The Facebook drama “The Social Network” was picked as the year’s best picture Sunday by the influential Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
The group’s best-actor prize went to Colin Firth for the British monarchy tale “The King’s Speech,” while Kim Hye-ja won best actress for the South Korean drama “Mother.” The runners-up were Edgar Ramirez for the terrorist epic “Carlos” and Jennifer Lawrence for the Ozarks crime thriller “Winter’s Bone.”
Overseas crime dramas won the other acting honors: Jacki Weaver as supporting actress for Australia’s “Animal Kingdom” and Niels Arestrup as supporting actor for France’s “A Prophet.” The runners-up were Olivia Williams for the thriller “The Ghost Writer” and Geoffrey Rush for “The King’s Speech.”
In a tie vote, the directing prize was shared by David Fincher for “The Social Network” and Olivier Assayas for “Carlos,” which also was the best-picture runner-up. “Carlos” won for best foreign-language film, and the runner-up was “Mother.”
“The Social Network,” which stars Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, won two other honors: Aaron Sorkin earned the best-screenplay prize, while composers Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross shared the award for best musical score with Alexandre Desplat for “The Ghost Writer.”
The runner-up for best screenplay was David Seidler for “The King’s Speech,” which stars Firth as Queen Elizabeth II’s father, George VI, as he struggles to overcome a debilitating stammer.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen’s blockbuster “Toy Story 3” was chosen as best animated film, while French filmmaker Sylvain Chomet’s “The Illusionist” was runner-up.
Winners, including career-achievement recipient Paul Mazursky, will be honored at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Jan. 15.
Along with the New York Film Critics Circle, which announces its winners Monday, the Los Angeles reviewers’ awards are among the key critical picks that help single out potential favorites on the buildup to the Feb. 27 Academy Awards.
“The Social Network” and “The King’s Speech” generally are considered the front-runners for the Oscars, whose nominations come out Jan. 25.
Top critics groups usually pick different films, though 2009’s “The Hurt Locker” preceded its best-picture win at the Oscars with the same honor from the Los Angeles and New York groups, along with the National Society of Film Critics.
Critics’ awards also often go to smaller, even obscure films, though the Los Angeles group went mainstream two years ago and gave its best-picture prize to the animated blockbuster “WALL-E.”
Among the group’s other awards Sunday:
Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, “Black Swan”; runner-up, Roger Deakins, “True Grit.”
Production design: Guy Hendrix Dyas, “Inception”; runner-up, Eve Stewart, “The King’s Speech.”
Documentary: “Last Train Home”; runner-up, “Exit Through the Gift Shop.”
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