in possession of the microphone, then Cher would be the Critics’ Choice Awards’ next best thing.
Now, I’m at a loss to explain the six nominees for Best Documentary. So, let me sidestep that thorny category. But then again, one has Joan Rivers in the title; another has ‘Superman’…
Ever wonder how those zero-gravity Inception scenes were shot? According to Christopher Nolan, it was all very simple. At The Film Experience, Nathaniel Rogers quotes part of Nolan’s acceptance speech after Inception won the award for Best Action Movie: “And I’d also very much like to single out Joseph Gordon-Levitt for letting us hang him from his toes for three weeks to make all the action scenes in zero gravity.” So, there you go.
The Kardashian sisters presented the Best Documentary Award. Whether or not that was supposed to be intentionally humorous, who can tell? Davis Guggenheim’s Waiting for ‘Superman’ won. “Every kid in America can learn,” Guggenheim was quoted as saying to the Critics’ Choice Awards audience at the Hollywood Palladium. Only in America!
The Best Made for Television Movie was The Pacific. (We’d predicted Temple Grandin, but we got Waiting for ‘Superman’ right.)
Joan Rivers and Sarah Silverman presented the Best Comedy Award to Easy A. An Emma Stone / Nathaniel Hawthorne combo just had to win. Now, everyone, go check the Lillian Gish version directed by Victor Sjöström – a silent film released in 1926. It is good, I kid you not. In fact, it’s much more thought-provoking than Inception!
Another one we got right: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as Best Foreign Language Film. What else could you expect? It made twice as much money as I Am Love. (Biutiful opens later this month, just in case it gets an Oscar nod in the Best Foreign Language Film category.)
“I invented not speaking English correctly,” former action star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told the crowd at the Hollywood Palladium at the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s 2011 Critics’ Choice Awards. Samuel Goldwyn – e.g., “Bring on the empty horses!” – must be rolling in his grave. Goldwyn made better movies, too.
David O. Russell’s The Fighter has won for Best Ensemble. There goes Alt Film Guide’s prediction for The Kids Are All Right and consolation prizes given to Annette Bening. The Fighter‘s cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Christian Bale, and Melissa Leo. Additionally, True Grit‘s Hailee Steinfeld was voted Best Newcomer, a category our Alt Film Guide Critics Choice soothsayer strangely ignored.
Schwarzenegger quote via The Film Experience.
Quentin Tarantino, whose career began in 1992 – that means less than two decades ago – received a career homage at the 2011 Critics’ Choice Awards. Tarantino fans are thrilled. Those of us who aren’t probably wish they’d homage’d someone like Sidney Lumet instead.
Via Nathaniel Rogers (to the best of my knowledge, no relation to The Scarlet Letter‘s Nathaniel Hawthorne): “[Easy A director] Will Gluck – I assume that’s Will Gluck? accepts and says an off-color joke about Emma Stone pretending to have sex in high school. But she was home-schooled so was it incest? Your brother is hot … I was going to share the whole joke but this show is moving to fast for me.” Darn, Nathaniel!
Rogers adds: “Emma was totally taken aback. But [The Social Network‘s screenwriter] Aaron Sorkin thought it was hilarious.”
Toy Story 3 was the Best Animated Feature. No off-color jokes in that particular acceptance speech. The Social Network won for Best Score (now that was a surprise; I mean, what about Hans Zimmer’s relentless Inception score?), while Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours won the Best Song Award. So much for Burlesque‘s Cher going up onstage…
David O. Russell’s boxing melodrama The Fighter has won its third Critics Choice Award: Best Supporting Actress for Melissa Leo. The other winners were Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale and an award for Best Ensemble. (Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams are the other two principals.)
Also in 2010, Leo could be seen in the commercially disappointing Hilary Swank vehicle Conviction; playing opposite Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini in Welcome to the Rileys; and in two lesser-known efforts, The Space Between and The Dry Land. No wonder Leo made a point of telling the crowd at the Hollywood Palladium that even though she was told her career was over when she turned 40 ten years ago, it has flourished since then.
At this stage, Leo is also the favorite for the Academy Awards, though some claim that the Oscar statuette may go to either True Grit‘s Hailee Steinfeld or Leo’s fellow The Fighter player Amy Adams. In case they all get nominated, that is.
Aaron Sorkin won for Best Adapted Screenplay (The Social Network); David Seidler was the Best Original Screenplay winner (The King’s Speech). Not Christopher Nolan for Inception? Surprised.
