The Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker” added to its award-season momentum, winning best film from the New York Film Critics Circle.
The group, which announced its selections Monday, also awarded best director to Kathryn Bigelow of “The Hurt Locker.” Those choices mirrored the selections of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, which were announced Sunday.
The New York critics picked Meryl Streep for best actress for her performance in “Julie & Julia.” It was her fourth award from the group.
Best actor went to George Clooney, who was chosen for “Up in the Air” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” The latter, Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated movie, won for best animated film.
Christoph Waltz, who played a menacing Nazi in Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” won best supporting actor. Best actress went to Mo’Nique for her performance as the mother in “Precious.”
The New York Film Critics Circle Awards are among the drumbeat of critics’ prizes leading up to the Academy Awards on March 7. Oscar nominations are announced Feb. 2. Nominations for the Golden Globes, perhaps the most high profile of the earlier awards, were to be announced Tuesday by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
The early positive critical response to James Cameron’s “Avatar” has recently altered the handicapping of the Oscar race. Though the NYFCC declined to give any awards to “Avatar,” the New York Film Critics Online on Sunday named the movie its choice for best picture.
“We had a lot of good stuff to choose from and we spread the awards around,” said NYFCC chairman Armond White, critic for New York Press. “That’s a good thing because it recognizes the year’s abundance.”
The group also gave best screenplay to the political satire “In the Loop.” Best cinematography went to Christian Berger for his work on Michael Haneke’s “The White Ribbon.”
Olivier Assayas’ French drama “Summer Hour s” won for best foreign film. Terence Davies’ “Of Time and the City,” which is both a documentary and a personal narrative, was chosen as best “nonfiction film.”
For the first time, the critics also chose to give their special award to a fellow critic: Andrew Sarris, the famed critic who wrote for the Village Voice and championed the “auteur theory.” Earlier this year, the 81-year-old writer was laid off by the New York Observer, though he remains a film professor at Columbia University.
The New York Film Critics Circle, founded in 1935, will present its awards Jan. 11. The group, which is composed of 33 metro-area film critics, last year named Gus Van Sant’s “Milk” as best picture.
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