As with the shopping season, the awards season kicks into high gear right after Thanksgiving. "Zero Dark Thirty" has already nabbed some accolades but now "Lincoln" is racking up nominations with the Broadcast Film Critics Association's Critics Choice Awards.
"Lincoln" received nominations for best picture, director Steven Spielberg, writer Tony Kushner, lead actor Daniel Day-Lewis and supporting performers Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. With 13 total nominations, "Lincoln" surpassed the record-setting 12 nominations that went to "Black Swan" in 2010. The adaptation of the Broadway hit "Les Miserables" came in second this year with 11 Critics' Choice Award nominations.
The Critics Choice Awards receive attention because they come before the Oscars (winners announced on February 24th with Seth McFarlane hosting) and they have proven to be a consistent predictor of what is likely to be nominated by the Academy and what is likely to win. According to the BFCA press release: "Historically, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations." The BFCA nominations tend to skew toward mainstream Hollywood but there are nice surprises like "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and "Moonrise Kingdom" making the best picture cut. The BFCA (of which I am a member) also has expanded its nominations considerably to include categories for best action film, best comedy, and best sci-fi/horror (nice to see "Cabin in the Woods" getting a nod here).
The San Diego Film Critics Society also announced its nominations with "The Master," "Argo" and "Les Miserables" receiving the most attention.
The 18th Annual Critics Choice Awards will air live on the CW on January 10, which happens to be the day the Academy Award nominations will be released.
The BFCA describes itself as "the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 270 television, radio and online critics. BFCA members are the primary source of information for today's film going public."
Here is the full list of Critics Choice Award nominations:
BEST PICTURE
"Argo"
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"
"Django Unchained"
"Les Misérables"
"Life of Pi"
"Lincoln"
"The Master"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Zero Dark Thirty"
BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – "Silver Linings Playbook"
Daniel Day-Lewis – "Lincoln"
John Hawkes – "The Sessions"
Hugh Jackman – "Les Misérables"
Joaquin Phoenix – "The Master"
Denzel Washington – "Flight"
BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – "Zero Dark Thirty"
Marion Cotillard – "Rust and Bone"
Jennifer Lawrence – "Silver Linings Playbook"
Emmanuelle Riva – "Amour"
Quvenzhané Wallis – "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Naomi Watts – "The Impossible"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin – "Argo"
Javier Bardem – "Skyfall"
Robert De Niro – "Silver Linings Playbook"
Philip Seymour Hoffman – "The Master"
Tommy Lee Jones – "Lincoln"
Matthew McConaughey – "Magic Mike"
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – "The Master"
Judi Dench – "Skyfall"
Ann Dowd – "Compliance"
Sally Field – "Lincoln"
Anne Hathaway – "Les Misérables"
Helen Hunt – "The Sessions"
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – "Ginger & Rosa"
Kara Hayward – "Moonrise Kingdom"
Tom Holland – "The Impossible"
Logan Lerman – "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Suraj Sharma – "Life of Pi"
Quvenzhané Wallis – "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
"Argo"
"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"
"Les Misérables"
"Lincoln"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck – "Argo"
Kathryn Bigelow – "Zero Dark Thirty"
Tom Hooper – "Les Misérables"
Ang Lee – "Life of Pi"
David O. Russell – "Silver Linings Playbook"
Steven Spielberg – "Lincoln"
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino – "Django Unchained"
John Gatins – "Flight"
Rian Johnson – "Looper"
Paul Thomas Anderson – "The Master"
Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola – "Moonrise Kingdom"
Mark Boal – "Zero Dark Thirty"
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio – "Argo"
David Magee – "Life of Pi"
Tony Kushner – "Lincoln"
Stephen Chbosky – "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
David O. Russell – "Silver Linings Playbook"
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Les Misérables" – Danny Cohen
"Life of Pi" – Claudio Miranda
"Lincoln" – Janusz Kaminski
"The Master" – Mihai Malaimare Jr.
"Skyfall" – Roger Deakins
BEST ART DIRECTION
"Anna Karenina" – Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer; Katie Spencer/Set Decorator
"The Hobbit" – Dan Hennah/Production Designer; Ra Vincent & Simon Bright/Set Decorators
"Les Misérables" – Eve Stewart/Production Designer; Anna Lynch-Robinson/Set Decorator
"Life of Pi" – David Gropman/Production Designer; Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
"Lincoln" – Rick Carter/Production Designer; Jim Erickson/Set Decorator
BEST EDITING
"Argo" – William Goldenberg
"Les Misérables" – Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens
"Life of Pi" – Tim Squyres
"Lincoln" – Michael Kahn
"Zero Dark Thirty" – William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
"Anna Karenina" – Jacqueline Durran
"Cloud Atlas" – Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud
"The Hobbit" – Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor
"Les Misérables" – Paco Delgado
"Lincoln" – Joanna Johnston
BEST MAKEUP
"Cloud Atlas"
"The Hobbit"
"Les Misérables"
"Lincoln"
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
"The Avengers"
"Cloud Atlas"
"The Dark Knight Rises"
"The Hobbit"
"Life of Pi"
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
"Brave"
"Frankenweenie"
"Madagascar 3"
"ParaNorman"
"Rise of the Guardians"
"Wreck-It Ralph"
BEST ACTION MOVIE
"The Avengers"
"The Dark Knight Rises"
"Looper"
"Skyfall"
BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Christian Bale – "The Dark Knight Rises"
Daniel Craig – "Skyfall"
Robert Downey Jr. – "The Avengers"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – "Looper"
Jake Gyllenhaal – "End of Watch"
BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – "Looper"
Gina Carano – "Haywire"
Judi Dench – "Skyfall"
Anne Hathaway – "The Dark Knight Rises"
Jennifer Lawrence – "The Hunger Games"
BEST COMEDY
"Bernie"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Ted"
"This Is 40"
"21 Jump Street"
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jack Black – "Bernie"
Bradley Cooper – "Silver Linings Playbook"
Paul Rudd – "This Is 40"
Channing Tatum – "21 Jump Street"
Mark Wahlberg – "Ted"
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Mila Kunis – "Ted"
Jennifer Lawrence – "Silver Linings Playbook"
Shirley MacLaine – "Bernie"
Leslie Mann – "This Is 40"
Rebel Wilson – "Pitch Perfect"
BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
"The Cabin in the Woods"
"Looper"
"Prometheus"
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
The Intouchables
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bully
The Central Park Five
The Imposter
The Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man
West of Memphis
BEST SONG
"For You" – performed by Keith Urban/written by Monty Powell & Keith Urban – Act of Valor
"Learn Me Right" – performed by Birdy with Mumford & Sons/written by Mumford & Sons – Brave
"Skyfall" – performed by Adele/written by Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth – Skyfall
"Still Alive" – performed by Paul Williams/written by Paul Williams – Paul Williams Still Alive
"Suddenly" – performed by Hugh Jackman/written by Claude-Michel Schonberg & Alain Boublil & Herbert Kretzmer – Les Misérables
BEST SCORE
"Argo" – Alexandre Desplat
"Life of Pi" – Mychael Danna
"Lincoln" – John Williams
"The Master" – Jonny Greenwood
"Moonrise Kingdom" – Alexandre Desplat
