Lincoln Leads Critics Choice with Record-Setting 13 Nominations, Les Mis Close Behind with 11

The Broadcast Film Critics Association, or Critics Choice, has announced this year’s nominations and for the first time we have an idea of how the Oscar cards might be dealt this year. The Critics Choice are less inclined towards backroom debates over legacy because they attend to their personal ballots at home and each member simply fills out his or her ballot in privacy, free from peer pressure, like Oscar voters and the guilds do. To that end, the Critics Choice is most useful, I’ve found of late, in predicting the categories that the whole of the Academy choose rather than those left to the discretion of the individual branches.  The Best Picture lineup, for instance, is usually a fairly reliable indicator, even if we don’t yet know how many films Oscar will choose for that lineup.

The other categories have a pretty good track record for matching too, but maybe that’s because, unlike Oscar, they get to pick 6 instead of 5.   My take-away from these nominations is that they really liked Lincoln. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it will their winner.  Stats for this after the nominations.

The Critics Choice Awards will air on January 10, 2012

NOMINATIONS FOR THE 18th ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS

BEST PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Daniel Day-Lewis – “Lincoln”
John Hawkes – “The Sessions”
Hugh Jackman – “Les Misérables”
Joaquin Phoenix – “The Master”
Denzel Washington – “Flight”

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Marion Cotillard – “Rust and Bone”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva – “Amour”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts – “The Impossible”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Arkin – “Argo”
Javier Bardem – “Skyfall”
Robert De Niro – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Philip Seymour Hoffman – “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones – “Lincoln”
Matthew McConaughey – “Magic Mike”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams – “The Master”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Ann Dowd – “Compliance”
Sally Field – “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway – “Les Misérables”
Helen Hunt – “The Sessions”

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – “Ginger & Rosa”
Kara Hayward – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Tom Holland – “The Impossible”
Logan Lerman – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Suraj Sharma – “Life of Pi”
Quvenzhané Wallis – “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Argo
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck – “Argo”
Kathryn Bigelow – “Zero Dark Thirty”
Tom Hooper – “Les Misérables”
Ang Lee – “Life of Pi”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Steven Spielberg – “Lincoln”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino – “Django Unchained”
John Gatins – “Flight”
Rian Johnson – “Looper”
Paul Thomas Anderson – “The Master”
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – “Moonrise Kingdom”
Mark Boal – “Zero Dark Thirty”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio – “Argo”
David Magee – “Life of Pi”
Tony Kushner – “Lincoln”
Stephen Chbosky – “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
David O. Russell – “Silver Linings Playbook”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Les Misérables” – Danny Cohen
“Life of Pi” – Claudio Miranda
“Lincoln” – Janusz Kaminski
“The Master” – Mihai Malaimare Jr.
“Skyfall” – Roger Deakins

BEST ART DIRECTION
“Anna Karenina” – Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer; Katie Spencer/Set Decorator
“The Hobbit” – Dan Hennah/Production Designer; Ra Vincent & Simon Bright/Set Decorators
“Les Misérables” – Eve Stewart/Production Designer; Anna Lynch-Robinson/Set Decorator
“Life of Pi” – David Gropman/Production Designer; Anna Pinnock/Set Decorator
“Lincoln” – Rick Carter/Production Designer; Jim Erickson/Set Decorator

BEST EDITING
“Argo” – William Goldenberg
“Les Misérables” – Melanie Ann Oliver and Chris Dickens
“Life of Pi” – Tim Squyres
“Lincoln” – Michael Kahn
“Zero Dark Thirty” – William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Anna Karenina” – Jacqueline Durran
“Cloud Atlas” – Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud
“The Hobbit” – Bob Buck, Ann Maskrey and Richard Taylor
“Les Misérables” – Paco Delgado
“Lincoln” – Joanna Johnston

BEST MAKEUP
Cloud Atlas
The Hobbit
Les Misérables
Lincoln

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
The Avengers
Cloud Atlas
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit
Life of Pi

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave
Frankenweenie
Madagascar 3
ParaNorman
Rise of the Guardians
Wreck-It Ralph

BEST ACTION MOVIE
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
Looper
Skyfall

BEST ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Christian Bale – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Daniel Craig – “Skyfall”
Robert Downey Jr. – “The Avengers”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Looper”
Jake Gyllenhaal – “End of Watch”

BEST ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE
Emily Blunt – “Looper”
Gina Carano – “Haywire”
Judi Dench – “Skyfall”
Anne Hathaway – “The Dark Knight Rises”
Jennifer Lawrence – “The Hunger Games”

