Year: 2010

‘The King’s Speech’ leads Globes with 7 nominations
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. ñ The British monarchy tale “The King’s Speech” led Golden Globe contenders Tuesday with seven nominations, including best drama and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.
Other best-drama nominees were the psychosexual dance thriller “Black Swan,” the boxing saga “The Fighter,” the sci-fi blockbuster “Inception” and the Facebook chronicle “The Social Network.”
Nominees in the Globes’ other best-picture category, for musical or comedy, are the Lewis Carroll fantasy “Alice in Wonderland,” the song-and-dance extravaganza “Burlesque,” the lesbian-family tale “The Kids Are All Right,” the action tale “Red” and the romantic thriller “The Tourist.”
“The Social Network” and “The Fighter” tied for second with six nominations each. Among nominations for “The Social Network” were Jesse Eisenberg as best dramatic actor, Andrew Garfield as supporting actor and David Fincher as director.
“The Fighter” earned four acting nominations, best actor for Mark Wahlberg and supporting honors for Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo. Its nominations also included a directing slot for David O. Russell.
“We were hopeful for a couple, but to get this number was unexpected, exciting, and when it comes to the actors, so well deserved on their front,” said “The Fighter” producer Ryan Kavanaugh. “Everyone brought their A-game.”
Johnny Depp earned two nominations, as best musical or comedy actor for “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Tourist.”
Along with Eisenberg, Firth and Wahlberg, best dramatic actor contenders are James Franco for the survival story “127 Hours” and Ryan Gosling for the marital tale “Blue Valentine.”
Nominees for best dramatic actress are Halle Berry for the multiple-personality drama “Frankie and Alice,” Nicole Kidman for the grieving-parent tale “Rabbit Hole,” Jennifer Lawrence for the Ozarks crime yarn “Winter’s Bone,” Natalie Portman for “Black Swan” and Michelle Williams for “Blue Valentine.”
Along with Fincher and Russell, directing nominees are Darren Aronofsky for “Black Swan,” Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech” and Christopher Nolan for “Inception.”
Nolan’s sci-fi hit also earned nominations for screenplay and musical score, but its cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio, was snubbed for acting slots.
Joel and Ethan Coen’s Western “True Grit,” starring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, was shut out completely.
Joining Depp in the musical or comedy actor race are Paul Giamatti in the curmudgeon chronicle “Barney’s Version,” Jake Gyllenhaal in the romance “Love and Other Drugs” and Kevin Spacey in the Jack Abramoff saga “Casino Jack.”
Depp’s “The Tourist” co-star Angelina Jolie is among musical or comedy actress nominees. Also competing are Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a lesbian couple in “The Kids Are All Right,” Anne Hathaway in “Love and Other Drugs” and Emma Stone in the high school romp “Easy A.”
The animation category is filled with blockbusters, led by “Toy Story 3,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Despicable Me.” The current hit “Tangled” also made the cut, along with the upcoming French tale “The Illusionist.”
“When we were making `Toy Story 3,’ I first and foremost did not have any awards thoughts in my mind at all while we were making it, especially because we had a `3′ in the title,” said “Toy Story 3” direcor Lee Unkrich. “Sequels typically aren’t included at awards time.”
“Glee” leads TV contenders with five nominations, including comedy series and acting honors for Lea Michele, Jane Lynch, Chris Colfer and Matthew Morrison.
Other TV comedy series picks were “30 Rock,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Big C,” “Modern Family” and “Nurse Jackie.” Drama series nominees were “Boardwalk Empire,” “Dexter,” “The Good Wife,” “Mad Men” and “The Walking Dead.”
Hollywood’s second-highest film honors, the Globes traditionally were a solid weather vane for predicting which film might triumph at the Academy Awards. But the Globes have provided murky forecasts in recent times. In the last six years, only a single recipient of one of the Globe best-film prizes has gone on to win best picture at the Oscars ó 2008’s “Slumdog Millionaire.”
That came after a stretch of eight-straight years when a Globe winner in either the dramatic or musical-comedy category went on to claim the best-picture Oscar.
Like the Globes, the Oscars will feature 10 best-picture nominees, but in a single category, after academy overseers doubled the number of contenders so a broader range of films could compete.
With two acclaimed dramas ó “The King’s Speech” and “The Social Network” ó considered front-runners this time, there are prospects of another divergent year between the Globes and the Oscars, whose nominations come out Jan. 25, nine days after the Globes are presented.
“The Social Network” already has snagged two key prizes as both Los Angeles and New York film critics groups picked it as the year’s best movie. The National Board of Review, a group of film historians, educators and students, also picked “The Social Network” as best of the year.
The Globes and Oscars typically line up better on acting winners. Last year, “Avatar” won best drama at the Globes and “The Hurt Locker” took best picture at the Oscars. But all four Oscar acting recipients ó Sandra Bullock for “The Blind Side,” Jeff Bridges for “Crazy Heart,” Mo’Nique for “Precious” and Christoph Waltz for “Inglourious Basterds” ó also won prizes at the Globes first.
Clear favorites have emerged this season for best actor (Firth in “The King’s Speech”) and supporting actor (Bale in “The Fighter”).
Bening for “The Kids Are All Right” and Portman for “Black Swan” could wind up in a two-woman race for best actress at the Oscars, while the supporting-actress category is up for grabs among prospects that include Adams and Leo for “The Fighter,” Bonham Carter for “The King’s Speech” and 14-year-old newcomer Hailee Steinfeld for “True Grit.”
No matter how the two awards shows line up on winners, the stars generally can count on a good time at the Globes, a more laid-back, dinner-and-drinks affair than the stately Oscars.
The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a group of about 85 critics and reporters for overseas outlets.
Robert De Niro, an eight-time Globe nominee who won a best-actor prize there for “Raging Bull,” will receive the group’s Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement.
Ricky Gervais is returning as host of the Globes ceremony, which will air live Jan. 16 on NBC.

