Talking Movie Awards 2011

[blueorchid]

Am I the only one who was unimpressed with Tree of Life and Martha Marcy May Marlene?
Call me crazy...

I liked Tree of Life, but I was not impressed with Martha Marcy May Marlene. It wasn't bad or anything, but I thought it was a bit forgettable.

At least you're not one of the only people on the planet who didn't care for Senna. I just don't get what was so great about it.

 

[MyNameIs]

^LOL, I feel like I 'should' watch Senna because it's one of the it documentaries of the year, but I have no interest in it whatsoever. I may be pleasantly surprised, but I just could not care any less about racing.

But I can't agree about The Tree of Life or Martha Marcy May Malene. Loved both of them, especially TTOL, which I consider to be one of the best movies EVER. But to each his own. I was really looking forward to Drive, but I was disappointed with it. Same with Midnight in Paris. Just did nothing for me.

 

[MyNameIs]

Washington DC Film Critics Association announced its nominations today. Apparently we will know the winners as soon as Monday.

BEST FILM
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Hugo
Win Win

BEST DIRECTOR
Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)
Martin Scorsese (Hugo)

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney (The Descendants)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Michael Fassbender (Shame)
Brad Pitt (Moneyball)
Michael Shannon (Take Shelter)

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis (The Help)
Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin)
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn)
Albert Brooks (Drive)
John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo (The Artist)
Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids)
Carey Mulligan (Shame)
Octavia Spencer (The Help)
Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Bridesmaids
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Help
Hugo
Margin Call

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Alexander Payne and Nate Faxon & Jim Rash (The Descendants)
Tate Taylor (The Help)
John Logan (Hugo)
Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin (Moneyball)
Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Tom McCarthy (Win Win)
Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids)
Will Reiser (50/50)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Puss in Boots
Rango
Winnie the Pooh

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life
Project Nim

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
13 Assassins
Certified Copy
I Saw the Devil
Pina
The Skin I Live In

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Artist (Lawrence Bennett, Production Designer, and Gregory S. Hooper, Art Director)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (Stuart Craig, Production Designer, and Stephenie McMillan, Set Decorator)
Hugo (Dante Ferretti, Production Designer, and Francesca Lo Schiavo, Set Decorator)
The Tree of Life (Jack Fisk, Production Designer, and Jeanette Scott, Set Decorator)
War Horse (Rick Carter, Production Designer, and Lee Sandales, Set Decorator)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist (Guillaume Schiffman)
Hugo (Robert Richardson)
Melancholia (Manuel Alberto Claro)
The Three of Life (Emmanuel Lubezki)
War Horse (Janusz Kaminski)

BEST SCORE
The Artist (Ludovic Bource)
Drive (Cliff Martinez)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross)
Hugo (Howard Shore)
War Horse (John Williams)

Editor's Note: These guys are pretty good at getting 3-4 out of 5 of eventual Oscar nominees in each category. Hugo is looking better and better for a Picture nomination (but those disappointing box office numbers...). Drive is also doing much better than I would have anticipated. The Artist and The Descendants trains keep rolling. Tilda Swinton is gaining steam. Glenn Close misses yet again. Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes make an appearance.

 

[Flashbang]

The Moët British Independent Film Awards 2011

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM Sponsored by Moët & Chandon
TYRANNOSAUR BEST DIRECTOR Sponsored by The Creative Partnership
Lynne Ramsay – WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN


THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR] Sponsored by 3 Mills Studios
Paddy Considine – TYRANNOSAUR


BEST SCREENPLAY Sponsored by BBC Films
Richard Ayoade – SUBMARINE


BEST ACTRESS Sponsored by M.A.C
Olivia Colman – TYRANNOSAUR


BEST ACTOR
Michael Fassbender – SHAME


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Vanessa Redgrave – CORIOLANUS


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Michael Smiley – KILL LIST


MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER Sponsored by STUDIOCANAL
Tom Cullen – WEEKEND


BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION Sponsored by Deluxe142
WEEKEND THE RAINDANCE AWARD Sponsored by Exile Media
LEAVING BAGHDAD BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Maria Djurkovic – Production Design – TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY


BEST DOCUMENTARY
SENNA BEST BRITISH SHORT
CHALK BEST FOREIGN INDEPENDENT FILM
A SEPARATION THE RICHARD HARRIS AWARD (for outstanding contribution by an actor to British Film)
Sponsored by Working Title
RALPH FIENNES THE VARIETY AWARD
KENNETH BRANAGH THE SPECIAL JURY PRIZE
GRAHAM EASTON

bifa.org.uk via ohnotheydidnt

 

[Chaky]

^LOL, I feel like I 'should' watch Senna because it's one of the it documentaries of the year, but I have no interest in it whatsoever. I may be pleasantly surprised, but I just could not care any less about racing.

