Rooney Mara & Felicty Jones Both Take Breakthrough Performance Award
So, just two days after the whole drama of the New York Film Critics Circle getting their awards out first, no one cares anymore and it's a distant memory as the National Board Of Review — usually a good measure for how Oscar nominations will pan out (though not necessarily wins) — has announcemed their winners this afternoon, and it certainly points to a very interesting race ahead.
Topping Best Picture and Best Director is Martin Scorsese's "Hugo." His 3D family film/love letter to classic cinema earned rave reviews from critics, but the win here is the first marker that this one may be a dark horse in the next few months. Paramount/GK Films is likely over the moon with this news, as they can now further bolster their platform release with this marketing around this win. Moreover, "Hugo" now stands as a considerable contender against the other old timey cinema ode "The Artist" (which made it onto the Best Film list). Some attention must be paid to Debut Director winner J.C. Chandor whose "Margin Call" continues to be something of a sleeper surprise this fall. And while the NYFCC couldn't be bothered to give anything to an animated film, NBR tips their hat to "Rango" (sidenote: John Logan wrote both — has a screenwriter ever penned both the Best Film and Best Animated Feature winner before? Helluva achievement either way.)
Over in the acting categories, George Clooney and Tilda Swinton won for "The Descendants" and "We Need To Talk About Kevin" respectively, with both films also ranking as one of the best of the year. However, in what is likely to be the story of next little while, both Rooney Mara and Felicity Jones earned Breakthrough Performance wins for "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" and "Like Crazy" respectively. This battle will likely go all the way to Oscar. Michael Fassender finally gets some love for being Michael Fassbender in the Spotlight Award.
Meanwhile the Best Films list is one to pay close attention to. Last year, NBR was 6/10 on the eventual Oscar nominees, so these will likely be the movies to be paying attention to (though the 5% first place vote rule does throw a spanner in the works). Geeks will be pleased to see "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows 2" getting listed, while "The Ides Of March" and "J. Edgar" — written off by many — get new life here. Biggest WTF? "Cedar Rapids" as one of the Best Indie Films of the year. Really? And "A Separation" continues its inevitable journey to a Best Foreign Film win.
Check out the full list of winners below, and as always, the conversation shifts once again. [via Deadline]
National Board Of Review 2011 Winners
Best Film: Hugo
Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Breakthrough Performance: Felicity Jones, Like Crazy
Breakthrough Performance: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Debut Director: J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Best Ensemble: The Help
Spotlight Award: Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)
NBR Freedom of Expression: Crime After Crime
NBR Freedom of Expression: Pariah
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Documentary: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Special Achievement in Filmmaking: The Harry Potter Franchise – A Distinguished Translation from Book to Film
Top Films (in alphabetical order)
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
Tree of Life
War Horse
Top 5 Foreign Language Films (In Alphabetical Order)
13 Assassins
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
Footnote
Le Havre
Point Blank
Top 5 Documentaries (In Alphabetical Order)
Born to be Wild
Buck
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna
Top 10 Independent Films (In Alphabetical Order)
50/50
Another Earth
Beginners
A Better Life
Cedar Rapids
Margin Call
Shame
Take Shelter
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Win Win