Photo: Paramount Pictures
In addition to its Best Ensemble win at the Critics’ Choice Awards, David O. Russell’s The Fighter has also earned Christian Bale the Best Supporting Actor Award. That was no surprise, to put it mildly. I mean, even Alt Film Guide got that one right.
Inception, Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster disguised as a thought-provoking thriller, was the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s Best Action Movie. The competition included Ben Affleck’s The Town and Tony Scott’s Unstoppable. Inception‘s stellar casts includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, and Ellen Page.
Photo: Inception (Stephen Vaughan / Warner Bros.)
Matt Damon received the Joel Siegel Award for his humanitarian services. Damon was introduced as “His Holiness Matt Damon.” Award presenters were Jimmy Kimmel and Emily Blunt. Considering the state of Planet Earth – deadly floods in Australia, deadly mudslides in Brazil, general economic and ecological collapse, apathy and idiocy everywhere – Citizen of the World Damon must keep himself busy.
On to lighter things now…
David Fincher was the expected Best Director winner at the 2011 Critics’ Choice Awards. The Social Network, a drama about the founding of Facebook, has been winning just about every Best Film award out there. Well, at least in North America. Greg Kinnear was the presenter. Fincher was the absentee winner.
Colin Firth was the Best Actor winner for The King’s Speech. As predicted at Alt Film Guide, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland won for Best Costume Design and Best Make-Up. Also as predicted on this site, Christopher Nolan’s Inception won in the Cinematography, Visual Effects, Art Direction, Editing, and Sound categories. It’s the evening’s top winner.
Photo: The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Co.)
Critics’ Choice Awards
Best Picture: The Social Network.
Best Foreign Language Film: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Best Director: David Fincher – The Social Network.
Best Actor: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech.
Best Actress: Natalie Portman – Black Swan.
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale – The Fighter.
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo – The Fighter.
Best Young Actor/Actress: Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit.
Best Acting Ensemble: The Fighter.
Best Original Screenplay: The King’s Speech – David Seidler.
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Social Network – Aaron Sorkin.
Best Documentary Feature: Waiting for ‘Superman’.
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3.
Best Cinematography: Inception – Wally Pfister.
Best Art Direction: Inception – Guy Hendrix Dyas.
Best Editing: Inception – Lee Smith.
Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland – Colleen Atwood.
Best Make-Up: Alice in Wonderland.
Best Visual Effects: Inception.
Best Sound: Inception.
Best Action Movie: Inception.
Best Comedy: Easy A.
Best Picture Made for Television: The Pacific.
Best Song: “If I Rise” – performed by Dido and A.R. Rahman. Music by A.R. Rahman; lyrics by Dido Armstrong and Rollo Armstrong – 127 Hours.
Best Score: The Social Network – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross.
Daft Punk ‘TRON: Legacy’ Score Wins Critics Award
The Social Network‘s David Fincher may have lost the Directors Guild Award to Tom Hooper on Saturday night, but both Fincher and his film received top honors from the Denver Film Critics Society on Jan. 28. (See below the list of Denver Film Critics winners and nominees.)
North American critics’ favorites Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Melissa Leo (The Fighter), and Christian Bale (also The Fighter) were honored as well. All four performers will probably be adding SAG Award trophies to their collection of film awards and mentions later this evening.
The Denver film critics’ choices were mostly unsurprising, e.g., the aforementioned film, director, and acting winners, in addition to The Social Network‘s Aaron Sorkin for Best Adapted Screenplay, Inception‘s Christopher Nolan for Best Original Screenplay, etc. The one exception was Daft Punk’s TRON: Legacy score, voted the year’s best. I believe that’s a first this awards season.
Best Film
* The Social Network, David Fincher
Best Foreign Language Film
* Mother, Joon-ho Bong
Best Director
* David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Actor
* Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Actress
* Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actress
* Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actor
* Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Animated Film
* Toy Story 3, Lee Unkrich
Best Screenplay (Original)
* Christopher Nolan, Inception
Best Screenplay (Adapted)
* Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Documentary
* Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy
Best Original Song
* A.R. Rahman & Dido, If I Rise, 127 Hours
Best Original Score
* Daft Punk, Tron: Legacy
‘The Social Network’ with Jesse Eisenberg and Joseph Mazzello: USC Scripter Award winner based on Ben Mezrich book.USC Scripter Award: ‘The Social Network’ is the expected winner
Feb. 5 update: Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and author Ben Mezrich were the winners of the 2011 USC Scripter Award, given to the best film adaptation of a book. Sorkin’s screenplay for the David Fincher-directed The Social Network is based on Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires, about the rise and rise of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Seventy-three films were eligible for the USC Scripter Award this year. The other four nominees were the following:
- 127 Hours.
