“The Social Network” keeps making friends, winning the Critics’ Choice award for best picture and three other prizes.
But “Inception” led all films Friday night with six awards total, all in technical categories.
Best actor went to Colin Firth for his portrayal of King George VI, who overcame a stammer with the help of an unconventional speech therapist, in “The King’s Speech,” while Natalie Portman won best actress for playing a ballerina who descends into madness in “Black Swan.”
“The Social Network,” which chronicles the origin of Facebook, also won for David Fincher’s direction, Aaron Sorkin’s adapted screenplay and the score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
The boxing drama “The Fighter” won in three categories: supporting actor Christian Bale, supporting actress Melissa Leo and best ensemble.
But from a numerical standpoint, “Inception” was the big winner of the night. Christopher Nolan’s psychological dream thriller won for cinematography, art direction, editing, visual effects, sound and best action movie.
The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, bestowed by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, were given out at the Hollywood Palladium.
Among the other winners, “Toy Story 3” was named best animated film, “Waiting for ‘Superman'” took the documentary prize, “Easy A” won best comedy and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” was the foreign-language winner. Hailee Steinfeld won the best young actor or actress award for her film debut in the Coen brothers’ version of “True Grit.”
The front-runner this awards season, “The Social Network” has won top honors from several critics groups, including those in New York and Los Angeles and the National Society of Film Critics.
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More