'The Social Network' wins Critics' Choice Movie Award for best film

 
 
As expected, "The Social Network" won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for best film of 2010 on Friday evening, along with the best director award for David Fincher, best adapted screenplay for Aaron Sorkin and best score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The drama about the birth of Facebook has won the majority of critics honors this year, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn., New York Film Critics Circle and National Society of Film Critics. It's nominated for six Golden Globe Awards and earlier in the week earned nominations from the Producers Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America.

However, it was not the evening's biggest winner by trophy count.  That distinction went to Christopher Nolan's enigmatic thriller "Inception," which took home six awards from the Broadcast Film Critics Assn.: best action film; cinematography for Wally Pfister; art direction for Guy Henrix Dyas, Larry Dias and Doug Mowat;  editing for Lee Smith; and for visual effects and sound.

Best actor went to Oscar front-runner Colin Firth for "The King's Speech." The historical drama also won best original screenplay for David Seidler. Natalie Portman took best actress honors for the psychological thriller "Black Swan." Christian Bale and Melissa Leo won best supporting actor and actress for their work in "The Fighter," which won the best ensemble award. And 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld's breakout work in "True Grit" landed her the best young actor/actress award.

"Toy Story 3" won best animated feature, and "Easy A" took home the best comedy honors. Tim Burton's box office hit "Alice in Wonderland" won best costume design for Colleen Atwood as well as best makeup.

"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" earned best foreign-language film honors, while "Waiting for 'Superman,' " was named best documentary.  Best song honors went to "If I Rise" from "127 Hours,"  music by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Dido Armstrong and Rollo Armstrong. The sole TV honor -- best television movie -- went to HBO's miniseries "The Pacific."

The awards were handed out at the Hollywood Palladium and telecast on VH1.

— Susan King

 

Photo: Jesse Eisenberg, Brenda Song and Andrew Garfield in "The Social Network." Credit: Merrick Morton/Columbia Tristar.

Fascinating trivia: Golden Globe acting nominees

 

Many thanks to our forums moderator Chris "Boomer" Beachum for compiling this interesting info about the actors nominated for this weekend's Golden Globes.

FILM DRAMA ACTOR:
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network" – first nomination
James Franco, "127 Hours" – third nomination (one win for TV; the only person in this category with a previous win)
Colin Firth, "The King's Speech" – second nomination
Ryan Gosling, "Blue Valentine" – second nomination
Mark Wahlberg, "The Fighter" – second nomination
NOTE: The winner of this category has gone on to an Oscar nomination 29 of the past 30 years. The only exception was Jim Carrey for "The Truman Show."

FILM DRAMA ACTRESS:
Halle Berry, "Frankie and Alice" – fourth nomination (one win for TV)
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole" – eighth nomination (three wins)
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone" – first nomination
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan" – third nomination (one win)
Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine" – second nomination
NOTE: The winner of this category has gone on to an Oscar nomination 29 of the past 30 years. The only exception was Kate Winslet for "Revolutionary Road."

FILM COMEDY/MUSICAL ACTOR:
Johnny Depp, "Alice in Wonderland"
Johnny Depp, "The Tourist" -- These are Johnny Depp's ninth and 10th nominations; his only win was in 2008 when he couldn't attend due to the writers' strike.
Paul Giamatti, "Barney's Version" – fourth nomination (one win for TV)
Jake Gyllenhall, "Love & Other Drugs" – first nomination
Kevin Spacey, "Casino Jack" – sixth nomination; surprisingly he has never won a Globe even though he has two Oscars.

FILM COMEDY/MUSICAL ACTRESS:
Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right" – seventh nomination (one win)
Anne Hathaway, "Love & Other Drugs" – second nomination
Angelina Jolie, "The Tourist" – sixth nomination (three wins: one for film, two for TV)
Julianne Moore, "The Kids Are All Right" – sixth nomination
Emma Stone, "Easy A" – first nomination

FILM SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Christian Bale, "The Fighter" -- first nomination
Michael Douglas, "Wall Street 2" -- 10th nomination (three wins; also recipient of Cecil B. DeMille Award)
Andrew Garfield, "The Social Network" – first nomination
Jeremy Renner, "The Town" – first nomination
Geoffrey Rush, "The King's Speech" – fifth nomination (two wins: one for film and one for TV)
NOTE: The winner of this category has gone on to an Oscar nomination each of the past 30 years.
Eight of the past 10 winners of this category have won the Oscar as well.

FILM SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Amy Adams, "The Fighter" – third nomination
Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech" – fifth nomination
Mila Kunis, "Black Swan" – first nomination
Melissa Leo, "The Fighter" – first nomination
Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom" – first nomination
NOTE: Whoever wins this category will be a first-time Globe winner. The winner of this category has gone on to an Oscar nomination each of the past 30 years.
 
ANIMATED FEATURE:
"Despicable Me"
"How to Train Your Dragon"
"The Illusionist"
"Tangled"
"Toy Story 3"
NOTE: Good news for "Toy Story 3" – since this category was created in 2007, Pixar has won every year. 

