Best Film: Amour
(runner-up: The Master )
Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
(runner-up: Kathryn Bigelow)
Best Actress, tie: Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
and Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
(runner-up: Denis Lavant, Holy Motors
Best Supporting Actor: Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
(runner-up: Christof Waltz, Django Unchained)
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, The Master
(runner-up: Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises and Les Miserables)
Best Editing: Dylan Tichenor and William Goldenberg, Zero Dark Thirty
(runner-up: William Goldenberg, Argo)
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, Skyfall
(runner-up: Mihai Malaimare Jr., The Master)
Best Score: Benh Zeitlin & Dan Romer, Beasts of the Southern Wild
(runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, The Master)
Best Screenplay: Chris Terrio, Argo
(runner-up: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook)
Best Production Design: Jack Fisk, The Master
(runner-up: Adam Stockhausen, Moonrise Kingdom)
Best Animated Film: Frankenweenie
(runner-up: It’s Such a Beautiful Day)
Best Documentary: The Gatekeepers
(runner-up: Searching for Sugar Man)
Best Foreign Language Film: Holy Motors
(runner-up: Footnote)
New Generation Award: Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Last minute predictions as we await the final awards. The players:
Ryan Adams, AwardsDaily
Erik Anderson, ICSFilm.org
Sasha Stone, AwardsDaily
Marshall Flores, AwardsDaily
Craig Kennedy, Living in Cinema
Best Picture
Flores, Anderson: The Master
Stone, Kennedy: Zero Dark Thirty
Argo: Adams
Best Director
Flores, Stone, Kennedy: Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Anderson: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Adams: Ang Lee, Life of Pi
Best Actor
Flores, Anderson, Kennedy, Stone, Adams: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
Best Actress
Flores, Anderson: Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Stone, Adams: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Kennedy: Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Best Supporting Actor
Flores, Adams: Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Anderson: Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
Stone: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln
Kennedy: Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty
Best Supporting Actress
Flores, Kennedy: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Anderson: Ann Dowd, Compliance
Stone, Adams: Sally Field, Lincoln
Best Screenplay
Flores, Stone, Anderson, Adams: Tony Kushner, Lincoln
Kennedy: Mark Boal, Zero Dark Thirty
Oh DEAKINS!!! I so hope he’ll be nominated 4 an Oscar!
Oh, yeah, and the jokes. No-one laughed except for one of them. That was maybe 1/20 that hit home. All (which were fewer) LOTR jokes worked.
This was just rushed. They should’ve waited another year.
The Benny Hill effect looks awful and unnatural. People seem like they’re sped-up.
The first 90 minutes should’ve been 30 minutes, and I still don’t know who’s who even when they try to introduce everybody. The first part is full of ridiculous slapstick that is aimed for children, but the beheading scenes are not. So, who is this for?
Gollum scene is too long as well. Way too long, but it’s still one of the best in the film.
If 48fps is the future, as Jackson and James Cameron claim, I don’t want to live in that future.
Thanks for the heads-up, Tero. You just confirmed my suspicions about the filming format and the stretch of a relatively small book into a trilogy.
By the time they get to the third film, I wonder if maybe they shouldn’t have considered going long format on TV instead. Of course, it would then be compared to Game of Thrones which runs circles around The Hobbit with regards to plot.
Overall, I think they made a serious error in execution for this one.
Saw The Hobbit…
Where do I begin? Feel like not saying much, but I give it 3/5 and I’m being generous. The film is at least half an hour overlong (maybe 45 minutes even) and the heart that was in LOTR is completely missing. Is it Tolkien’s fault? I have not read the book. Avoid 48fps at all cost… I will never watch a film in this ridiculous format again. Not the worst film of the year, but easily the worst theater experience.
Visual effects are surprisingly bad, so I doubt its chances for a nomination now. It’s because of the accuracy of the picture. You can tell that a rock is not a rock but a piece of plastic or wood. Sound effects are good, so they made me at least think of rocks. I see a nomination there and that’s the only thing I see.