I watched Senna yesterday and absolutely loved it. I don't believe you need to be a fan of F1 or motor racing to like it. A successful documentary of this nature should be able to stand alone. For example, I'm not a boxing fan at all, but I think When We Were Kings is a brilliant film.

Senna is not really about watching cars driving around. It's about the man and how his philosophy contrasted with his greatest rival. I thought it successfully conveyed moments of genuine emotion and also ratcheting tension. I'm not in the least surprised it picked up the BIFA award last night.

 

[MyNameIs]

I posted the nominees for Washington DC Film Critics above in post 23, here are the winners, announced today.

BEST FILM
The Artist

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, The Descendants

BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Albert Brooks, Drive

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Octavia Spencer, The Help

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Bridesmaids

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants (Alexander Payne and Nate Faxon & Jim Rash)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
50/50 (Will Reiser)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Rango

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cave of Forgotten Dreams

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Skin I Live In

BEST ART DIRECTION
Hugo (Dante Ferretti, Production Designer, and Francesca Lo Schiavo, Set Decorator)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Three of Life (Emmanuel Lubezki)

BEST SCORE
The Artist (Ludovic Bource)

 

[Karen0193]

I have yet to see The Artist, but my favourite of the year has got to be The Tree of Life, because its a very personal history for the directory and the cinematography is just sublime.
Plummer should definetely win the Oscar for best supporting actor for Beginners, and I would love to see Ewan McGregor or Mélanie Laurent nominated. They did an amazing job in that movie.

 

[MyNameIs]

It's like the Superbowl Sunday today for movie awards. No less than five groups announce their picks today, so I'll be updating this thread all throughout the day. First up we have the nominations from Houston Film Critics Society.

BEST PICTURE
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Midnight in Paris
Take Shelter
The Artist
The Descendants
The Help
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Win Win

BEST DIRECTOR
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

BEST ACTOR
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

BEST ACTRESS
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis, The Help

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Albert Brooks, Drive
Alex Shaffer, Win Win
Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

BEST SCREENPLAY
Alexander Payne, Nat Foxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Tom McCarthy, Win Win
Will Reiser, 50/50
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Thomas Newton Segel, Drive

BEST SONG
“Lay Your Head Down,” from Albert Nobbs, music & lyrics by B. Bryne & G. Close
“Life’s a Happy Song,” from The Muppets, music & lyrics by Bret McKenzie
“Star-Spangled Man,” from Captain America, music & lyrics by Alan Menken
“The Living Proof,” from The Help, music & lyrics by Mary J. Blige
“Think You Can Wait,” from Win Win, music & lyrics by The National

BEST SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Harry Escott, Shame
John Williams, The Adventures of Tin-Tin
John Williams, War Horse
Ludovic Bource, The Artist

BEST FOREIGN FILM
13 Assassins
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
I Saw the Devil
The Artist
The Skin I Live In

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Project Nim
The Elephant in the Living Room
Undefeated

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Adventures of Tin-Tin
Happy Feet Two
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
Winnie the Pooh

WORST FILM OF THE YEAR
Jack and Jill
Red Riding Hood
The Sitter
The Smurfs
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
Your Highness

2011 Humanitarian Honor – Joanne Herring
2011 Lifetime Achievement – Jeff Bridges

EDITOR'S NOTE: First appearance for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. However, it only received a single Best Picture nomination. Glenn Close is yet again missing from the Best Actress lineup, Janet McTeer shows up in Best Supporting though. Close is nominated for Best Original Song, interestingly enough. Drive continues to do surprisingly well with these groups so far. Perhaps it's going the distance.

 

[MyNameIs]

Lets catch up with the rest of the groups we missed today. First (or second now) up is Boston Society of Film Critics Association.