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy. Book by Aron Ralston. - The Ghost Writer.
Roman Polanski. Book by Robert Harris. - True Grit.
Joel and Ethan Coen. Book by Charles Portis. - Winter’s Bone.
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini. Book by Daniel Woodrell.
‘Getting hit by lightning’
In his acceptance speech at a ceremony held in downtown Los Angeles on Friday night (Feb. 4), Ben Mezrich explained that he hadn’t yet finished The Accidental Billionaires when he heard that Aaron Sorkin was already working on a film adaptation of his book.
“It’s like getting hit by lightning,” indieWIRE’s Anne Thompson quotes Mezrich as saying.
As an original work, David Seidler’s screenplay for the Tom Hooper-directed The King’s Speech was ineligible for the USC Scripter Award.
USC Scripter Award: Nominees’ directors & key cast members
- The Social Network.
- 127 Hours.
- The Ghost Writer.
- True Grit.
- Winter’s Bone.
The King’s Speech features Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce, and veteran Claire Bloom (Martin Ritt’s The Outrage and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold).
Past winners
Previous winners of the USC Scripter Award include the following:
- Up in the Air.
- Slumdog Millionaire.
- No Country for Old Men.
- Children of Men.
- Million Dollar Baby.
- Wonder Boys.
- A Civil Action.
- Sense and Sensibility.
- A River Runs Through It.
- Awakenings.
- 84 Charing Cross Road.
See also: “Writers Guild Awards: Christopher Nolan ‘Qualified’ Win.”
USC Scripter Award website.
Image of Joseph Mazzello and Jesse Eisenberg in the USC Scripter Award winner The Social Network: Merrick Morton / Sony Pictures.
Jan. 10 update: The Social Network was the big winner at the 11th Annual Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, held at the Railway Club in downtown Vancouver on Monday night (Jan. 10). David Fincher’s Facebook drama won a total of three awards: Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin). (See below list of Vancouver Film Critics winners.)
The King’s Speech‘s Colin Firth, The Fighter‘s Christian Bale, and True Grit‘s Hailee Steinfeld added one more awards-season mention for their work. And so did Winter’s Bone‘s Jennifer Lawrence, who has been chiefly named as the year’s “breakout talent” elsewhere. The Vancouver critics cited her as the year’s Best Actress.
Olivier Assayas’ Carlos was named Best Foreign Film, while Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop was the Best Documentary.
As so often happens in Canadian cinema, a Quebec production dominated the Canadian categories. Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies, about twins who travel to the Middle East to uncover their mother’s tormented past, won three awards: Best Canadian Film, Best Director of a Canadian Film, and Best Actress in a Canadian Film (Lubna Azabal).
Americans also fared quite well in the Canadian categories, what with Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman winning, respectively, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards for Barney’s Version.
The Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film was Delphine Chaneac for Splice.
Carl Bessai’s Fathers & Sons, which intertwines the stories of four fathers’ relationships with their middle-aged sons, won for Best British Columbia Film.
And finally, television screenwriter and producer Chris Haddock, creator of CBC TV’s Da Vinci’s Inquest and the
crime drama Intelligence, was given the Vancouver Film Critics’ Achievement Award “for his contribution to the film and television industry of British Columbia.”
The Vancouver Film Critics Circle is composed of Vancouver-based film writers and critics working in online, radio, print, and television journalism.
Photo: Barney’s Version (Takashi Seida / Sony Pictures Classics); Incendies (Sony Pictures Classics).
Aaron Sorkin, David Fincher on the set of The Social Network
BEST FILM
The Social Network
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Carlos
BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Social Network
BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
BEST SCREENPLAY
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop
BEST CANADIAN FILM
Incendies
BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM
Denis Villeneuve, Incendies
BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Lubna Azabal, Incendies
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Dustin Hoffman, Barney’s Version
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Delphine Chaneac, Splice
BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM
Fathers & Sons
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Chris Haddock
Photo: The Social Network (Merrick Morton / Sony Pictures)
127 Hours with James Franco, Kate Mara, and Amber Tamblyn. Danny Boyle’s real-life-inspired drama 127 Hours, based on a harrowing incident in the life of hiker Aron Ralston, topped three Utah Film Critics Association categories: Best Picture (tied with David Fincher’s The Social Network), Best Actor (James Franco), and Best Cinematography (Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle).The Central Ohio Film Critics Association broke away from the North American awards-season pack, choosing Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller Inception – instead of David Fincher’s The Social Network – as the Best Film of 2010. Inception also topped the following categories: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay (Nolan), and Best Score (Hans Zimmer). (See below the list of Central Ohio Film Critics winners and nominees.)
