AAN: Where all of the awards are up to...

As I said earlier in the week, awards season has been getting away from me, so I'll just round up all of the awards in this singular post. Next week promises to be a real treat, though, since we have the Crtics Choice, Golden Globes and SAG awards nominations being announced. I will still be covering those while I'm doing my Harry Potter marathon. What I won't be covering on time, though, are the actual ceremonies for the Critics Choice and Golden Globes. At that time I will be out of the country (in Melbourne, Australia, to be exact), so I'll catch up with them when I get back. I'm taking awards coverage seriously, this year!

Anyway, let's start with the WAFCA awards (Washington DC Area Film Critics Association...I presume.)

Best Film: The Artist, The Descendants, Drive, Hugo, Win Win.
Best Director: Martin Scorsese (Hugo), Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris), Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Alexander Payne (The Descendants), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive).
Best Actor: George Clooney (The Descendants), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Michael Fassbender (Shame), Brad Pitt (Moneyball), Michael Shannon (Take Shelter).
Best Actress: Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn), Viola Davis (The Help), Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin).
Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks (Drive), Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn), John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Christopher Plummer (Beginners), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer (The Help), Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), Carey Mulligan (Shame), Shailene Woodley (The Descendants).

Best Acting Ensemble: Bridesmaids, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, The Help, Hugo, Margin Call.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash (The Descendants), Tate Taylor (The Help), John Logan (Hugo), Steven Zallian and Aaron Sorkin (Moneyball), Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy).
Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser (50/50), Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris), Michel Hazanvicius (The Artist), Tom McCarthy (Win Win), Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids).
Best Animated Feature: Rango, The Adventures of Tintin, Arthur Christmas, Puss in Boots, Winnie the Pooh.
Best Documentary: Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, Buck, Into the Abyss, Project Nim.
Best Foreign Language Film: The Skin I Live In, 13 Assassins, Certified Copy, I Saw the Devil, Pina.
Best Art Direction: Hugo, The Artist, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, The Tree of Life, War Horse.
Best Cinematography: The Tree of Life, The Artist, Hugo, Melancholia, War Horse.
Best Score: The Artist, Drive, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Hugo, War Horse.

What does this mean for Oscar? Other than that we can still be pretty sure that The Artist will win Best Picture? Hmmmm...I'm still about 80% sure that it will win. The other 20% goes to the possibility of the Academy being 'old-fashioned' and going with War Horse, or going with Hugo because that's been given a bit of attention, or going with anything else. But I do think that The Artist has won it.
In regards to Best Actress, I'm slightly surprised that Michelle Williams got the award, especially in a category with Meryl Streep. I guess I should buck it up and put Streep in my predictions, but I refuse to let go of Rooney Mara. Only time will tell. But maybe Viola Davis hasn't won the award just yet. Same with Christopher Plummer, who lost his award to Albert Brooks. I think he might have a chance at getting an Oscar nomination now. Bonus points for adding Andy Serkis, though!
Jessica Chastain was not given a nomination for any of her performances, and I fear this will be the case come Oscar time. She's just been in too many movies and she's been too consistent - there's nothing that really 'stands out' because they all stand out. I still think this is a weak category, though.
I'd love for 50/50 to get some Oscar love, and I think it stands a good chance in the Best Original Screenplay category, particularly because of the back-story. Rango also stands a good chance at possibly winning the Best Animated Feature category, especially winning this award. I've only heard mixed things for The Adventures of Tintin, but because it is made by Spielberg it will probably win there and then. Winnie the Pooh is the deserving one, though.
As for the 'technical awards', I'm surprised for the non-love for The Tree of Life, War Horse and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in the earlier categories. However, if The Tree of Life doesn't win Best Cinematography, I will personally start a riot.
Anyway, these people seem to love Bridesmaids. I'd be happy about this since it's a female driven comedy, but it's not necessarily a very good movie.

British Independent Film Awards, European Film Awards and National Board of Review after the jump...


British Independent Film Awards

Best British Independent Film: Tyrannosaur, Senna, Shame, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, We Need to Talk About Kevin.
Best Director: Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Ben Wheatley (Kill List), Steve McQueen (Shame), Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur).
Best Actor: Michael Fassbender (Shame), Brendan Gleeson (The Guard), Neil Maskell (Kill List), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur).
Best Actress: Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur), Rebecca Hall (The Awakening), Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre), MyAnna Buring (Kill List), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin).
Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave (Coriolanus), Felicity Jones (Albatross), Carey Mulligan (Shame), Sally Hawkins (Submarine), Kathy Burke (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).
Best Supporting Actor: Michael Smiley (Kill List), Tom Hardy (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Benedict Cumberbatch (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Eddie Marsan (Tyrannosaur), Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin).
Best Screenplay: Richard Ayoade (Submarine), John Michael McDonagh (The Guard), Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump (Kill List), Abi Morgan and Steve McQueen (Shame), Lynne Ramsay and Rory Kinnear (We Need to Talk About Kevin).
Best Achievement in Production: Weekend, Kill List, Tyrannosaur, Wild Bill, You Instead.
Best Foreign Film: A Separation, Animal Kingdom, Drive, Pina, The Skin I Live In.
Best Documentary: Senna, Hell and Back Again, Life in a Day, Project Nim, TT3D: Closer to the Edge.
Most Promising Newcomer: Tom Cullen (Weekend), Jessica Brown Findlay (Albatross), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Craig Roberts (Submarine), Yasmin Paige (Submarine).
Best Debut Director: Paddy Considine (Tyrannosaur), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), Ralph Fiennes (Coriolanus), John Michael McDonagh (The Guard), Richard Ayoade (Submarine).