-- Tom O'Neil

 

'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."

The National Society of Film Critics names 'The Social Network' best of 2010

"The Social Network" express continues to pick up steam during the movie-awards season, winning best picture Saturday from the National Society of Film Critics. The acclaimed drama about the creators of Facebook also won best actor for Jesse Eisenberg, best director for David Fincher and screenplay for Aaron Sorkin.

The 45th annual 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 voting is still going on at Sardi's Restaurant in New York City.

-- Susan King

 

Join our live chat with 'Social Network' stars Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg on Saturday

 
For Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, 2010 had to be some kind of crazy year. Eisenberg started things off playing a drug dealing Orthodox Jew in "Holy Rollers" and Garfield a soulful clone in "Never Let Me Go."  Both were small, well-received movies that not a whole lot of people saw.   

But things were very different with the release of "The Social Network," David Fincher's film about the founding of Facebook. The movie, in which Eisenberg  plays Harvard undergrad Mark Zuckerberg, who with his friend — and soon to be frenemy — Eduardo Saverin (Garfield) launches the site, caught on with audiences and critics alike and is now hitting the awards season like a bullet train.

So what must have it been like working with Fincher? Or Justin Timberlake? The actors will be joining us at 10 a.m. Saturday (Jan. 8) for a live chat to discuss the film, their roles, future projects and to answer all your questions. Sign up below.

Photo: Andrew Garfield, left, and Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network." Credit: Columbia Tristar.

 

 

'Black Swan,' 'The King's Speech' lead BAFTA's Longlist nominees [Updated]

 

 
"Black Swan" and "The King's Speech" dominated the British Academy of Film and Television Arts' Longlist for the Orange British Academy Film Awards on Friday morning with 15 mentions each.

The Longlist is a result of the first round of voting by BAFTA members. The second round of voting, which begins Friday and concludes Thursday, will narrow the choices down to five nominations in each category. The final nominations will be announced Jan. 18 and the awards will be handed out Feb. 13.

Making the best film Longlist are "127 Hours," "Another Year," "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Inception," "The Kids Are All Right," "Made in Dagenham," "Shutter Island," "The Social Network," "The Town," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit" and "Winter's Bone."

Directors on the list are Danny Boyle for "127 Hours," Tim Burton for "Alice in Wonderland," Mike Leigh for "Another Year," Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," David O. Russell for "The Fighter," Niels Arden Oplev for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Christopher Nolan for "Inception," Lisa Cholodenko for "The Kids Are All Right," Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech," Nigel Cole for "Made in Dagenham," Martin Scorsese for "Shutter Island," David Fincher for "The Social Network," Ben Affleck for "The Town" and Lee Unkrich for "Toy Story 3."

Leading actor contenders on the Longlist  are Aaron Eckhart for "Rabbit Hole," Ben Affleck for "The Town," Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," James Franco for "127 Hours," Javier Bardem for "Biutiful," Jeff Bridges for "True Grit," Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network," Jim Broadbent for "Another Year," Johnny Depp for "Alice in Wonderland," Leonardo DiCaprio for "Inception" and "Shutter Island," Mark Wahlberg for "The Fighter," Paul Giamatti for "Barney's Version," Robert Duvall for "Get Low" and Ryan Gosling for "Blue Valentine." [For the Record: An earlier version of this report spelled Mark Wahlberg's name incorrectly.]

Making the list in the lead actress category are Andrea Riseborough for "Brighton Rock," Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," Carey Mulligan for "Never Let Me Go," Gemma Arterton for "The Disappearance of Alice Creed" and "Tamara Drewe," Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit," Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone," Julianne Moore for "The Kids Are All Right," Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole," Noomi Rapace for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," Rosamund Pike for "Barney's Version," Sally Hawkins for "Made in Dagenham" and Tilda Swinton for "I Am Love."

For more information on the BAFTA  Longlist, go to Bafta.org

 -- Susan King

Photo: Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech." Photo: Laurie Sparham / Weinstein Co.

Forum posters predict who'll win lead actor, actress Oscars

 Here's a sampling of Oscar predictions from our forum posters forecasting the races for lead actor and actress. Their choices are ranked according to the likelihood of winning. Also see their predix of the best picture contest. Compare this rundown to what the experts say at The Envelope's Buzzmeter and to the Oscar predictions at Gold Derby.

-- Tom O'Neil

BEST ACTOR	742	babypook	bocaboy7	Dr. McPhearson	Kams	pacinofan
Jeff Bridges, 'True Grit'	3	2	4	3	5	5
Leo DiCaprio, 'Inception'	5
Robert Duvall, 'Get Low'				5	4	4
Jesse Eisenberg, 'Social Network'	4	3	3	4	2	2
Colin Firth, 'King's Speech'	1	1	1	1	1	1
James Franco, '127 Hours'	2	4	2	2	3	3
Mark Wahlberg, 'The Fighter'		5	5

 

SAG nominations: The good, the bad and the shockeroos [Update]

The SAG Awards pulled off a cowboy-styled rescue of "True Grit" two days after it got skunked at the Golden Globes. The guild kudos added another big surprise in the film races too. Hello, Hilary Swank!

