I’m sorry not to be there in person this year but you can bet I’ll be watching when the Critics Choice Awards are on VH1 tomorrow night. I admit to some bias as a very proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, but for me this is one of the highlights of the movie year. It is not just a reliable predictor of the Oscars; I believe it is an influencer, as we will see when the Academy Award nominations are announced on January 24.
This year’s show looks wonderful, with “Funny or Die” hosts Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer, a special award presented to Sean Penn by George Clooney, a music and film award to Martin Scorsese featuring a performance by Bob Dylan, music from Fitz and the Tantrums, and a galaxy of glamorous stars.
I’m proud of the nominations from two groups I belong to, the Black Reel Awards and the Broadcast Film Critics.
Black Reel Awards
Outstanding Actor John Boyega – Attack the Block
Demián Bichir– A Better Life
Laz Alonso – Jumping the Broom
Oliver Litondo – The First Grader
Evan Ross – Mooz-Lum
Outstanding Actress Viola Davis – The Help
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
Zoe Saldana – Columbiana
Nia Long – Mooz-Lum
Naomie Harris – The First Grader
Outstanding Supporting Actor Anthony Mackie – The Adjustment Bureau
Don Cheadle – The Guard
Isiah Whitlock Jr. – Cedar Rapids
Laurence Fishburne – Contagion
Mike Epps – Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Supporting Actress Octavia Spencer – The Help
Maya Rudolph – Bridesmaids
Kim Wayans – Pariah
Pernell Walker – Pariah
Angela Bassett – Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Screenplay, Original or Adapted Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan – Shame
Qasim Bashir – Mooz-Lum
Dee Rees – Pariah
Ava DuVernay – I Will Follow
Elizabeth Hunter and Arlene Gibbs – Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Director Steve McQueen – Shame
Dee Rees – Pariah
Qasim Bashir – Mooz-Lum
Ava DuVernay – I Will Follow
Salim Akil – Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Film Pariah
Shame
The Help
Attack the Block
Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance Octavia Spencer – The Help
Adepero Oduye – Pariah
John Boyega – Attack the Block
Kim Wayans – Pariah
Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Larry Crowne
Outstanding Ensemble Pariah
Attack the Block
The Help
Mooz-Lum
Fast Five
Jumping the Broom
Outstanding Original Song The Living Proof – Mary J. Blige (The Help)
Walkin’ Blues – Cee-Lo Green featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd (Footloose)
Furiously Dangerous – Ludacris (Fast Five)
Fly Love – Jamie Foxx (Rio)
My Last Day Without You – Nicole Beharie (My Last Day Without You)
Outstanding Score Harry Escott – Shame
Steven Price – Attack the Block
Misha Segal – Mooz-Lum
Thomas Newman – The Help
Alex Heffes – The First Grader
Outstanding Foreign Film Attack the Block
The First Grader
Kinyarwanda
Life, Above All
Viva Riva!
Outstanding Feature Documentary
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey – Constance Marks
Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest – Michael Rapaport
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 – Goran Olsson
The Undefeated – Daniel Lindsay and T.J. Martin
The Interrupters – Steve James
Outstanding Independent Feature Film My Last Day Without You – Stefan C. Schaefer
The Tested – Russell Constanzo
Mamitas – Nicholas Ozeki
Besouro – João Daniel Tikhomiroff
Billy – Winston Washington Moxam
Outstanding Independent Short Film
Fig – Ryan Coogler
Wolf Call – Rob Underhill
Wake – Bree Newsome
The Abyss Boys – Jan-Hendrik Beetge
The Tombs – Jerry Lamonthe
Outstanding Independent Documentary
Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat By the Door –Christine Acham and Clifford Ward
Gang Girl: A Mother’s Journey to Save Her Daughter – Valerie Goodloe
Brown Babies – Regina Griffin
Zero Percent – Tim Skousen
The Manuscripts of Timbuktu – Zola Maseko
Burn: The Evolution of An American City – Harold Jackson III
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Male Idris Elba – Luther
Laurence Fishburne – Thurgood
Samuel L. Jackson – The Sunset Limited
Eric Benet – Trinity Goodheart
Mykelti Williamson – Have A Little Faith
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Performance, Female Taraji P. Henson – Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
Anika Noni Rose – Bag of Bones
Rosario Dawson – Five
Jenifer Lewis – Five
Tracee Ellis Ross – Five
Outstanding Television Documentary
Planet Rock: The Story of Hip Hop and the Crack Generation – VH1 (Richard Low and Martin Torgoff)
Pray the Devil Back to Hell – PBS (Gini Reticker)
The Fab Five – ESPN (Jason Hehir)
Black in Latin America – PBS (Henry Louis Gates)
The Latino List – HBO (Timothy Greenfield-Sanders)
Outstanding Television or Mini-Series Film
Thurgood – HBO (Michael Stevens)
Luther – BBC (Katie Swinden)
Five – Lifetime (Nellie Nugiel)
The Sunset Limited – HBO (Barbara A. Hall)
Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story – Lifetime (Harvey Kahn)
The Broadcast Film Critics
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
Be sure to tune into VH1 on Jan 15 to watch the Critic’s Choice Awards! I will be there, so see if you can spot me. Kevin Bacon will receive our Joel Seigel award, presented by Meryl Streep (who, of course, has a Bacon score of 1 because she co-starred with him in ???). Our host for the evening will be the lovely Kristen Chenoweth and our house band will be Nick Jonas and the Administration!
I am proud to be a member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, which give out the Critics Choice awards each January, often the best predictors of the Oscars. And I am delighted to be a part of the organization’s new Reel Rave website, featuring member interviews with Hollywood stars and film-makers and other resources for movie fans.