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
Runners-up: Hugo & Margaret

BEST DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Runner-up: Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist

BEST ACTOR
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
Runners-up: George Clooney - The Descendants & Michael Fassbender - Shame

BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn
Runner-up: Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Albert Brooks - Drive

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Runner-up: Jeannie Berlin - Margaret

BEST SCREENPLAY
Moneyball
Runner-up: Margaret

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Incendies
Runners-up: A Separation & Poetry

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Project Nim
Runner-up: Bill Cunningham New York

BEST ENSEMBLE
Carnage
Runner-up: Margaret

BEST NEW FILMMAKER
Sean Durkin - Martha Marcy May Marlene
Runner-up: J.C. Chandor - Margin Call

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Tree of Life
Runner-up: Hugo

BEST EDITING AWARD
Christian Marclay - The Clock
Runner-up: Hugo

BEST USE OF MUSIC
The Artist & Drive (tie)
Runner-up: The Descendants

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Artist, Hugo and Moneyball prove to be the big winners here. First has been a lock for Picture nomination for a while now, but the latter two are looking better and better to score there as well. Melissa McCarthy steals a win. I still don't think she's getting an Oscar nomination though. But who knows, Robert Downey Jr got in with a similar type of performance in Tropic Thunder just a few years ago.

 

[MyNameIs]

Undoubtedly the most prolific group to announce today was the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

BEST PICTURE
The Descendants
Runner-up: The Tree of Life

BEST DIRECTOR
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Runner-up: Martin Scorsese - Hugo

BEST ACTOR
Michael Fassbender - A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class
Runner-up: Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

BEST ACTRESS
Yun Jung-Hee, Poetry
Runner-up: Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Runner-up: Patton Oswalt, Young Adult

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Coriolanus, The Debt, The Help, Take Shelter, Texas Killing Fields, The Tree of Life
Runner-up: Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

BEST SCREENPLAY
A Separation
Runner-up: The Descendants

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
City of Life and Death
Runner-up: A Separation

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Runner-up: The Arbor

BEST ANIMATION
Rango
Runner-up: The Adventures of Tintin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Tree of Life
Runner-up: City of Life and Death

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Hugo
Runner-up: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST MUSIC SCORE
Hanna
Runner-up: Drive

NEW GENERATION
Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Josh Mond and Elizabeth Olsen for Martha Marcy May Marlene

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT
Doris Day

THE DOUGLAS EDWARDS EXPERIMENTAL/INDEPENDENT FILM/VIDEO AWARD
Bill Morrison, Spark of Being

EDITOR'S NOTE: Jessica Chastain wins again. Too bad it's for all her movies this year, which could in the end cost her an Oscar nomination if there's no consensus on just one best performance. Fassbender wins for all of his movies too, but I doubt he'll have that same problem, given that Shame is generally considered 'the' movie for him. Actress category is the most interesting thus far (of any awards bodies) but this group has a history of such picks which end up going nowhere.

 

[MyNameIs]

I'll post the last group for today, and finish tomorrow with the rest. American Film Institute announced their Top Ten films of the year. They never pick the winner, so this is it for them.

Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help
J. Edgar
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

EDITOR'S NOTE: They only pick from American films, so The Artist's omission may have been due to them deeming it ineligible. Another big one missing, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, may have been due to them not seeing the film (not sure if that's true). Other than that - it's meh. I mean, J. Edgar?

 

[Chaky]

Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

BEST ACTRESS
Yun Jung-Hee, Poetry

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Coriolanus, The Debt, The Help, Take Shelter, Texas Killing Fields, The Tree of Life

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Runner-up: The Arbor

Some interesting choices here from LAFCA, certainly compared to some of the other groups. Yun Jung-Hee seems a choice out of leftfield. Has anyone seen Poetry? I can't claim it was on my radar until now.

I'm still trying to catch up and watch all the films Jessica Chastain was in this year. She must have a fantastic agent to get all these roles. Possibly as you say a poisoned chalice to have them all released almost at once. The worst case for her may be getting multiple Oscar noms in the same category. I'm sure one or other will come out in front and then the studios will push it with ads and so on.

Glad to see they recognised The Arbor. It's a wonderful and harrowing British film and quite unlike many other documentaries you might see. I believe it is showing on British TV this Christmas so for anyone in the UK, check it out.

 

[Wolkfolk]

I'm so happy about the LAFCA choices, especially because they went for more risky picks. I'm obviously thrilled for Michael and I really hope this is a first step towards the Kodak theater because he sincerely deserves it.

I'd never really paid attention to Yun Jung-Hee nor Poetry but I might do it now too. I'm just glad they went for a less buzzed film and actress.