BEST COMEDY
Bernie
Silver Linings Playbook
Ted
This Is 40
21 Jump Street

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jack Black – “Bernie”
Bradley Cooper – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Paul Rudd – “This Is 40”
Channing Tatum – “21 Jump Street”
Mark Wahlberg – “Ted”

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Mila Kunis – “Ted”
Jennifer Lawrence – “Silver Linings Playbook”
Shirley MacLaine – “Bernie”
Leslie Mann – “This Is 40”
Rebel Wilson – “Pitch Perfect”

BEST SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE
The Cabin in the Woods
Looper
Prometheus

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
The Intouchables
A Royal Affair
Rust and Bone

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Bully
The Central Park Five
The Imposter
The Queen of Versailles
Searching for Sugar Man
West of Memphis

BEST SONG
“For You” – performed by Keith Urban/written by Monty Powell & Keith Urban – Act of Valor
“Learn Me Right” – performed by Birdy with Mumford & Sons/written by Mumford & Sons – Brave
“Skyfall” – performed by Adele/written by Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth – Skyfall
“Still Alive” – performed by Paul Williams/written by Paul Williams – Paul Williams Still Alive
“Suddenly” – performed by Hugh Jackman/written by Claude-Michel Schonberg & Alain Boublil & Herbert Kretzmer – Les Misérables

BEST SCORE
“Argo” – Alexandre Desplat
“Life of Pi” – Mychael Danna
“Lincoln” – John Williams
“The Master” – Jonny Greenwood
“Moonrise Kingdom” – Alexandre Desplat

NOMINEES BY PICTURE FOR
THE 18th ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE MOVIE AWARDS

21 JUMP STREET – 2 Nominations
Best Comedy
Best Actor in a Comedy/Channing Tatum

A ROYAL AFFAIR – 1 Nomination
Best Foreign Language Film

ACT OF VALOR – 1 Nomination
Best Song/“For You”

AMOUR – 2 Nominations
Best Actress/Emmanuelle Riva
Best Foreign Language Film

ANNA KARENINA – 2 Nominations
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design

ARGO – 7 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actor/Alan Arkin
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director/Ben Affleck
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Editing
Best Score

THE AVENGERS – 3 Nominations
Best Visual Effects
Best Action Movie
Best Actor in an Action Movie/Robert Downey Jr.

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD – 3 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actress/Quvenzhane Wallis
Best Young Actress/Quvenzhane Wallis

BERNIE – 3 Nominations
Best Comedy
Best Actor in a Comedy/Jack Black
Best Actress in a Comedy/Shirley MacLaine

THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL – 1 Nomination
Best Acting Ensemble

BRAVE – 2 Nominations
Best Animated Feature
Best Song/ “Learn Me Right”

BULLY – 1 Nomination
Best Documentary Feature

THE CABIN IN THE WOODS – 1 Nomination
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE – 1 Nomination
Best Documentary Feature

CLOUD ATLAS – 3 Nominations
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup
Best Visual Effects

COMPLIANCE – 1 Nomination
Best Supporting Actress/Ann Dowd

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES – 4 Nominations
Best Visual Effects
Best Action Movie
Best Actor in an Action Movie/Christian Bale
Best Actress in an Action Movie/Anne Hathaway

DJANGO UNCHAINED – 2 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Original Screenplay

END OF WATCH – 1 Nomination
Best Actor in an Action Movie/Jake Gyllenhaal

FLIGHT – 2 Nominations
Best Actor/Denzel Washington
Best Original Screenplay

FRANKENWEENIE – 1 Nomination
Best Animated Feature

GINGER & ROSA – 1 Nomination
Best Young Actress/Elle Fanning

HAYWIRE – 1 Nomination
Best Actress in an Action Movie/Gina Carano

THE HOBBIT – 4 Nominations
Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup
Best Visual Effects

THE HUNGER GAMES – 1 Nomination
Best Actress in an Action Movie/Jennifer Lawrence

THE IMPOSSIBLE – 2 Nominations
Best Actress/Naomi Watts
Best Young Actor/Tom Holland

THE IMPOSTER – 1 Nomination
Best Documentary Feature

THE INTOUCHABLES – 1 Nomination
Best Foreign Language Film

LES MISÉRABLES – 11 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actor/Hugh Jackman
Best Supporting Actress/Anne Hathaway
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director/Tom Hooper
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best Editing
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup
Best Song/ “Suddenly”