‘The Social Network’ named best film by LA critics
LOS ANGELES ñ 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.”

‘Black Swan’ earns 12 Critics’ Choice nominations
LOS ANGELES ñ Natalie Portman’s ballet drama “Black Swan” led contenders Monday for the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards with a record 12 nominations, among them best picture and actress.
Other best-picture nominees were the survival story “127 Hours,” the boxing saga “The Fighter,” the sci-fi smash “Inception,” the British monarchy tale “The King’s Speech,” the Facebook chronicle “The Social Network,” the heist thriller “The Town,” the animated blockbuster “Toy Story 3,” the Western “True Grit” and the Ozarks crime yarn “Winter’s Bone.”
Presented by the 250 members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the 16th annual awards will be handed out Jan. 14 in a ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. VH1 will air the show live.
Along with Portman’s lead-actress nomination, honors for “Black Swan” include a supporting-actress slot for Mila Kunis and a directing nomination for Darren Aronofsky.
“The King’s Speech” and “True Grit” were second with 11 nominations each.
Among “The King’s Speech” honors were a best-actor nomination for Colin Firth and supporting slots for Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. “True Grit” star Jeff Bridges also earned a best-actor nomination, while his newcomer co-star, 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld, had two nominations, as supporting actress and best young actor or actress.
Also earning two acting nominations were “Winter’s Bone” star Jennifer Lawrence, contending for both lead actress and best young actor or actress; and Chloe Moretz, who earned two spots in the young actor or actress category, for the action comedy “Kick-Ass” and the vampire tale “Let Me In.” Her competition includes “Let Me In” co-star Kodi Smit-McPhee, while Elle Fanning rounded out the category for the father-daughter tale “Somewhere.”
Besides Portman and Lawrence, best-actress nominees are Annette Bening for the lesbian-family story “The Kids Are All Right”; Nicole Kidman for the grieving-parent drama “Rabbit Hole”; Noomi Rapace for the thriller “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”; and Michelle Williams for the marital tale “Blue Valentine.”
Joining Firth and Bridges in the best-actor category are Robert Duvall for the backwoods romp “Get Low”; Jesse Eisenberg for “The Social Network”; James Franco for “127 Hours”; and Ryan Gosling for “Blue Valentine.”
While “The Fighter” star Mark Wahlberg missed out on a best-actor nomination, co-stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Melissa Leo all earned supporting-acting spots.
For best director, Aronofsky is up against Danny Boyle for “127 Hours”; Joel and Ethan Coen for “True Grit”; David Fincher for “The Social Network”; Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech”; and Christopher Nolan for “Inception.”
The Critics’ Choice nominations are part of a flurry of film honors that will help sort out contenders for the Feb. 27 Academy Awards, whose nominations will be announced Jan. 25. The biggest announcements this week are the Golden Globe nominations Tuesday and the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations Thursday.