As for Jessica Chastaing I think it's more than deserved. Of course if you only judge by The Help she has a very thin chance to make it compared to Octavia Spencer or Bryce Dallas Howard. But she was truly great in it and delivered great performances one after the other throughout the year so this award doesn't suprise me at all.

I can't say much about Christopher Plummer though, need to watch Beginners first. But I wish Patton Oswalt had won simply because I've a big soft spot for him.

 

[MyNameIs]

I saw Jessica Chastain in The Tree of Life and The Help. Without having seen all the candidates yet, I have her on my ballot for The Help, which is generally presumed to be her best bet for an Oscar nod. However, I think if she is nominated, it could be for Take Shelter, along with Michael Shannon in Lead. In the end, she'll probably miss out completely, if only because she will split her votes and won't be able to get enough for just one to warrant her a nomination.

There were so many critics groups announcing their picks the last two days, I don't know if I'll have the time to post them all here. Probably not, since they're most likely going to be non consequential. Tomorrow is going to be insane though. Both SAG and BFCA announce their nominations. Could be a make or break day for a lot of contenders.

 

[Chaky]

There were so many critics groups announcing their picks the last two days, I don't know if I'll have the time to post them all here.

Indiewire have handily done a summary of all the results so far from each group, and ranked them in order in each category so you can see the frontrunners.

Indiewire

The Artist is of course in the lead so far.

 

[YoninahAliza]

This might sound a bit dumb but I cannot for the life of me remember if anyone has been nominated at the Oscars for more then one film in the same category (like say, best actor for two different films) in the same year? Is that even allowed?

 

[MyNameIs]

^Ah, thanks. I'll limit myself to just posting the 'bigger' ones here then.

Tomorrow, I'm rooting for these people/films to show up.

The Tree of Life - though I'm expecting and getting myself ready for a bad day since it's not an acting movie so nothing from SAG and BFCA gave it a bad rating so probably very little from them.
Elizabeth Olsen and Glenn Close - I love the first one's performance, didn't love the second one but respect what she did, so hoping they get love from both SAG and BFCA. Speaking of Olsen, hopefully her costar Hawke shows up too.
Melancholia (namely Kirsten Dunst and/or Charlotte Gainsbourg) - I would be shocked if they get anything, but would be so cool.
Nick Nolte - while everyone is creaming themselves over Albert Brooks and Christopher Plummer, I think it's Nick Nolte who gave the best performance in Supporting Actor. Hopefully his season starts off tomorrow.
Brendan Gleeson (for The Guard) and Olivia Colman (for Tyrannosaur) - completely unrealistic for me to expect anything for either, but would be amazing for such small films/brilliant performances.
Sandra Bullock (and ELAIC) - not seen this movie yet, but I love Bullock so I would love for her to repeat.

 

[MyNameIs]

This might sound a bit dumb but I cannot for the life of me remember if anyone has been nominated at the Oscars for more then one film in the same category (like say, best actor for two different films) in the same year? Is that even allowed?

Nope not allowed at the Oscars. If a person gets enough votes for both performances to be nominated, the one with the more votes gets nominated, the second one is disqualified and the person with the sixth most number of votes gets in.

Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards on the other hand do allow an actor to be nominated in the same category for different films. Example, Sean Penn was nominated at GG for Best Actor Drama for Mystic River and 21 Grams.

 

[YoninahAliza]

^Okay thanks for clearing that up for me. I didn't think it was allowed but with the mention of Jessica Chastain I started to doubt what I thought I knew. I mean, the rules certainly make sense, it might seem like a person is getting an unfair advantage if they are nominated more then once in the same category. It'll be interesting to see what studio ends up pushing Jessica Chastain and come's out on top. I haven't seen her in anything but The Help so I can't properly judge yet, but I thought she was fantastic. She nailed down her character perfectly.

 

[MyNameIs]

The first biggie (in terms of predicting the Oscars) announced this morning - Broadcast Film Critics Association.

