Awards Tracker: Best Picture

The critics agreed on a top five that took the significant majority of their nominations, and all their wins: The Artist (18), The Tree of Life (18), The Descendants (15), Drive (15), Hugo (13).

The next five are a mixed bunch: Midnight in Paris (8), Moneyball (6), The Help (5), Win Win (4) & Take Shelter (4).

The awards groups took things a little more sentimentally; arthouse darlings Tree of Life & Drive are pushed out of the top five (& snubbed out of the Producers Guild top ten), replaced by War Horse & The Help. The Tree of Life & Drive do feature in the overall top ten, together with Moneyball, Midnight in Paris & Bridesmaids, but the Producers Guild snubs (in favour of Ides of March & Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) are not a good sign. If you ask me, the Critics Choice came the closest to a healthy mix of art & mainstream, but the BAFTAs have the classiest Top 5.

It is nigh on impossible to predict Best Picture accurately this year, as we do not know how many nominees there will be (the voting system determines the number of nominees based on a required percentage of support). All in all, I'm going to aim for the quality in the middle of the road, with some wishful thinking thrown in for good measure:

If there are 8:

The Artist

The Descendants

Hugo

The Help

Midnight in Paris

Moneyball

The Tree of Life

War Horse

If there are 10: 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Ides of March

Alternates:

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (don't bet against Stephen Daldry)

Bridesmaids

National Board of Review Winners

The oldest film awards body in the world - a spin-off of the censorship board - announces their classy set of nominees and winners for 2011.

Best Picture Top 10

The Artist

The Descendants

Drive

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Hugo 

The Ides of March

J Edgar

The Tree of Life

War Horse

Best Director

Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Best Actor

George Clooney - The Descendants

Best Actress

Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Best Supporting Actress

Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

Best Animated Feature

Rango

Best Ensemble

The Help

Best Independent Films

50/50

Another Earth

Beginners

A Better Life

Cedar Rapids

Margin Call

Shame

Take Shelter

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Win Win

Screenplay, Foreign Language Film, Documentary & Breakthrough Awards after the cut:

Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Awards season is now in full swing. The Indie Spirit Awards focus exclusively on films made for under $20 million, which fortunately includes some of the year's big hitters. Here are their nominees (they shafted George Clooney & Glenn Close!) :

Best Feature:

50/50

The Artist

Beginners

The Descendants

Drive

Take Shelter

Best Director:

Michael Hazanavicius - The Artist 

Jeff Nichols - Take Shelter

Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive

Alexander Payne - The Descendants

Mike Mills - Beginners

Best International Film:

Tyrannosaur

The Kid with a Bike

Shame

Melancholia

A Separation

Best First Feature:

Patrick Wang - In the Family

Robbie Pickering - Natural Selection

Sean Durkin - Martha Marcy May Marlene

J.C. Chandor - Margin Call

Mike Cahill - Another Earth

Best Female Lead:

Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene

Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn

Lauren Ambrose - Think of Me

Rachael Harris - Natural Selection

Adepero Oduye - Pariah

Best Male Lead:

Demian Bichir - A Better Life

Jean Dujardin - The Artist

Michael Shannon - Take Shelter

Ryan Gosling - Drive

Woody Harrelson - Rampart

Best Supporting Female:

Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

Jessica Chastain - Take Shelter

Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs

Harmony Santana - Gun Hill Road

Anjelica Huston - 50/50

Best Supporting Male:

Albert Brooks - Drive

Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Corey Stoll - Midnight in Paris

John C Reilly - Cedar Rapids

John Hawkes - Martha Marcy May Marlene

Best Screenplay:

Tom McCarthy - Win Win

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash - The Descendants

Michael Hazanavicius - The Artist

Joseph Cedar - Footnote

Mike Mills - Beginners

Best First Screenplay:

Will Reiser - 50/50

Mike Cahill & Brit Marling - Another Earth

Phil Johnston - Cedar Rapids

J.C. Chandor - Margin Call

Patrick DeWitt - Terri

John Cassavettes Award for films made on a shoestring budget:

Bellflower

Circumstance

Hello Lonesome

Pariah

The Dynamiter

Someone to Watch Award:

Mark Jackson - Without

Nicholas Ozeki - Mamitas

Simon Arthur - Silver Tongues

Truer Than Fiction Award:

Alma Har'el - Bombay Beach

Danfung Dennis - Hell and Back Again

Heather Courtney - Where Soldiers Come From

The Descendants - Trailer + Q & A

Alexander Payne is a master, with the incisive, bittersweet Election, About Schmidt, Sideways and masterful five minute short 14e Arrondisement, for Paris, Je t'aime behind his name to prove it. Count me in as very excited for his latest, The Descendants.

Sasha Stone caught an early screening at Telluride film fest, and posted her feedback via Awards Daily. The good news is that The Descendants is apparently "as good as Sideways" and "George Clooney's best performance".

Alexander Payne & George Clooney team up for The Descendants

George Clooney & director Alexander Payne have teamed up for Payne's latest film, The Descendants, an adaptation of Kaui Hart Hemmings' tragicomic novel of the same name.

The premise is simple - 'a land baron tries to connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a boating accident' (thanks, IMDB.com) - but the combination of Clooney, Payne, tragicomedy & distributor Fox Searchlight promises very good things indeed.

Clooney is on a winning career-streak where he can do almost no wrong, Payne's films (Citizen Ruth, Election, About Schmidt, Sideways & his glorious 5 minute segment 14e Arrondissement in Paris, Je t'Aime) have gone from excellent to flawless, and never fail to deliver pitch perfect, heavily flawed characters & a perfect balance of challenging drama & insanely funny entertainment (depending on what mood you're in).

Fox Searchlight has a knack for picking winners lately (Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, Slumdog Millionaire...) so keep your eyes on this one.

Short teaser clip: