'The Social Network' dominates the National Society of Film Critics awards [Updated]

 
"The Social Network" express continues to pick up steam this movie-awards season, winning best picture Saturday from the National Society of Film Critics. The fast-paced drama about the creation of Facebook won a total of four awards. In addition to best picture, it also won best actor for Jesse Eisenberg, best director for David Fincher and screenplay for Aaron Sorkin.

The 45th annual National Society awards, which is known for its more esoteric choices, selected Giovanni Mezzogiorno as best actress for her role as Mussolini's mistress in the Italian film  "Vincere." Best supporting actress went to Olivia Williams in "The Ghost Writer," and Geoffrey Rush was named best supporting actor for "The King's Speech."

"The Social  Network" has won the lion's share of critics group honors this year, including from the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. and the New York Film Critics Circle. It also is nominated for several Golden Globe awards.

Best nonfiction-film honors went to "Inside Job," while "Carlos" earned the best foreign language honor.  Best cinematography went to Roger Deakins for "True Grit." A special category was added to the awards Saturday at Sardi's Restaurant in New York: the best film still awaiting American distribution. The winner was "Film Socialisme."

Notably missing from the list of winners were such awards contenders as "Black Swan," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right" and "Winter's Bone."

SAG nominations: Edgar Ramirez on 'Carlos'

Edgar Ramirez is amazed to be on such a streak with his film "Carlos," which played as a miniseries on television and, in an edited format, as a theatrical release. First came a Golden Globe nomination and, on Thursday, a SAG nomination.

"I was very surprised and just one day after finding out the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations; it’s surreal," Ramirez said Thursday morning. "It’s been a great week. And actually, yeah, the most beautiful thing is that it’s recognition that comes from your peers. That is beautiful. They appreciate it and internally understand what it means to be an actor and invest yourself in portraying a character."

And although creating the film itself is reward enough, it doesn't hurt to be recognized for the achievement. "Absolutely. This is the glaze over the cake? How do you say? This is the icing on the cake," said the Venezuelan actor. "Because you don’t do movies or make movies expecting for these kind of things to happen. It is not real, it is not healthy, it is not the reason why you want to make movies and why you choose projects. You do it because they speak to you, because they confront you and inspire you."

As a newcomer to the awards scene, Ramirez thinks he'll be as much a fan as he is an actor. "I’m a total newbie. I don’t really know what to expect. I’m gonna try to experience it moment by moment,  but there are gonna be -- just in my category -- there are some of the actors that I respect the most and I’m gonna talk to them. Dennis Quaid, we worked together, and I’m very happy to be there with him."

-- Amy Kaufman

Photo: Edgar Ramirez. Credit: Associated Press