48fps takes away from the illusion and I wonder why they didn’t see this beforehand. For example, Frodo is not the size of a hobbit but as tall as Elijah Wood is in real life (and he’s not overly tall, we know this). Everythig moves so fast that even when they doubled the frames, the viewer is missing half. So, many events just became a blur in the head.
All sequences are overlong, to justify the third film. Should’ve been two 3hr films, for sure. They talk and blah blah blah, plotwise some 70% pointless stuff. And why so many songs? Should’ve just had that one we heard in the trailer. Which leads us to Howard Shore. One new solid theme and the rest is practically recycling. No nomination there.
Man of us were right. This is a sad episode in the saga. They’ve been telling me that I should see this as a separate trilogy and not compare it to LOTR. Fine, trying to do that, but it’s pretty hard when Peter Jackson refers to that trilogy every ten minutes.
Positive things are also there, but nothing to cry Oscar about. Martin Freeman is very good. Perfect casting. Ian McKellen is great as Gandalf, but was anyone doubting this? Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Christopher Lee easily forgettable. I don’t think I remember a single line from them (the film ended an hour ago).
And yes, I gave all three LOTR films 5/5. Maybe this will get better in 2D, but I was trying to give my verdict on the film with that 3/5 (excluding the suckiness of HFR 3D).
PaulH, my adopted stray cat died yesterday from oral cancer, two weeks after my father-in-law passed away from the same thing. My father, who wasn’t the best father, but one of the nicest and gentlest people, passed away 3 years ago from lung cancer.
Don’t stop living your life. You say your father was the best a son could have? That’s bound to make you smile again pondering over your memories.
God bless The Father, The Son and the Holy Motors.
FYI, my dad died after a 6-month bout with stage 4 lung cancer. It hits a little too close to home, and I need not be reminded of such despair. He was the best dad a son could have. The silence every day he’s not here (my mom passed in 2004) is deafening :((. I don’t know if I’ll ever recover or be happy again.
Still not fixed. Riva is no runner-up!!! 😀
Leaving for The Hobbit now. I checked comments from IMDb and many Tolkien fans are now (after seeing these critics’ awards) accepting that LOTR was a special case and that The Hobbit does not follow the same pattern where all films are nominated for BP.
Thanks to everyone who tried to tell me that I’d messed up properly reporting the tie between Riva and Lawrence.
If I ever make such a blunder again, please send me an email or bang a few hammers on my head till I notice.
Dwight Henry award has to be “for the film” — no person could actually believe that was the best supporting male performance of the year. It’s not even passably good.
Congratulations to Riva Phoenix.
If I’m not mistaken Les Miserables did get a Best Ensemble mention from the NBR. Don’t count it out just yet.
happy for phoenix win, and very nice to see LA choices be diverse, i should check out Amour !
its so annoying following these awards when none of the films are available in your area for viewing pffff and aren’t very likely to be available either way .
It makes it hard to root passionately for any film in particular .
Helios,
You are correct. As much as I admire ZD30…I didnt want a sweep. Thats silly because it feels like a vacuum…
True, ‘best’ is subjective….but I still haven’t an argument against a DDL sweep this year. Some things are just that good.
Emmanuelle Riva wasn’t runner-up but the winner tied with Lawrence. Please correct.
leading actress is a tie!!!!
*says ‘whew’*
Lawrence needed that LA win, big-time. The only thing I was suggesting about reverse ageism is that it’s happened before, when veterans are…I don’t want to say rubber-stamped, but have a leg up on younger competition. The other 2 reasons I was considering a J-Law snub was because the critics groups were going to clamp down on any more Weinstein wins (which was kicked to the curb today by LAFCA), or that they were somehow holding her Hunger Games success against her. The jury is still out on that one.
Revenge of the Foreign Film, it was today (Amour and Lavant). Still don’t see them in anything except FL Movie next month. It’s a numbers game that keeps both of them out of BP, actress and actor, respectively.
