With all the awards attention that Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty has been getting, it’s rather refreshing to see critics choose different winners for Best Picture. That’s exactly what critics from San Diego and Las Vegas have done, picking Argo and Life of Pi, respectively, as the Best Films of 2012.
Apparently each group REALLY liked their Best Picture winners. San Diego critics also gave Argo awards for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing. Las Vegas Critics also gave Life of Pi Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Score, and the Youth in Film award.
Could we be seeing the end of Zero Dark Thirty‘s reign already? After the Screen Actors Guild nominations this morning, I’m having doubts about its Best Picture chances. For 17 years, SAG has been giving out its Best Cast in a Motion Picture award, with only one instance of an eventual Best Picture Oscar winner not receiving a nomination in the category. With Zero Dark Thirty being left out, we could be seeing an early sign that a major guild is not as taken with the film as critics seem to be thus far.
Tomorrow morning will see the announcement of the Golden Globe nominations, which, while they aren’t a particularly good indicator of who will win, they can be a good indicator of what the Academy will end up nominating, so be sure to check back for the results.
For now, check out a complete list of winners from San Diego and Las Vegas critics below:
San Diego Film Critics
BEST FILM – “ARGO”
BEST DIRECTOR – Ben Affleck (“ARGO”)
BEST ACTRESS – Michelle Williams (“TAKE THIS WALTZ”)
BEST ACTOR – Daniel Day-Lewis (“LINCOLN”)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Emma Watson (“THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER”)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – Christoph Waltz (“DJANGO UNCHAINED”)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – Paul Thomas Anderson (“THE MASTER”)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – Chris Terrio (“ARGO”)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – “THE KID WITH A BIKE”
BEST DOCUMENTARY – “THE INVISIBLE WAR”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Claudio Miranda, “LIFE OF PI”
BEST ANIMATED FILM – “PARANORMAN”
BEST EDITING – William Goldenberg (“ARGO”)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – Hugh Bateup and Uli Hanisch, “CLOUD ATLAS”
BEST SCORE – Jonny Greenwood (“THE MASTER”)
BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE–“THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER”
BODY OF WORK FOR 2012 – Greig Fraser (cinematographer: “Zero Dark Thirty”, “Killing Them Softly”, “Snow White and the Huntsman”)
KYLE COUNTS AWARD – Dan Bennett, Member Emeritus SDFCS, North County Times Film Critic, International Children’s Film FestivalLas Vegas Film Critics
Best Picture
“Life of Pi”Best Actor
Daniel Day Lewis, “Lincoln”Best Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”Best Supporting Actor
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”Best Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”Best Director
Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”Best Screenplay
Rian Johnson, “Looper”Best Cinematography
Claudio Miranda, “Life of Pi”Best Film Editing
William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor, “Zero Dark Thirty”Best Costume Design
Jacqueline Durran, “Anna Karenina”Best Art Direction
Alex Cameron, “Prometheus”Best Visual Effects
“Life of Pi”Best Score
Mychael Danna, “Life of Pi”Best Song
“Skyfall”Best Documentary
“Bully”Best Animated Film
“Paranorman”Best Foreign Film
“Amour” (Germany)Youth in Film
Suraj Sharma, “Life of Pi”Breakout Filmmaker of the Year
Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”Best DVD (Packaging, Design and Content)
“Hitchcock Collection – Masterpiece Collection” (Blu-Ray)William Holden Lifetime Achievement Award
Alan ArkinLVFCS Top 10 Films of 2012
1. Life of Pi
2. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Argo
4. Silver Lining Playbook
5. Lincoln
6. Moonrise Kingdom
7. The Impossible
8. Les Miserables
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
10. The Master