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – “The Descendants”
Leonardo DiCaprio – “J. Edgar”
Jean Dujardin – “The Artist”
Michael Fassbender – “Shame”
Ryan Gosling – “Drive”
Brad Pitt – “Moneyball”

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis – “The Help”
Elizabeth Olsen – “Martha Marcy May Marlene”
Meryl Streep – “The Iron Lady”
Tilda Swinton – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Charlize Theron – “Young Adult”
Michelle Williams – “My Week With Marilyn”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh – “My Week With Marilyn”
Albert Brooks – “Drive”
Nick Nolte – “Warrior”
Patton Oswalt – “Young Adult”
Christopher Plummer – “Beginners”
Andrew Serkis – “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo – “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain – “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy – “Bridesmaids”
Carey Mulligan – “Shame”
Octavia Spencer – “The Help”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Asa Butterfield – “Hugo”
Elle Fanning – “Super 8”
Thomas Horn – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Ezra Miller – “We Need to Talk About Kevin”
Saoirse Ronan – “Hanna”
Shailene Woodley – “The Descendants”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March

BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry – “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Michel Hazanavicius – “The Artist”
Alexander Payne – “The Descendants”
Nicolas Winding Refn – “Drive”
Martin Scorsese – “Hugo”
Steven Spielberg – “War Horse”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius
“50/50” – Will Reiser
“Midnight in Paris” – Woody Allen
“Win Win” – Screenplay by Tom McCarthy, Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
“Young Adult” – Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
“The Descendants” – Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” – Eric Roth
“The Help” – Tate Taylor
“Hugo” – John Logan
“Moneyball” – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Artist” – Guillaume Schiffman
“Drive” – Newton Thomas Sigel
“Hugo” – Robert Richardson
“The Tree of Life” – Emmanuel Lubezki
“War Horse” – Janusz Kaminski

BEST ART DIRECTION
“The Artist” – Production Designer: Laurence Bennett, Art Director: Gregory S. Hooper
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” – Production Designer: Stuart Craig, Set Decorator: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo” – Production Designer: Dante Ferretti, Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“The Tree of Life” – Production Designer: Jack Fisk, Art Director: David Crank
“War Horse” – Production Designer: Rick Carter, Set Decorator: Lee Sandales

BEST EDITING
“The Artist” – Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion
“Drive” – Matthew Newman
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
“Hugo” – Thelma Schoonmaker
“War Horse” – Michael Kahn

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“The Artist” – Mark Bridges
“The Help” – Sharen Davis
“Hugo” – Sandy Powell
“Jane Eyre” – Michael O’Connor
“My Week With Marilyn” – Jill Taylor

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
My Week With Marilyn

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
The Tree of Life

BEST SOUND
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Drive
Fast Five
Hanna
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8

BEST COMEDY
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In Darkness
Le Havre
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Where Do We Go Now

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Project Nim
Undefeated

BEST SONG
“Hello Hello” – performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga/written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin – Gnomeo & Juliet
“Life’s a Happy Song” – performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“The Living Proof” – performed by Mary J. Blige/written by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman and Harvey Mason, Jr. – The Help
“Man or Muppet” – performed by Jason Segel and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“Pictures in My Head” – performed by Kermit and the Muppets/written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman – The Muppets

BEST SCORE
“The Artist” – Ludovic Bource
“Drive” – Cliff Martinez
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
“Hugo” – Howard Shore
“War Horse” – John Williams

EDITOR'S NOTE: Hugo seemingly joins The Artist and The Descendants as a lock for Picture/Director nominations. Extremely Loud does well and yet not good enough at the same time. It made Picture, Director and Screenplay, but its actors are shut out from the regular acting categories. Quite surprising, because it seemed at least Best Supporting Actor seemed like a good bet. We'll have to wait and see what SAG and GG have to say about Bullock and von Sydow. War Horse and The Help seem likely for nominations at this point, both doing fairly well here. The other four are hard to tell. Drive is doing better with these awards than anyone ever expected. Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is nowhere to be found, but then, I always was quite perplexed with people's expectations for its awards chances.

Acting categories have some real surprises. Where is GLENN CLOSE? It's a shame her chances have pretty much evaporated at this point. She needs a SAG nomination tomorrow to stay alive. Where's Gary Oldman? And in favor of Leo DiCaprio? Ugh. Elizabeth Olsen, Tilda and Charlize all make the ballot here, but at most only two will go on to get Oscar nominations. Supporting categories... YAY for Nick Nolte (he was on my wish list). Surprised by the Andy Serkin nomination. Can Melissa McCarthy make it all the way? Vaness Redgrave, considered by many to be a 'lock' is missing.

For some reason I though SAG announced today as well. Turns out it's tomorrow. So SAG tomorrow and Globes on Thursday should clarify (hopefully) the races a bit. But at this point, it seems only 1 or 2 slots are 'open' in each category.