Natalie Portman’s ballet drama “Black Swan” led contenders Monday for the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards with a record 12 nominations, among them best picture and actress.
Other best-picture nominees were the survival story “127 Hours,” the boxing saga “The Fighter,” the sci-fi smash “Inception,” the British monarchy tale “The King’s Speech,” the Facebook chronicle “The Social Network,” the heist thriller “The Town,” the animated blockbuster “Toy Story 3,” the Western “True Grit” and the Ozarks crime yarn “Winter’s Bone.”
Presented by the 250 members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the 16th annual awards will be handed out Jan. 14 in a ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. VH1 will air the show live.
Along with Portman’s lead-actress nomination, honors for “Black Swan” include a supporting-actress slot for Mila Kunis and a directing nomination for Darren Aronofsky.
“The King’s Speech” and “True Grit” were second with 11 nominations each.
Among “The King’s Speech” honors were a best-actor nomination for Colin Firth and supporting slots for Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. “True Grit” star Jeff Bridges also earned a best-actor nomination, while his newcomer co-star, 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld, had two nominations, as supporting actress and best young actor or actress.
Also earning two acting nominations were “Winter’s Bone” star Jennifer Lawrence, contending for both lead actress and best young actor or actress; and Chloe Moretz, who earned two spots in the young actor or actress category, for the action comedy “Kick-Ass” and the vampire tale “Let Me In.” Her competition includes “Let Me In” co-star Kodi Smit-McPhee, while Elle Fanning rounded out the category for the father-daughter tale “Somewhere.”
Besides Portman and Lawrence, best-actress nominees are Annette Bening for the lesbian-family story “The Kids Are All Right”; Nicole Kidman for the grieving-parent drama “Rabbit Hole”; Noomi Rapace for the thriller “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”; and Michelle Williams for the marital tale “Blue Valentine.”
Joining Firth and Bridges in the best-actor category are Robert Duvall for the backwoods romp “Get Low”; Jesse Eisenberg for “The Social Network”; James Franco for “127 Hours”; and Ryan Gosling for “Blue Valentine.”
While “The Fighter” star Mark Wahlberg missed out on a best-actor nomination, co-stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo all earned supporting-acting spots.
For best director, Aronofsky is up against Danny Boyle for “127 Hours”; Joel and Ethan Coen for “True Grit”; David Fincher for “The Social Network”; Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech”; and Christopher Nolan for “Inception.”
The Critics’ Choice nominations are part of a flurry of film honors that will help sort out contenders for the Feb. 27 Academy Awards, whose nominations will be announced Jan. 25. The biggest announcements this week are the Golden Globe nominations Tuesday and the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations Thursday.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt Reach Divorce Settlement After 8 Years
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have reached a divorce settlement, ending one of the longest and most contentious divorces in Hollywood history but not every legal issue between the two.
Jolie and Pitt signed off on a default declaration filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, saying they have entered into a written agreement on their marital and property rights. The settlement was first reported by People magazine.
"More than eight years ago, Angelina filed for divorce from Mr. Pitt," Jolie's attorney, James Simon, said in a statement. "She and the children left all of the properties they had shared with Mr. Pitt, and since that time she has focused on finding peace and healing for their family. This is just one part of a long ongoing process that started eight years ago. Frankly, Angelina is exhausted, but she is relieved this one part is over."
The filing says they give up the right to any future spousal financial support, but gives no other details. A judge will need to sign off on the agreement. An email late Monday night to Pitt's attorney seeking comment was not immediately answered.
Jolie, 49, and Pitt, 61, were among Hollywood's most prominent pairings for 12 years, two of them as a married couple. The Oscar winners have six children together.
Jolie filed for divorce in 2016, after a private jet flight from Europe during which she said Pitt physically abused her and their children. The FBI and child services officials investigated Pitt's actions on the flight. Two months later, the FBI released a statement saying it would not investigate further, and the U.S. attorney did not bring charges.
A heavily redacted FBI report obtained by The Associated Press in 2022 said that an agent provided a probable cause... Read More