Best Film runner-up The Social Network won only one award: Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin).
Best Actress Natalie Portman and Best Supporting Actress Hailee Steinfeld, for Black Swan and True Grit, respectively, were expected victories. But James Franco’s win for 127 Hours was a bit of a surprise, as The King’s Speech‘s Colin Firth has dominated the Best Actor category. Franco was also voted Actor of the Year “for an exemplary body of work.” In addition to 127 Hours, in 2010 Franco could be found in Date Night, Eat Pray Love, and Howl.
Even more surprising than Franco’s Best Actor victory was the choice of The King’s Speech‘s Geoffrey Rush as Best Supporting Actor, a category that The Fighter‘s Christian Bale has topped nearly everywhere else.
Among the other Central Ohio Film Critics’ winners were Bong Joon-ho’s Mother as Best Foreign Language Film (the runner-up was Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon, which made into other critics’ “Best of” lists last year); Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop as Best Documentary; and Lee Unkrich’s blockbuster Toy Story 3 as Best Animated Feature. Nicole Holofcener’s Please Give was the Best Overlooked Film.
One of those things: As mentioned above, newcomer Hailee Steinfeld was chosen as the year’s Best Supporting Actress for True Grit. But the Central Ohio Film Critics’ Breakthrough Film Artist was Chloë Grace Moretz for a trio of films: Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Kick-Ass, Let Me In. The runner-up in that category wasn’t Steinfeld, either; instead, the Central Ohio critics opted for their Best Actress runner-up, Jennifer Lawrence for Winter’s Bone.
Film: Inception.
Foreign Language Film: Mother.
Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan.
Actor: James Franco, 127 Hours.
Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit.
Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech.
Ensemble: The Fighter.
Director: Christopher Nolan, Inception.
Original Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, Inception.
Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network.
Documentary: Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Animated Film: Toy Story 3.
Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work): James Franco for 127 Hours, Date Night, Eat Pray Love, Howl.
127 Hours, The Ghost Writer, The Social Network, True Grit, and Winter’s Bone are the five movies in the running for the 2011 USC Scripter Award, given to both the writer of an adapted screenplay based on a book and to the author of the source material.
The nominees are (in alphabetical order):
- Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy for 127 Hours (directed by Boyle), adapted from Aron Ralston’s autobiography Between a Rock and a Hard Place;
- Writer-director Roman Polanski for The Ghost Writer, adapted from Robert Harris’ novel The Ghost;
- Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network (directed by David Fincher), adapted from Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal;
- Writer-directors Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for True Grit, adapted from Charles Portis’ novel;
- Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini for Winter’s Bone (directed by Granik), adapted from Daniel Woodrell’s novel.
The 2011 USC Scripter voting committee includes actor Ed Harris; film critic Leonard Maltin; Fox CEO Tom Rothman; screenwriters Eric Roth, David Koepp, Robin Swicord, Steven Zaillian, and Nicholas Kazan; and authors Michael Chabon, Michael Ondaatje, and Ayelet Waldman.
Three years ago, the Coen brothers won the Scripter Award for No Country for Old Men. Simon Beaufoy won the following year for Slumdog Millionaire.