I don’t think Best Supporting Actor is weak at all. It’s the most crowded category of the acting categories by far. Right now, there are probably more than 10 names that could get an Oscar nomination. Tommy Lee Jones, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Leo DiCaprio, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Eddie Redmayne, Mathew McGonaughey, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwight Henry, Ewan McGregor, Russell Crowe…
Best Actor, although very very strong, is down to 6. One of the 5 that are not called Daniel Day-Lewis will be snubbed. I guess it’s John Hawkes. The Sessions buzz is fading so fast. I get Kinsey vibes coming from it. In the end, Helen Hunt will be the consolation prize nomination. Just like Laura Linney was.
Best Actress… Chastain, Lawrence and Riva lead. Wallis, Watts and Cotillard will fight for the last two spots. I don’t believe in a comeback from Keira Knightley or Helen Mirren considering that in such a strong year, the films the two represent are just not considered to be in the level of others.
And what about Best Supporting Actress? Who gets the last spot? Something tells me Jackie Weaver will see the “Jackie Weaver” of this year get it: Ann Dowd. I guess Maggie Smith and Judi Dench will cancel each other. It could be Samantha Barks… there has been a film with two names here in 5 of the past 6 years. But they will truly have to go crazy for the film.
yeah washington will definitely show up wednesday. hell get the critics choice globe sag nom etc. was never worried about him not being nominated.
Unless P.T. Anderson is the first director in 23 years (Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing, 1989) to be named LAFCA Best Director and not receive an Oscar nom … whoever is announcing Best Director on the morning of January 10, 2013, will probably be saying …
‘ For best achievement in Directing the nominees are
Ben Affleck for Argo
Tom Hooper for Les Misérables
Steven Spielberg for Lincoln
Paul Thomas Anderson for The Master
and Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty’
Great factoid, Hector. I’m gonna have to borrow and adapt that to tweet length.
Hm, seems like Denis Lavant is being pushed into contention with runner-up spots with two critics groups (albeit groups that are in liberal, coastal territory)
Fabinho Flapp / December 9, 2012
If that stupid “Beasts” is one of best movies this year and a next generation symbol, I’m really afraid about our future.
Sir, you are entitled to your opinion, but I saw a wonderful movie.
Don’t worry, you’ll see Washington’s name on Monday, or Wednesday at the latest.
Actually, there was a tie for Best Actress. Riva and Lawrence tied. Lawrence did not win by herself.
Am I the only one who saw a wonderful performance by Denzel Washington in Flight….yet he’s TOTALLY overlooked in the awards. WTF?
Your comment is a perfect example of why this alleged backlash has begun. People simply don’t like it when they are told to kiss someone’s ass 24/7. They don’t have to agree that DDL gave the best perfromance. As I’ve said a million times, this is acting ffs; the best is entirely subjective. He is already considered to be the frontrunner and has won 4 out of 6 awards given so far. What did you expect, 6/6? Bigelow and her film won 5/6 except LA. They went for different winners which is how it should be. There are far too many great films/actors/directors etc. It would be unfair to ignore them and recognise the same people every single time.
my God, weird choices.. and they realllyyyyy like The Master, ughhh
@Yvette, dont worry.. this critic society has no merit at all in deciding big awards.. people knew LAFCA would go differently..
ZDT still frontrunner but SLP is lurking.
The backlash has begun against Lincoln. You knew it had to happen.
The intense Q&As, Spielberg tearing up, DDL explaining “the voice”, the rapturous raves from Oprah, Whoopi, reviews and historians. Spielberg and Co. talked about their film with a sense of ‘This is important’ – an air of seriousness. Because, you know, it was serious shit.
But some people, and some critics, hate that – maybe find it self-aggrandizing…
I like artists who are passionate about the work and wear their hearts on their sleeves.
But you knew some groups were going to reject it…..
It won big – and prestigiously – in New York and Boston, but you knew LA would go for the sand-humping and hand-jobbing. After Lincoln, I was most looking forward to The Master, but found it cold.
I’m fine with the BP, BD win, because after all, it is LA.