LIFE OF PI – 9 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Young Actor/Suraj Sharma
Best Director/Ang Lee
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best Editing
Best Visual Effects
Best Score

LINCOLN – 13 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actor/Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Supporting Actor/Tommy Lee Jones
Best Supporting Actress/Sally Field
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director/Steven Spielberg
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Art Direction
Best Editing
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup
Best Score

LOOPER – 5 Nominations
Best Original Screenplay
Best Action Movie
Best Actor in an Action Movie/Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Best Actress in an Action Movie/Emily Blunt
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

MADAGASCAR 3 – 1 Nomination
Best Animated Feature

MAGIC MIKE – 1 Nomination
Best Supporting Actor/Matthew McConaughey

THE MASTER – 7 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actor/Joaquin Phoenix
Best Supporting Actor/Philip Seymour Hoffman
Best Supporting Actress/Amy Adams
Best Original Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Score

MOONRISE KINGDOM – 5 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Young Actress/Kara Hayward
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Original Screenplay
Best Score

PARANORMAN – 1 Nomination
Best Animated Feature

PAUL WILLIAMS STILL ALIVE – 1 Nomination
Best Song/“Still Alive”

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER – 2 Nominations
Best Young Actor/Logan Lerman
Best Adapted Screenplay

PITCH PERFECT – 1 Nomination
Best Actress in a Comedy/Rebel Wilson

PROMETHEUS – 1 Nomination
Best Sci-Fi/Horror Movie

THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES – 1 Nomination
Best Documentary Feature

RISE OF THE GUARDIANS – 1 Nomination
Best Animated Feature

RUST AND BONE- 2 Nominations
Best Actress/Marion Cotillard
Best Foreign Language Film

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN – 1 Nomination
Best Documentary Feature

THE SESSIONS – 2 Nominations
Best Actor/John Hawkes
Best Supporting Actress/Helen Hunt

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK – 10 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actor/Bradley Cooper
Best Actress/Jennifer Lawrence
Best Supporting Actor/Robert De Niro
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Director/David O. Russell
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Comedy
Best Actor in a Comedy/Bradley Cooper
Best Actress in a Comedy/Jennifer Lawrence

SKYFALL – 7 Nominations
Best Supporting Actor/Javier Bardem
Best Supporting Actress/Judi Dench
Best Cinematography
Best Action Movie
Best Actor in an Action Movie/Daniel Craig
Best Actress in an Action Movie/Judi Dench
Best Song/“Skyfall”

TED – 3 Nominations
Best Comedy
Best Actor in a Comedy/Mark Wahlberg
Best Actress in a Comedy/Mila Kunis

THIS IS 40 – 3 Nominations
Best Comedy
Best Actor in a Comedy/Paul Rudd
Best Actress in a Comedy/Leslie Mann

WEST OF MEMPHIS – 1 Nomination
Best Documentary Feature

WRECK IT RALPH – 1 Nomination
Best Animated Feature

ZERO DARK THIRTY – 5 Nominations
Best Picture
Best Actress/Jessica Chastain
Best Director/Kathryn Bigelow
Best Original Screenplay
Best Editing

Last year, The Artist and Hugo both led the nominations with 11 each.  In 2010, Black Swan led the nominations with a record-setting 12, The King’s Speech and True Grit trailed neck and neck with 11. In 2009, Inglourious Basterds and Nine led the nominations. The Hurt Locker had 8. In 2008, Milk and Benjamin Button led with 8, Slumdog Millionaire came in with just 6.  In 2007, Into the Wild led their nominations, but No Country for Old Men, with only 5, ended up winning the Oscar.  In 2006, The Departed tied with several other films with 7 nominations.   In 2005, Brokeback Mountain and Crash ended up with eight nominations each.  Brokeback won there, but Crash won the Oscar (famously/ infamously). In 2004, Sideways led the nominations with 8. Million Dollar Baby only had four nominations.  Sideways won the BFCA’s Best Picture honor and Martin Scorsese won Best Director for Aviator. Million Dollar Baby won the Oscar.  In 2003, In America and Mystic River both topped The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which won there and clean swept the Oscars.

In 2002, Chicago earned only 3 BFCA nominations and won top prize at both the Critics Choice and the Oscars.  In 2001, A Beautiful Mind won with 6 nominations.

In a race as top-heavy with greatness as we have this year,  there are no guarantees. But the Broadcast Film Critics’ history tells us that having the most nominations doesn’t mean anything. Zero Dark Thirty, with only five nods, can still emerge as the favorite and rise to win.