The USC Scripter Award winners will be announced on Feb. 4 in the Edward L. Doheny Jr. Memorial Library on USC’s University Park Campus south of downtown Los Angeles.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
Photo: The Ghost Writer (Guy Farrandis / Summit Entertainment)
Jan. 4
Natalie Portman ballet dancing in ‘Black Swan.’‘Black Swan,’ Natalie Portman, Darren Aronofsky: Nominations for the 2011 Central Ohio Film Critics’ Awards
Best Film
127 Hours
Black Swan
Exit Through the Gift Shop
The Fighter
The Ghost Writer
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
Best Actress
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are All Right
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Leonardo DiCaprio, Inception
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Barbara Hershey, Black Swan
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Best Ensemble
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The Social Network
True Grit
Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Best Foreign Language Film
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor)
Micmacs (Micmacs à tire-larigot)
Mother (Madeo)
A Prophet (Un prophète)
The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)
The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band – Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Michael Arndt, Toy Story 3
Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, True Grit
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini, Winter’s Bone
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Original Screenplay
Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Simon Blackwell, and Chris Morris, Four Lions
Noah Baumbach, Greenberg
Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right
Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, and John McLaughlin, Black Swan
Christopher Nolan, Inception
David Seidler, The King’s Speech
Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson, The Fighter
Best Documentary
Catfish
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Inside Job
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Waiting for ‘Superman’
Best Animated Film
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
Tangled
Toy Story 3
Best Overlooked Film
City Island
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Four Lions
Let Me In
Please Give
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Actor of the Year (for an exemplary body of work)
Jeff Bridges, Tron: Legacy and True Grit
Matt Damon, Green Zone, Hereafter, and True Grit
Leonardo DiCaprio, Inception and Shutter Island
James Franco, 127 Hours, Date Night, Eat Pray Love, and Howl
Chloë Grace Moretz, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Kick-Ass, and Let Me In
Breakthrough Film Artist
Greta Gerwig, Greenberg – (for acting)
Debra Granik, Winter’s Bone – (for directing and screenwriting)
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone – (for acting)
Chloë Grace Moretz, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Kick-Ass, Let Me In – (for acting)
Noomi Rapace, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – (for acting)
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit – (for acting)
Best Cinematography
Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle, 127 Hours
Jeff Cronenweth, The Social Network
Roger Deakins, True Grit
Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
Wally Pfister, Inception
Best Score
Daft Punk, Tron: Legacy
Clint Mansell, Black Swan
Rachel Portman, Never Let Me Go
A.R. Rahman, 127 Hours
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Hans Zimmer, Inception
Natalie Portman Black Swan ballet dancing photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Three English-language critics groups have announced their nominees in the last couple of days: In the United States, the Central Ohio Film Critics Association; in Canada, the Vancouver Film Critics Circle; and in the United Kingdom, the London Evening Standard award voters.
Apart from the Vancouver critics’ “Canadian Film” categories, the vast majority of the nominees on the Canadian and American lists are the same names found elsewhere. The few surprises are to be found on the Central Ohio Film Critics’ list: a Best Actor nod for Inception‘s Leonardo DiCaprio, a Best Actress nod for The Kids Are All Right‘s Julianne Moore, and a Best Supporting Actress nod for Black Swan‘s Barbara Hershey. All three have been all but ignored by other groups.
The London Evening Standard list of nominees is more “unusual” chiefly because it doesn’t include American films – unless it’s a nomination for a British performer or craftsman who worked on a US production. Even so, there was one major surprise: the omission of Another Year‘s Lesley Manville from the Best Actress roster, which includes no less than nine names, among them Manville’s Another Year co-star Ruth Sheen.
The Central Ohio Film Critics winners will be announced on Jan. 6; the Vancouver Film Critics’ on Jan. 10; and the Evening Standard‘s on Feb. 7.
Photo: Inception (Stephen Vaughan / Warner Bros.)
Jan. 4
BEST FILM
The Social Network
True Grit
Black Swan
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Carlos (France/Germany)
The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina/Spain)
Mother (Korea)
Un Prophète / A Prophet (France/Italy)
BEST DIRECTOR
David Fincher, The Social Network
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
BEST ACTOR
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Inside Job
Waiting for ‘Superman’
BEST SCREENPLAY
Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
BEST CANADIAN FILM
Incendies
Last Train Home
Trigger
BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM
Denis Côté, Curling
Bruce MacDonald, Trigger
Denis Villeneuve, Incendies
BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Paul Giamatti, Barney’s Version
Paul J. Spence, Fubar II
Jay Baruchel, The Trotsky
BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Lubna Azabal, Incendies
Molly Parker, Trigger
Tracy Wright, Trigger
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Jay Brazeau, Fathers & Sons
Maxim Gaudette, Incendies
Dustin Hoffman, Barney’s Version
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Delphine Chaneac, Splice
Minnie Driver, Barney’s Version
Mélissa Désormeaux Poulin, Incendies
BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM
Fathers & Sons
Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie
Mighty Jerome
ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE FILM INDUSTRY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Chris Haddock
Following its Kansas City Film Critics Circle win yesterday,The Social Network has bagged its second 2011 Best Film award. The Online Film Critics Society chose David Fincher’s drama about the launching of Facebook as their top choice of 2010. Additionally, Fincher was named Best Director and Aaron Sorkin the writer of the Best Adapted Screenplay. (See below the list of Online Society of Film Critics winners.]
Despite several unusual nominees in their roster – e.g., Edgar Ramírez as Best Actor for Carlos, Kim Hye-ja as Best Actress for Mother – in their choice of winners the Online Film Critics opted for the same names seen elsewhere.