But someone please provide a reasonable, detailed explanation of ANYONE over DDL….
I’ve read fans describe Phoenix’ performance as ‘revolutionary’, ‘unlike anything I’ve ever seen’ –
DeNiro, Pacino, James Dean, Brando etc….may have something to show you and I’m not saying its on that level…..
But DDL created something unquantifiable.
A fictional character gives you free reign – you can do anything. But creating something real out of a myth…..
Put this way: I think DDL can do crazy (Phoenix), he can probably do bi-polar (Cooper), and he’s already done My Left Foot (Hawkes in The Sessions),
But could any of those be Lincoln?
Nice chart, phantom. Thanks for that.
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
(runner-up: Emmanuelle Riva)
When you guys correct this (should be a tie), can we please put age before beauty? It was definitely Riva’s day, after all.
I’m glad to see Jennifer Lawrence has finally been awarded for her performance in Silver Linings. Show me another young actress her age who has given such an incredible, witty, and smart performance. Can you imagine what her talent will be in her 30’s?
Here, I made a chart of the awards so far, I’ll keep updating it regularly :
http://awardscorner.blogspot.hu/2012/12/awards-chart-2012.html
Beast got a lot of love today. It is also making a lot of top 10 list. I love it.
“OK, I’m going to be the Grinch and just say it out loud : Quvenzhané Wallis is now officially a long shot. She was supposed to do well in the critics-stage but for some reason, it didn’t happen so even if she wins a few smaller awards in the near future it will be probably too little (no NYFCC/LAFCA), too late (Academy-deadline is a few weeks away).”
I don’t necessarily agree with this. For one thing, she’s too easy to lump into the Breakthrough Performance category that some groups have, which she won with the NBR and the NY Critics Online. Secondly, we’re entering into uncharted waters with Wallis (due to her youth and ineligibility for SAG), so I think it’s difficult to dismiss her too quickly. Her age may well work against her, but she also has some very high-profile champions such as Ben Affleck. Remember that whether you get an Oscar nod depends largely on how many #1 votes you get, and I feel certain that Wallis is going to be getting some of those #1 placements from non-age-biased or non-Hollywood-biased voters. The question is, can she get enough?
Cotillard has also not been showing up with the film critics–she’s been more absent than Wallis, frankly, who at least pops up with the breakthrough award every now and then. I think Cotillard has been more hurt by the critical vote than Wallis, in a way, because the embrace of Riva with several critic groups is positioning Riva as the foreign language contender, not Cotillard. Of course, they could still both get nominated, but it’s rare for two foreign language contenders to get nominated in the same category, and Riva seems stronger as a contender, at this point, than Cotillard. (With all that said, I expect Cotillard will pop up in at least some of the BFCA/Globe/SAG contests this week. But even if/when she does, I still think she’s somewhat of a question mark for an Oscar nomination.)
Overall I’d say I tend to agree more with LAFCA. Except this year I did like Zero Dark Thirty better than The Master, but I haven’t seen Amour, so I can’t say which of those two is better. Looking forward to it!
Lincoln won plenty today but the real question is: where is Les Miz? Nothing so far other than an ‘online’ win for Hathaway.
I’m pretty sure they said Best Actress was a tie between Riva and Lawrence…
You gotta love the LAFC for doing their own thing and awarding Amour Best Film. It’s so typical of LA to jump outside the box. Everyone else picks Zero and LA goes with Amour and then their runner up is The Master. I expected a lot of love from LA for The Master. I was hoping for something a little more different but it’s LA where the world is different than anywhere else in the country.
I wonder if Spielberg directed a film called the Critic’s Awards if it would resemble the jockying around for votes to pass the 14th amendment.
Good for Amy Adams and THE MASTER. I still only saw half but I did make it past the handjob.
If some of the movies don’t make it onto DVD soon I guess I’ll have to find sinister ways to see them.
