The Chicago film critics have an uncanny knack for having the Best Picture winner in their nominees. They picked Crash for the win in 2005, and The Departed for the win in 2006, even when people thought other films might win. But when they don’t pick the winner, they nominate the winner, going all the way back to when they first started releasing their nominations. I don’t know what that means ultimately. I just know what their relatively short history says. But if true, that boils down Best Picture to three: Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty and Argo.
2012 CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION NOMINEES
BEST PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Lincoln
The Master
Zero Dark Thirty
BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, Argo
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Denis Lavant, Holy Motors
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Emily Blunt, Looper
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Django Unchained by Quentin Tarantino
Looper by Rian Johnson
The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty by Mark Boal
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo by Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
Lincoln by Tony Kushner
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Silver Linings Playbook by David O. Russell
BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
Holy Motors
The Intouchables
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Rust & Bone
BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Central Park Five
The Invisible War
The Queen of Versailles
Searching For Sugar Man
West of Memphis
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Secret World of Arrietty
Wreck-It Ralph
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi
Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln
Mihai Milaimare Jr., The Master
Roger Deakins, Skyfall
Greig Fraser, Zero Dark Thirty
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, Argo
Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Jonny Greenwood, The Master
Alexandre Desplat, Moonrise Kingdom
Alexandre Desplat, Zero Dark Thirty
BEST ART DIRECTION
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
BEST EDITING
Willian Goldenberg, Argo
Alexander Berner & Claus Wehlisch, Cloud Atlas
Leslie Jones & Peter McNulty, The Master
Stuart Baird, Skyfall
William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Samantha Barks, Les Miserables
Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Tom Holland, The Impossible
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods
Nicholas Jarecki, Arbitrage
Colin Trevorrow, Safety Not Guaranteed
Benz Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
10 nominations–The Master
9 nominations–Beasts of the Southern Wild
8 nominations–Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty
5 nominations–Argo
4 nominations–Moonrise Kingdom
3 nominations–Les Miserables, Skyfall
2 nominations–Amour, Django Unchained, Holy Motors, The Impossible, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, The Silver Linings Playbook, Looper
1 nomination–Anna Karenina, Arbitrage, Brave, The Cabin in the Woods, The Central Park Five, Cloud Atlas, Flight, Frankenweenie, The Intouchables, The Invisible War, The Life of Pi Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Paranorman, Queen of Versailles, Rust & Bone, Safety Not Guaranteed, Searching for Sugar Man, The Secret World of Arietty, West of Memphis, Wreck-