Thus, we have Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, and Hailee Steinfeld topping the acting categories for, respectively, The King’s Speech, Black Swan, The Fighter, and True Grit. Lee Unkrich’s Toy Story 3 was named the Best Animated Feature and Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop was the Best Documentary.
Bong Joon-ho’s Mother was the Best Foreign Language Film. Christopher Nolan won the award for Best Original Screenplay for Inception, which also earned Lee Smith the Best Editing award. Cinematographer Roger Deakins was cited for his work on Joel Coen and Ethan Coen’s True Grit.
Best Picture: The Social Network
Best Foreign Language Film: Mother
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Lead Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
Best Lead Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Best Original Screenplay Christopher Nolan, Inception
Best Adapted Screenplay Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Documentary: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, True Grit
Best Editing: Lee Smith, Inception
Photo: The Social Network (Merrick Morton / Sony Pictures)
Eclectic Online Film Critics nominees range from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World to Dogtooth
An eclectic bunch of film titles and film people has been shortlisted for the Online Film Critics Society 2010 Awards. They range from the expected (The Social Network, Natalie Portman, James Franco, Christopher Nolan) to the “unusual” (Mother‘s Kim Hye-ja, screenwriters Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright for the box office flop Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Dogtooth up for Best Foreign Language Film, the documentary Catfish).
Mostly, however, the Online Film Critics’ list matches those of other awards season groups. Except that Tom Hooper’s acclaimed The King’s Speech, the one movie that could beat The Social Network at the Oscars, failed to be shortlisted in the Best Film and Best Director categories.
Screenwriter David Seidler, however, made the cut, and so did Best Actor Colin Firth and Best Supporting Actor Geoffrey Rush. (But not supporting actress Helena Bonham Carter.)
Another curious omission was that of Blue Valentine actress Michelle Williams, considering that her co-star, Ryan Gosling, found his way into the six (a tie, clearly) Best Actor nominees.
The Online Film Critics Society’s award winners will be announced on Jan. 3.
Online Film Critics Society nominations
BEST PICTURE
Black Swan.
Inception.
The Social Network.
Toy Story 3.
True Grit.
Winter’s Bone.BEST FOREIGN FILM
Carlos.
Dogtooth.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Mother.
A Prophet.BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan.
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours.
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, True Grit.
David Fincher, The Social Network.
Christopher Nolan, Inception.BEST ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, True Grit.
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network.
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech.
James Franco, 127 Hours.
Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine.
Edgar Ramírez, Carlos.BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, The Kids are All Right.
Kim Hye-ja, Mother.
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole.
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone.
Natalie Portman, Black Swan.BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, The Fighter.
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network.
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone.
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids are All Right.
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech.BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Fighter.
Mila Kunis, Black Swan.
Melissa Leo, The Fighter.
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit.
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom.BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Black Swan, Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz & John McLaughlin.
Greenberg, Noah Baumbach.
Inception, Christopher Nolan.
The Kids are All Right, Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg.
The King’s Speech, David Seidler.BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 Hours, Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright.
The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin.
True Grit, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen.
Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini.BEST DOCUMENTARY
Catfish.
Exit Through the Gift Shop.
Inside Job.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.
Restrepo.
Waiting for ‘Superman’.BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Despicable Me.
How to Train Your Dragon.
The Illusionist.
Tangled.
Toy Story 3.BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
127 Hours, Anthony Dod Mantle & Enrique Chediak.
Black Swan, Matthew Libatique.
Inception, Wally Pfister.
Shutter Island, Robert Richardson.
True Grit, Roger Deakins.BEST EDITING
127 Hours, Jon Harris.
Black Swan, Andrew Weisblum.
Inception, Lee Smith.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Jonathan Amos & Paul Machliss.
The Social Network, Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall.
David Fincher’s Facebook drama The Social Network has won its first couple of 2011 awards: Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) from the Kansas City Film Critics Circle. Fincher, however, lost the Best Director award to Christopher Nolan for the sci-fi thriller Inception, which also earned Nolan a citation for Best Original Screenplay and a special prize, the Vince Koehler Award for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film. (See below the list of Kansas City Film Critics winners.)
Also making their 2011 awards-season debuts are 2010 favorites Colin Firth, Best Actor for Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech; Natalie Portman, Best Actress for Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan; Hailee Steinfeld, Best Supporting Actress for Joel Coen and Ethan Coen’s True Grit; and Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actor for David O. Russell’s The Fighter.