Just a small little comment about Anne Hathaway’s runner up position. Pay attention the film that was noted first. Sometimes it is done alphabetically and sometimes [as in the past] the first film noted was the film that really pushed them over the top. Don’t get me wrong I like Hathaway a lot but The Dark Knight Rises is certainly going to help her this year. Then think about the fact that critics don’t vote for two performances they vote for one and I’d love to know the basis for throwing the additional performances with the one that actually won. Do they then go back and get a consensus from the entire group about including additional performances. I suppose my real question is that if she had to rely on one performance this year would she have been the runner up?
If that stupid “Beasts” is one of best movies this year and a next generation symbol, I’m really afraid about our future.
Good gravy! Amour and Holy Motors!!! Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In my opinion, Jennifer Lawrence is overrated in silver linings Playbook.
That stupid film is also, still, the very best movie of the year. I’ve seen almost all of em now, Django, Zero Dark, etc. And Beasts still reigns supreme. Haven’t seen Amour yet, though….
Where the heck is Daniel Day-Lewis?! he is not even a runner up?! go sc..w yourself LA critics
LA critics must be the worst critics in the world
their choices are unworthy
Very happy to see a surprising and egalitarian awards list! Especially happy for Joaquin Phoenix and Silver Linings recognition.
However, the big story here is the big loser: my #1 film of the year, “Lincoln”. Leaving it out of even Actor and Screenplay seems rather mean to me. Such an accomplished and beautiful film.
“The only bizarre winner is Henry for his over and weak performance in that stupid movie called Beasts something.”
That stupid film also won the last award of the evening:
NEW GENERATION AWARD: Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”
Phantom: I smell category fraud in Wallis’ future. Sup Act has a little room (since they’ll never consider worthy people like Doona Bae) and the Academy has been known to go one sentimental way on nominations even when the FYC ads go another.
It’s almost like the LA critics were filling in the gaps left by previous critics’ awards. LA critics = spackle
I think for Les Miz the studio knows Anne Hathaway is their best bet. She is featured more in ads than Hugh Jackman or Russell Crowe. The academy will like the film more than critics I think.
Now that we had NYFCC/LAFCA, next up the big ones, or at least 3 of the ‘big four’ acting contenders aim for : CRITICS CHOICE nominations (Monday), SAG nominations (Wednesday), GOLDEN GLOBE nominations (Thursday). Basically if someone misses all three in the next few days, we can cross him/her off our list for good (although a BAFTA-nod COULD go a long way (Bardem, Oldman)) AND if someone gets all 3, precedent favors those for the Oscar-nomination, as well (although there are painful, recent exceptions (Swinton, Kunis etc.)).
Simply the best list til present day.
PT Anderson, Phoenix, Adams, Amour, Lawrence, Argo.
The only bizarre winner is Henry for his over and weak performance in that stupid movie called Beasts something.
Life of Pi!!! 🙁 🙁 🙁
…still haven’t seen it.
Best Actress is a tie 🙂
it’s ugly that there is a mistake in the posting of such an important category.
Very sad for life of Pi. 🙁 Shocked at the Jennifer Lawrence win since LA usually picks only obscure foreign actresses. Nice to see the Riva and Armour wins. Overall the most unpredictable awards so far.
They obviously didn’t want to include Amour in the running for Best Foreign Language Film only because it would allow another film to receive added exposure which Amour wouldn’t have benefitted from. We all already know that Amour is their favourite non-English language film of 2012, so why not let another film (and what a film, in Holy Motors’ case) to have the spotlight?
I wish they had given Holy Motors best picture and foreign language film and had Amour as runner up.
LA Film Critics @LAFilmCritics
Discussion beginning for New Generation Award…..
It ain’t over ’til it’s over.