More thoughts on the nominations:

ENSEMBLE CAST
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"

"The Fighter," "The Kids Are All Right," "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network" were locks, but some pundits thought the fifth slot would go to "Inception" or "The Town." Turns out "Black Swan" swooped down here, probably because it has special appeal to the actors casting these ballots. It's about show business. It's a thrillingly creepy update of "All About Eve" in tutus.

ACTOR
Jeff Bridges, "True Grit"
Robert Duvall, "Get Low"
Jesse Eisenberg, "The Social Network"
Colin Firth, "The King’s Speech"
James Franco, "127 Hours"

Maybe Javier Bardem ("Biutiful"), Mark Wahlberg ("The Fighter") and Ryan Gosling ("Blue Valentine") never had a prayer of getting in. Firth and Franco were destined to nab spots, being the front-runners, and Eisenberg had to be included because he's the hot new Thing. Room had to be made for Duvall because he's the revered veteran and for Bridges because he's last year's champ returning in a Coen brothers' flick. Oh, yeah, it helps that Bridges appears in a classic Oscar-winning role pioneered by John Wayne in 1969.

ACTRESS
Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Hilary Swank, "Conviction"

Swank bumped such formidable foes as Michelle Williams ("Blue Valentine"), Halle Berry ("Frankie and Alice"), Julianne Moore ("The Kids Are All Right"), Sally Hawkins ("Made in Dagenham") and National Board of Review champ Lesley Manville ("Another Year"). SAG was the one place where Moore and Manville could've heeded cries across the blogosphere for them to drop into supporting and thrive there. At SAG, actors decide what categories to enter. At the Golden Globes, there's an eligibility committee that decides these matters. HFPA put both Moore and Manville in lead – and then snubbed Manville.  [For the record, 12:30 p.m.: An earlier version of this post incorrectly said the HFPA snubbed Moore as well. Moore was nominated for a Golden Globe in the lead actress category].

Does Mark Zuckerberg's person of the year prize help 'The Social Network's' Oscar chances?

 
Should Mark Zuckerberg give director David Fincher a call just to say thanks? Clearly, "The Social Network" was a giant thorn in the side of a young man who prefers to keep private but  just happened to invent the most popular online social network of our time. But did the film inspire the 26-year-old computer programmer's selection as Time magazine's person of the year for 2010?

It's hard to argue that it didn't. Sure, Facebook keeps growing but it's not like the streamlined site just started this year. (You know that when your mother and grandmother sign up for it, it's clearly not a new phenomenon.) Yet, Time magazine still chose 2010 to honor the man who created the site six years ago. And they aren't doing it for his generous philanthropy, the one thing that really did take off in 2010, though it is noted. (Zuckerberg donated a staggering $100 million to the Newark, N.J., public school system around the time of the film's release and pledged earlier this week to donate half of his wealth to charity.)

Rather, the one thing that did change is how many people know about the founding of Facebook now. And that didn't come from the site itself. It came from Sony Pictures and Fincher, and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, and star Jesse Eisenberg. It also came from the film critics who adored it. And the critics who put it atop their 2010 list for best picture. It even came from the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., which awarded it Tuesday with six Golden Globe nominations.

Yes, the one thing that really changed for Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg in 2010 is that "The Social Network" has made close to $200 million worldwide, making mythic the founding of a utility hundreds of millions of people use hourly. As such, should this cultural touchpoint be rewarded by the academy? I'm not sure it's a metric by which to judge best picture of the year, but it's hard to ignore the cultural impact it had on 2010. Just ask Time magazine.

-- Nicole Sperling

 Photo: Mark Zuckerberg; credit: Reuters

Hey, National Board of Review: Where's 'Black Swan' and '127 Hours'?

Our forum posters are shocked that the National Board of Review opted for "The Social Network" as best picture. "I do think the National Board of Review is making an effort to not seem like a bunch of tea-sipping, croquet-playing, Anglophilic mama's boys anymore," said our poster Pacinofan.

Overall, our posters are also surprised by the omission of "The Kids Are All Right, "Black Swan" and "127 Hours" from the list of best pictures. See more reaction below and in our forums here.

Montana82: They included "Hereafter" in their top 10 films. Their annual bone to Eastwood.

Kelemenmarc: What I Hate:
- Lesley Manville won over Annette Bening, Julianne Moore or Anne Hathaway.
- Jesse Eisenberg won best actor award.
- Amy Adams didn't win.

Pacinofan:  It is possible Jesse Eisenberg could pull off a Michelle Pfeiffer and win all four of the major critics' prizes and still lose the Oscar and never really be considered the most likely to win it either.

AwardMadness101: Very surprised with the love for The Social Network. I'm all for it, just very surprised. Especially since Fincher was awarded for Best Director just two years ago. It got the Picture/Director/Adapted Screenplay trifecta at NBR; here's to the Oscars!

-- Tom O'Neil

Photos: "Black Swan," "127 Hours." Credits: Fox Searchlight