The “Facebook movie” has come out on top for both the Los Angeles Film Critics and the Boston Society of Film Critics. It’s also been named among the top films of the year by the American Film Institute. Not exactly shocking. Due to the trend so far, THE SOCIAL NETWORK seems like it will be the picture to beat come Oscar time.
To the credit of the Los Angeles Film Critics (who have gone outside the box with their picks in the past), they also gave some love to Olivier Assayas’ five-hour mini-series CARLOS, about infamous Venezuelan revolutionary Ilich Ramírez Sánchez a.k.a. Carlos the Jackal – played by Edgar Ramirez (THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, DOMINO) – who founded a worldwide terrorist organization and raided a 1975 OPEC meeting. Assayas tied with Fincher for Best Director while CARLOS itself came in as the runner-up for Best Picture.
The full list of winners:
LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS
Best Picture
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Runner-up: CARLOS
Best Actor
Colin Firth, THE KING’S SPEECH
Runner-up: Edgar Ramirez, CARLOS
Best Actress
Kim Hye-ja, MOTHER
Runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, WINTER’S BONE
Best Supporting Actor
Niels Arestrup, A PROPHET
Runner-up: Geoffrey Rush, THE KING’S SPEECH
Best Supporting Actress
Jacki Weaver, ANIMAL KINGDOM
Runner-up: Olivia Williams, THE GHOST WRITER
Best Director
Olivier Assayas, CARLOS and David Fincher, THE SOCIAL NETWORK (tie)
Best Screenplay
Aaron Sorkin, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Runner-up: David Seidler, THE KING’S SPEECH
Best Cinematography
Matthew Libatique, BLACK SWAN
Runner-up: Roger Deakins, TRUE GRIT
Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film
LAST TRAIN HOME
Runner-up: EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP
Best Foreign-Language Film
CARLOS
Runner-up: MOTHER
Best Animated Film
TOY STORY 3
Runner-up: THE ILLUSIONIST
New Generation Award
Lena Dunham, TINY FURNITURE
Best Music/Score
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, THE SOCIAL NETWORK and Alexandre Desplat, THE GHOST WRITER (tie)
Best Production Design
Guy Hendrix Dyas, INCEPTION
Runner-up: Eve Stewart, THE KING’S SPEECH
Douglas E. Edwards Award for Independent/Experimental Film/Video
FILM SOCIALISM
Legacy of Cinema
Serge Bromberg for his preservation efforts, including his work on Henri-Georges Clouzot’s INFERNO
BOSTON SOCIETY OF FILM CRITICS
Best Picture
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Runner-up: TOY STORY 3
Best Actor
Jesse Eisenberg, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Runner-up: Colin Firth, THE KING’S SPEECH
Best Actress
Natalie Portman, BLACK SWAN
Runner-up: Annette Bening, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, THE FIGHTER
Runner-up: Andrew Garfield, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Best Supporting Actress
Juliette Lewis, CONVICTION
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, THE FIGHTER
Best Director
David Fincher, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Runner-up: Darren Aronofsky, BLACK SWAN
Best Screenplay
Aaron Sorkin, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Runner-up: Nicole Holofcener, PLEASE GIVE
Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins, TRUE GRIT
Runner-up: Matthew Libatique, BLACK SWAN
Best Documentary
MARWENCOL
Runner-up: INSIDE JOB
Best Foreign-Language Film
TBD
Best Animated Film
TOY STORY 3
Runner-up: THE ILLUSIONIST
Best Editing (In Memory of Karen Schmeer)
Andrew Weisblum, BLACK SWAN
Runner-up: Lee Smith, INCEPTION
Best New Filmmaker (In Memory of David Brudnoy)
Jeff Malmberg, MARWENCOL
Runner-up: David Michod, ANIMAL KINGDOM
Best Ensemble Cast
THE FIGHTER
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Best Use of Music in a Film
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Runner-up: Carter Burwell, TRUE GRIT
AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR (in alphabetical order)
BLACK SWAN
THE FIGHTER
INCEPTION
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
127 HOURS
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
THE TOWN
TOY STORY 3
TRUE GRIT
WINTER’S BONE
AFI TV PROGRAMS OF THE YEAR (in alphabetical order)
THE BIG C
BOARDWALK EMPIRE
BREAKING BAD
GLEE
MAD MEN
MODERN FAMILY
THE PACIFIC
TEMPLE GRANDIN
30 ROCK
THE WALKING DEAD
AFI SPECIAL AWARDS
THE KING’S SPEECH
WAITING FOR SUPERMAN