That Michael Haneke fake twitter account is riotously funny lol
OK, I’m going to be the Grinch and just say it out loud : Quvenzhané Wallis is now officially a long shot. She was supposed to do well in the critics-stage but for some reason, it didn’t happen so even if she wins a few smaller awards in the near future it will be probably too little (no NYFCC/LAFCA), too late (Academy-deadline is a few weeks away). She might sneak in at the BFCA, but the HFPA will probably snub her just like they snubbed most Oscar-caliber child performances (Abigail Breslin, Hailee Steinfeld, Keisha Castle-Hughes) in recent years, she is ineligible for the SAG Award and unfortunately I don’t think she has even a tiny shot at a BAFTA nomination, not with the STRONG European contenders this year (Keira Knightley, Naomi Watts, Helen Mirren, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Marion Cotillard, Emmanuelle Riva).
Of course we could ignore all this, IF the film had a succesful Academy-screening, some star power and an Oscar-friendly release date…but ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’ has none of those. Frankly, even if voters had loved it back then, they would have forgotten it by now and would have needed the critics to remind them. But with a mixed VERY early screening, unfortunately I don’t think it will register in the race at all, and as great as his performance was, Dwight Henry’s win here, though promising, could be easily a fluke as far as his Oscar-prospects go.
P.S. Good news that the other acting contenders who REALLY needed a push here, got it : Emmanuelle Riva, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams.
HOLY MOTORS! Great, great, great choice! LA critics are the best!
And of course there was this:
Michael Haneke @Michael_Haneke
aparentlee i jst wons an Las Angelies critix award for best picture!!1!! @brettratner can u pick it up 4 me wen ur out of hooters lol
😀
Looks like if everything continues to go the way it has being this year and that is the first five film critic groups winners we might have an interesting OSCAR race. But what about “Les Miserables”. Outside of Hathaway Its no where in sight thus far.
Even if The Master doesn’t get a Best Picture nomination, this win pretty much guarantees PTA a director nod, much like Terrence Malick’s win for The Tree of Life last year led to his Oscar nod.
It’s still kind of strange that their favourite film of the year couldn’t even manage second place for foreign language film.
Foreign Language Film: Holy Motors. Runner up: Footnote.
Hmm, not Amour?
Holy Motors!!! Crazy!! If I didn’t adore Holy Motors so much I’d think this was a stupid choice 🙂
Fair call on the Silver Linings credibility comment. But I think if they want to show that they’re not just being contrary by picking Amour instead of Zero Dark Thirty, they should also give it best foreign language film.
Great and bold choice. A breath of fresh air at last. Paul Thomas Anderson deserved it, and thank god, the west coast critics didn’t just jump on the Zero Dark Thirty wagon. Even though I still can’t wait to see ZDT and see what the hoopla is all about.
You think Amour might take Foreign Language film as well? Credibility out the window if not
How so? I think giving another film the Best Foreign Language Film award would be a nice move. NSFC often do that. Amour doesn’t need it. It wouldn’t make them any less credible. Silver Linings Playbook coming second for Best Screenplay already did that.
Does anyone find giving one screenplay award ludicrous? Out of hundreds of films only one screenplay is the best? And Argo, for that matter?
Wow! Amour for Best Picture with The Master as runner up? Can honestly say that the LA critics are the best group out there!:)
Still it’s quite clear that Zero Dark Thirty is the one to beat at the moment. I’m quite happy with that as I can’t wait to see it bit here is hoping these selections did enough to get Amour, The Master and Beasts all a few nominations come Oscar time. All I can hope for.
You think Amour might take Foreign Language film as well? Credibility out the window if not
These are all very interesting choices. I hope other critcs’ groups start going their own way. It’s hard for me to place Jennifer Lawrence’s performance on the same level as Emmanuelle Riva’s work, which is exceptional.
Best Foreign Language Film still coming up. Could it be the same?
I like this one because it spred the love around. Everything from Skyfall to Amour seemed to walk away with something(or were in the runner-ups)
well, except Les Miserables.
Hey, it was a tie between Lawrence and Riva!
Interesting picks. Can I just say that Best Supporting Actor is extremely weak this year? Like I’ve never seen before.
Your main title of the post only mentions Lawrence and no Riva 🙁 but they tied!!! yay!!
The ZDT spell is broken. … So, The Oscar Games have finally begun. 🙂