And finally, Banksy’s Exit Through the Gift Shop was the Best Documentary, Lee Unkrich’s Toy Story 3 the Best Animated Feature, and Bong Joon-ho’s Mother the Best Foreign Language Film.
Best Film: The Social Network
Best Foreign Language Film: Mother (South Korea)
Robert Altman Award for Best Director: Christopher Nolan – Inception
Best Actress: Natalie Portman – Black Swan
Best Actor: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
Best Supporting Actress: Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale – The Fighter
Best Original Screenplay: Christopher Nolan – Inception
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network
Best Animated Film: Toy Story 3
Best Documentary: Exit Through the Gift Shop
Vince Koehler Award for Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film: Inception
The Social Network image: Merrick Morton / Sony Pictures.
Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, and James Franco 127 Hours image: Chuck Zlotnick / Fox Searchlight.
The Social Network with Max Minghella: North American critics’ fave was the St. Louis Film Critics’ and the Oklahoma Film Critics’ no. 1 movie of the year. Besides, in Utah David Fincher’s depiction of the birth of the seemingly unstoppable behemoth known as Facebook shared Best Film honors with Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours. Jesse Eisenberg plays ambitious Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg; Max Minghella, son of Best Director Oscar winner Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, 1996), plays Divya Narendra, in the view of some an uncredited Facebook co-founder.Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller Inception was the top movie of 2010 according to the North Texas Film Critics Association (NTFCA). In addition to its Best Picture win, Inception also bagged awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography (Wally Pfister). Inception stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, and Tom Berenger. (See further below the list of North Texas Film Critics winners.]
Best Actress Natalie Portman – for Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan – was the only unanimous winner according to NTFCA member Jon P. Meyer. I’m assuming that means Portman gathered the highest possible weighted total of any Best Actress contender, as there were two runners-up: Jennifer Lawrence for Winter’s Bone and Annette Bening for The Kids Are All Right.
The North Texas Film Critics’ other winners were Best Actor Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Best Supporting Actor/Actress Christian Bale and Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Best Animated Feature Toy Story 3, Best Documentary Waiting for ‘Superman’, and Best Foreign Language Film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Curiously, the NTFCA doesn’t hand out Best Screenplay citations.
M. Night Shyamalan’s fantasy adventure The Last Airbender was voted the Worst Film of the Year. Competition, however, was stiff. Runners-up included Adam Sandler’s comedy hit Grown Ups, Sylvester Stallone’s violent The Expendables, and Jack Black’s misfire Gulliver’s Travels.
Photo: The Last Airbender (Zade Rosenthal / Paramount); Inception (Stephen Vaughan / Warner Bros.)
Best Picture: Inception
Runners-up: The King’s Speech, The Fighter
Best Foreign Language Film: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Sweden)
Runners-up: I Am Love (Italy)
Best Director: Christopher Nolan (Inception)
Runners-up: David O. Russell (The Fighter), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (True Grit)
Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)
Runners-up: Jeff Bridges (True Grit), James Franco (127 Hours)
Best Actress: Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Runners-up: Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone), Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Runners-up: Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), Jeremy Renner (The Town)
Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Runners-up: Amy Adams (The Fighter), Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech)
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Runners-up: How to Train Your Dragon, Despicable Me
Best Documentary: Waiting for ‘Superman’
Runners-up: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, and Restrepo tied with Inside Job
Best Cinematography: Wally Pfister (Inception)
Runners-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak (127 Hours), Danny Cohen (The King’s Speech)
Worst Film of 2010: The Last Airbender
Runners-up: Grown Ups, The Expendables, Leap Year. Fifth place was a three-way tie: Gulliver’s Travels, Hot Tub Time Machine, Splice
Unlike most of their American counterparts, the Dublin Film Critics Circle came up with a number of interesting “Best of” selections this year – which includes several 2009 releases in the United States. [List of Dublin Film Critics winners and runners-up.]
First of all, Jacques Audiard’s prison drama A Prophet was voted 2010’s Best Film. David Fincher’s The Social Network was no. 4 on the list, after Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone and Lee Unkrich’s Toy Story 3. Fincher was Audiard’s runner-up in the (extensive) Best Director category, which also included the likes of Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love), Apichatpong Weerasethakul (Uncle Boonmee Who Can Remember His Past Lives), and Jessica Hauser (Lourdes).
The Best Actor was Tahar Rahim for A Prophet. Last year, Rahim won Césars for Best Actor and Best Male Newcomer, and was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award, chosen by the public. (He was unlucky to be in the running against Kristen Stewart. Needless to say, Stewart took home the trophy.)
