The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) held their annual awards ceremony tonight at the Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles; just a few days before the Golden Globe Awards.
Awards season pundits pointed to the 17th annual Critics Choice Awards as a strong predictor of the Golden Globe Awards and Oscars, which meant good news for the night’s big winners, The Artist, The Help and The Descendants.
The Artist, a black and white, silent melodrama set in the early days of Hollywood, won Best Picture and Michel Hazanavicius won the award for Best Director.
Viola Davis of The Help won the Best Actress prize and her co-star Octavia Spencer won for the Supporting Actress award. George Clooney won Best Actor for Alexander Payne’s family drama The Descendants and Christopher Plummer won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in Beginners. The Help also earned an ensemble award for its cast and Bridesmaids received the prize for Best Comedy.
Audiences gave the biggest round of applause to director Martin Scorsese for his acceptance of the Music Film Award, a prize given to filmmakers who advance the art of moviemaking through music. Leonardo DiCaprio presented Scorsese with the prize and Bob Dylan performed in Scorsese’s honor.
Scorsese also collected a Best Documentary Feature prize for George Harrison: Living In The Material World.
Complete List of the 2012 Critics Choice Winners:
Best Picture: The Artist - Weinstein Co.
Best Actor: George Clooney for The Descendants - Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Best Actress: Viola Davis for The Help - DreamWorks Studios.
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer for Beginners - Focus Features.
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer for The Help - DreamWorks Studios.
Best Young Actor/Actress: Thomas Horn for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Warner Bros. Pictures.
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist - Weinstein Co.
Best Acting Ensemble: The Help - DreamWorks Pictures.
Best Comedy: Bridesmaids - Universal Studios.
Best Animated Feature: Rango - Paramount Pictures.
Best Documentary Feature: George Harrison: Living in the Material World - HBO Documentary Films.
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation - Sony Pictures Classics.
Best Adapted Screenplay: Moneyball - Steven Zailian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin - Sony Pictures.
Best Original Screenplay: Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen - Sony Pictures Classics.
Best Action Movie: Drive - FilmDistrict.
Best Art Direction: Hugo - Production Designer Dante Ferretti, Set Decorator Francesca Lo Schiavo - Paramount Pictures.
Best Costume Design: The Artist - Mark Bridges - The Weinstein Company.
Best Makeup: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - Warner Bros. Pictures.
Best Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes - 20th Century Fox.
Best Editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall - Warner Bros. Pictures.
Best Sound: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 - Warner Bros. Pictures.
Best Score: The Artist - Weinstein Co.
Best Cinematography: The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki - Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Best Cinematography: War Horse - Janusz Kaminski - Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Best Song: The Muppets - "Life's a Happy Song" performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams & Walter. Lyrics by Bret McKenzie and the Muppets - Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Honorary: Joel Siegel Award: Sean Penn.
Honorary: Music & Film Award: Martin Scorsese.