The National Society of Film Critics has selected “The Hurt Locker,” a film about an elite Army bomb squad unit that works in Iraq to defuse improvised explosives while under the threat of insurgents, as the best picture of 2009.
The society, composed of film critics from some of the country’s top publications, also bestowed honors on the movie’s director, Kathryn Bigelow, and lead actor, Jeremy Renner.
The society picked Yolande Moreau as best actress for her performance in “Seraphine,” a French film about the painter Seraphine de Senlis.
Joel and Ethan Coen won best screenplay for “A Serious Man,” a dark comedy set in 1967, while “The Beaches of Agnes 40,” an autobiographical documentary about the life of director Agnes Varda, was selected as the best nonfiction film.
“Summer Hours,” a story of three siblings by French filmmaker Olivier Assayas, won for best foreign language film.
Mo’Nique, the Baltimore-born comedian best known for her roles in television sitcoms and as the host of her own talk show, was selected as best supporting actress for her portrayal of an abusive mother in “Precious.”
Austrian Christoph Waltz won for best supporting actor for his work as the Jew Hunter in “Inglourious Basterds,” a Quentin Tarantino war film starring Brad Pitt as the leader of a group of soldiers trying to kill Adolf Hitler.
Forty-six of the society’s 64 members voted during Sunday’s meeting at a midtown Manhattan restaurant.
The society, founded in 1966, has a reputation for picking foreign films or critics’ darlings. Rarely do the group’s selections mirror those given out during the Academy Awards, but its members are highly esteemed by filmmakers and film critics.
The Academy Awards are set for March 7.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More