The Dublin Film Critics’ Best Actress was Jennifer Lawrence for Winter’s Bone. Lawrence also won the year’s Breakthrough Award.
Ken Wardrop’s documentary His & Hers, in which dozens of Irish women discuss the men in their lives, was the Dublin critics’ Best Irish Film and Best Documentary. It also earned Wardrop the Irish Breakthrough Award. In 2010, His & Hers won the Audience Award at the Dublin Film Festival and was the Irish Film and Television Awards’ Best Documentary Feature.
Dublin Film Critics: Tahar Rahim & Jennifer Lawrence top acting choices
BEST FILM
1. A Prophet
2. Winter’s Bone
3. Toy Story 3
4. The Social Network
5. Dogtooth
6. Inception
7. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Remember His Past Lives
8. The Road & Bad Lieutenant
9. Mother
10. The Illusionist /A Room and a Half / Of Gods and Men
BEST DIRECTOR
1. Jacques Audiard, A Prophet
2. David Fincher, The Social Network
3. Werner Herzog, Bad Lieutenant
4. Christopher Nolan, Inception
5. Luca Guadagnino, I Am Love
6. Clio Barnard, The Arbor
7. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Remember His Past Lives
8. Jessica Hauser, Lourdes / Giorgos Lantimos, Dogtooth
9. Roman Polanski, The Ghost Writer / Sylvain Chomet, The Illusionist / Elia Suleiman, The Time That Remains / Martin Scorsese, Shutter Island
10. Warwick Thornton, Samson and Delilah / Andrey Khrzhanovskiy, A Room and a Half
BEST ACTOR
1. Tahar Rahim, A Prophet
2. Colin Firth, A Single Man
3. Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
4. Ryan Reynolds, Buried
5. Viggo Mortensen, The Road
6. Nicolas Cage, Bad Lieutenant
7. Casey Affleck, The Killer Inside Me
8. Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart / Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island
9. Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
10. George Clooney, Up in the Air / Ben Stiller, Greenberg
BEST ACTRESS
1. Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
2. Lesley Manville, Another Year
3. Tilda Swinton, I Am Love
4. Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
5. Kim Hye-ja, Mother
6. Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
7. Catalina Saavedra, The Maid
8. Juliette Binoche, Certified Copy
9. Catherine Keener, Please Give
10. Kristin Scott Thomas, Leaving
BEST IRISH FILM
1. His & Hers
2. Savage
3. The Fading Light
4. The Pipe
5. Zonad
6. All Good Children
7. Pyjama Girls
8. Eamon
9. Foxes
10. Colony
BEST DOCUMENTARY
1. His & Hers
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
3. Restrepo
4. Catfish
5. Good Hair
6. American: The Bill Hicks Story
7. Mugabe and the White African
8. Capitalism: A Love Story/The Pipe
9. Pyjama Girls
10. Colony
BREAKTHROUGH AWARD
Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
IRISH BREAKTHROUGH AWARD
Ken Wardrop – His & Hers
The Iowa Film Critics Association’s 2010 winners match those already announced by most US-based “regional” film critics’ groups.
David Fincher’s The Social Network was the Best Film, Fincher was Best Director, Colin Firth (right) was Best Actor for The King’s Speech, and Natalie Portman was Best Actress for Black Swan. The Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards went to, respectively, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for The Fighter.
The Best Animated Feature was Lee Unkrich’s Toy Story 3, which has also won just about every award out there in that category. The Iowa Film Critics’ sole “unique” selection was one in a category that is theirs and theirs alone: Best Film That Has Yet to Open in Iowa: The winner was Mike Leigh’s British drama-comedy (or humorous drama) Another Year.
Photo: The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Co.)
Best Film
* The Social Network
True Grit
Winter’s Bone
Best Director
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
* David Fincher, The Social Network
Christopher Nolan, Inception
Best Actor
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
* Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours
Best Actress
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
* Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Supporting Actor
* Christian Bale, The Fighter
Andrew Garfield, The Social Network
Sam Rockwell, Conviction
Best Supporting Actress
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
* Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Best Animated Film
Despicable Me
How to Train Your Dragon
* Toy Story 3
Best Film That Has Yet to Open in Iowa
Another Year
Max Minghella The Social Network image: Merrick Morton / Sony Pictures.
TRON: Legacy (Douglas Curran / Disney Enterprises)
1 comment
I hated “Inception”. In its attempt to be interesting and complex, it just became tiresome and boring. I kept trying to be involved in the film, but halfway through, I just gave up. The movie’s superficial effort to intellectually captivate failed.