In the last week, we've witnessed the annual flood of awards from film critics. The Social Network has pretty much run the table, picking up honors from groups in New York, Toronto, Boston, Los Angeles and elsewhere.
On Friday, the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association -- of which the Star-Telegram’s Christopher Kelly and Cary Darling are members -- joined the chorus of hosannas for the drama about the founding of Facebook. The film earned the group’s Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay notices.
The film’s star, Jesse Eisenberg, had to settle for third place in the Best Actor voting. That prize went to James Franco in 127 Hours. Other winners included Natalie Portman for Best Actress, for her spooky, physically audacious turn in the thriller Black Swan, and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Their performances as a crack-addicted ex-boxer and his hard-driving mother in The Fighter have racked up a number of critics’ group awards in recent days, and both are considered front-runners for the Golden Globes and Oscars.
The full press release from the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association prize is below:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DALLAS-FORT WORTH FILM CRITICS NAME “THE SOCIAL NETWORK” BEST PICTURE OF 2010
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association voted the true-life drama THE SOCIAL NETWORK as the best film of 2010, according to the results of its 17th annual critics’ poll released today.
Rounding out the composite list of the top 10 films of the year were THE KING’S SPEECH (2), BLACK SWAN (3), 127 HOURS (4), WINTER’S BONE (5), INCEPTION (6), THE FIGHTER (7), TRUE GRIT (8), THE TOWN (9) and THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (10).
For Best Actor, the association named James Franco for 127 HOURS. Runners-up included Colin Firth for THE KING’S SPEECH (2), Jesse Eisenberg for THE SOCIAL NETWORK (3), Robert Duvall for GET LOW (4) and Michael Douglas for SOLITARY MAN (5).
Natalie Portman was voted Best Actress for BLACK SWAN. Next in the voting were Jennifer Lawrence for WINTER’S BONE (2), Nicole Kidman for RABBIT HOLE (3), Annette Bening for THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT (4) and Michelle Williams for BLUE VALENTINE (5).
In the Best Supporting Actor category, the winner was Christian Bale for THE FIGHTER. He was followed by Geoffrey Rush for THE KING’S SPEECH (2), Jeremy Renner for THE TOWN (3), Bill Murray for GET LOW (4) and Chris Cooper for THE COMPANY MEN (5).
For Best Supporting Actress, the association named Melissa Leo for THE FIGHTER. Runners-up included Jacki Weaver for ANIMAL KINGDOM (2), Helena Bonham Carter for THE KING’S SPEECH (3), Hailee Steinfeld for TRUE GRIT (4) and Mila Kunis for BLACK SWAN (5).
David Fincher was voted Best Director for THE SOCIAL NETWORK. Next in the voting were Danny Boyle for 127 HOURS (2), Darren Aronofsky for BLACK SWAN (3), Christopher Nolan for INCEPTION (4) and Tom Hooper for THE KING’S SPEECH (5).
The association voted BIUTIFUL as the best foreign-language film of the year. Runners-up were THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2), MOTHER (3), LEBANON (4) and I AM LOVE (5).
WAITING FOR “SUPERMAN” won for Best Documentary over EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP (2), RESTREPO (3), THE TILLMAN STORY (4) and MARWENCOL (5). TOY STORY 3 was named the best animated film of 2010, with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON as runner-up. Aaron Sorkin won the Best Screenplay award for THE SOCIAL NETWORK over Christopher Nolan for INCEPTION. The award for Best Cinematography went to Enrique Chediak and Anthony Dod Mantle for 127 HOURS, followed by a tie between Roger Deakins for TRUE GRIT and Wally Pfister for INCEPTION.
The association voted WINTER’S BONE as the winner of the Russell Smith Award, named for the late Dallas Morning News film critic. The honor is given annually to the best low-budget or cutting-edge independent film.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association consists of 28 broadcast, print and online journalists from throughout North Texas. For more information, visit www.dfwfilmcritics.com. .