What does this mean for Oscar? I highly doubt that this awards ceremony has enough 'push' to get some of the smaller titles in to the Oscars, but it has given some already 'hot topics' another boost. Such as Michael Fassbender, who has now had enough boost to secure him a place at the Oscars (with a bit of luck). I just don't think that the Academy can deny his talent for much longer, and they shouldn't deny it just because of the content in his film.
Tyrannosaur was the big winner of the night, but unfortunately I don't think it has enough to make it to the Oscars. Maybe Olivia Colman might get in, but the Best Actress category is so tight I don't think that they'll go for her.
I think we can all be sure that Vanessa Redgrave will get a nomination for Coriolanus, though. Apparently she is the best thing about that film. A Separation will probably win the Foreign Film award, particularly if it's good enough to beat Animal Kingdom (glad to see it still getting attention after all these months). And I'm still pissed that Senna can't compete in the Best Documentary race.
Just a side note: has anyone else noticed how absent Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has been from various awards circles? Apparently it is quite a good film, which is a given considering it's cast and director and source material. With the Best Supporting Actor category being quite weak, I could see either Tom Hardy or Benedict Cumberbatch going in for the upset. I just hope that Gary Oldman gets the nomination he deserves, but his category is extremely tight that I think he is going to get snubbed yet again.

European Film Awards

Best Film: Melancholia, The Artist, The Kid with a Bike, In a Better World, The King's Speech, Le Havre.
Best Director: Susanne Bier (In a Better World), Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (The Kid with a Bike), Aki Kaurismaki (Le Havre), Bela Tarr (The Turin Horse), Lars von Trier (Melancholia).
Best Actress: Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Kirsten Dunst (Melancholia), Cecile de France (The Kid with a Bike), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Melancholia), Nadezhda Markina (Elena).
Best Actor: Colin Firth (The King's Speech), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Mikael Persbrandt (In a Better World), Michel Piccoli (Habemus Papam), Andre Wilms (Le Havre).
Best Screenwriter: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (The Kid with a Bike), Anders Thomas Jensen (In a Better World), Aki Kaurismaki (Le Havre), Lars von Trier (Melancholia).
Best Cinematographer: Melancholia, The Turin Horse, The Artist, Essential Killing.
Best Editor: The King's Speech, Melancholia, Three.
Best Production Designer: Melancholia, Habemus Papam, The Skin I Live In.
Best Composer: The Artist, The King's Speech, The Skin I Live In, The Turin Horse.
People's Choice Award: The King's Speech.

What does this mean for Oscar? That The King's Speech is going to sweep every award possible, obviously. I don't know how this movie keeps winning awards! It just brings me back to the days when I hated it for stealing The Social Network's thunder (I like it enough now...but does anyone else think that it was slightly boring?)
I think there are only two things we can take away from here: the first is that Tilda Swinton may very well get an Oscar nomination, and that Melancholia has a bit of a chance at something. Well, especially considering that it didn't really let The Artist get a word in edge-ways (jeez I'm funny!). I doubt that this will be a major factor come awards time, because, let's face it, Melancholia is not the type of film we'd see at the Oscar. And everyone is still a little touchy around Lars von Trier and his Nazi gaffe earlier this year. Still, I hope that Kirsten Dunst gets a bit more attention.

I'm not even going to bother with the Golden Satellites until they give out the awards. The nominations themselves are pretty questionable.

National Board of Review

Best Film: Hugo
Top Films: The Artist, The Descendants, Drive, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, The Ides of March, J. Edgar, The Tree of Life, War Horse.
Top 10 Independent Films: 50/50, Another Earth, Beginners, A Better Life, Cedar Rapids, Margin Call, Shame, Take Shelter, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Win Win.
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 Director: Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
Debut Director: J.C. Chandor (Margin Call)
Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser (50/50)
Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash (The Descendants)

Best Ensemble: The Help
Spotlight Award: Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Top 5 Foreign Language Films: 13 Assassins, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, Footnote, Le Havre, Point Blank.
Best Documentary: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Top 5 Documentaries: Born to be Wild, Buck, George Harrison: Living in a Material World, Project Nim, Senna.
Breakthrough Performances: Felicity Jones (Like Crazy), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

What does this mean for Oscar? It looks like The Artist has some competition, which comes in the form of Martin Scorsese's family film Hugo. I have heard mixed to positive things about this film, so I'm not sure whether this movie is really good enough to win Best Picture. But we can definitely lock it in. I'm surprised that J. Edgar was listed as one of the top ten films. I actually had a dream that it was nominated for Best Picture...so it might happen.
As for the acting categories, I think we can expect much of the same from Oscar. George Clooney was originally my wildcard for the category, but now it is looking more and more likely that he will win the award. Tilda Swinton didn't even make my original predictions, but she's looking like a clear lock now. Christopher Plummer will probably keep on going until the end. Shailene Woodley looks like she could go in for the upset, although I'm not entirely convinced that she'll win. I'm glad that The Help got Best Ensemble, as in my opinion, they were a netter female ensemble than Bridesmaids.
I think we can definitely put 50/50 as a lock in the Original Screenplay category. I could also see this going for a Juno-type win. And I think Rango's chances of winning Best Animated Feature are looking more and more likely by the day. Still, I can't see the Academy turning down Steven Spielberg's first animated feature. But he's probably going to churn out a few sequels to Tintin, so they might let Rango have a chance this time.
One thing I noticed, though, is the complete absence of Martha Marcy May Marlene. Not just in this awards set, but in most of the others too. I thought Elizabeth Olsen would be getting a lot of love in the 'breakthrough' categories, but Felicity Jones keeps winning them (possibly because Like Crazy is a more accessible film). I'm glad that Rooney Mara got an award though. As I said, I'm holding onto hope that Mara gets nominated this year.

So, there you go. What are you thinking about awards season right now?