Well if you were looking for someone, anyone, to just go the least bit against the grain, the Indiana Film Journalists Association is here to save the day. After announcing nominees last week, the group has handed Best Picture honors to Colin Trevorrow’s “Safety Not Guaranteed,” making it just one more film to win such honors in a year that is spreading the love quite a bit. Check out the full list of winners below and keep track of the season via The Circuit.

Best Film
“Safety Not Guaranteed” (Runner-up: “Beasts of the Southern Wild”)

Best Director
Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained” (Runner-up: Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”)

Best Actor
(TIE) Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook” and Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty” (Runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”)

Best Supporting Actor
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln” (Runner-up: Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”)

Best Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables” (Runner-up: Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”)

Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (Runner-up: “Silver Linings Playbook”)

Best Original Screenplay
“Safety Not Guaranteed” (Runner-up: “Django Unchained”)

Best Musical Score
“Skyfall” (Runner-up: “Life of Pi”)

Best Animated Feature
“Rise of the Guardians” (Runner-up: “ParaNorman”)

Best Foreign Language Film
“The Raid: Redemption” (Runner-up: “Amour”)

Best Documentary
“Searching for Sugar Man” (Runner-up: “Room 237”)

Original Vision Award
“Beasts of the Southern Wild” (Runner-up: “Django Unchained”)

The Hoosier Award
Jon Vickers, Founding Director of Indiana University Cinema

The St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association has decided on winners and stuck up for Ben Affleck’s “Argo,” which won Best Picture and Best Director. Daniel Day-Lewis and Jessica Chastain won top honors for acting. Christoph Waltz won Best Supporting Actor while Ann Dowd and Helen Hunt tied for Best Supporting Actress. Nominees here. Check out the full list of winners below and keep track of the season via The Circuit.

Best Picture
“Argo” (Runners-up: “Life of Pi” and “Lincoln”)

Best Director
Ben Affleck, “Argo” (Runners-up: Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained” and Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln” (Runner-up: John Hawkes, “The Sessions”)

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty” (Runner-up: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”)

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained” (Runner-up: Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”)

Best Supporting Actress
(TIE) Ann Dowd, “Compliance” and Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”

Best Adapted Screenplay
(TIE) “Lincoln” and “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Original Screenplay
“Zero Dark Thirty” (Runner-up: “Django Unchained”)

Best Cinematography
“Skyfall” (Runner-up: “Life of Pi”)

Best Visual Effects
“Life of Pi” (Runner-up: “The Avengers”)

Best Animated Film
“Wreck-It Ralph” (Runner-up: “ParaNorman”)

Best Foreign Language Film
“The Intouchables” (Runners-up: “The Fairy,” “Headhunters”)

Best Documentary
“Searching for Sugar Man” (Runners-up: “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry,” “Bully” and “How to Survive a Plague”)

Best Art House or Festival Film
(TIE) “Compliance” and “Safety Not Guaranteed)

Best Comedy
(TIE) “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Ted”

Best Music/Soundtrack
(TIE) “Django Unchained” and “Moonrise Kingdom”

Best Scene
Everything nominated EXCEPT the crash scene from “Flight.” So. You know…

It's been said here and in the podcast a number of times, but I might as well offer it up once more for good measure: 2012 was a pretty good year for movies. I admired a lot. I may not have loved a ton but I certainly really, really liked a lot and my appreciation and respect for a number of the visions tossed out on to screens this year can't be overstated. Bravo to the filmmakers, truly.

I was tinkering with my list all the way down to the wire Thursday night when Anne Thompson and I finally sat down to record the special top 10 edition of Oscar Talk and lock them in eternity. It was shifting and sliding so much that the final list even differed from the one I submitted on my BFCA ballot last weekend. And it likely will continue to do so, as the order of this particular collective feels more fluid than any list I've made of a year's best films in recent memory.

So everyone wins, then, right? A whole lotta good. But there were some films I wanted to mention, outliers, underpinnings and structural evidence of a great year in film. Movies like Ang Lee's “Life of Pi,” for instance. or Stephen Chbosky's “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” J.A. Bayona's “The Impossible” and Ben Lewin's “The Sessions,” too. These were all unique visions across a wide spectrum and made impacts along the way.

Other efforts like Robert Zemecki's “Flight” or Nicholas Jarecki's “Arbitrage” deserve singling out. Sam Mendes' “Skyfall” as well. These are skillfully crafted movies of a certain type that is notably lacking from the cinema, dramas that compel and intrigue on varying levels.

The films that just missed my list were fireworks displays of creativity. Disney's in-house animated pair of “Frankenweenie” and “Wreck-It Ralph” is an accomplishment. Leos Carax's “Holy Motors” is a wicked triumph. Benh Zeitlin's “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is a hand-crafted wonder and Joe Wright's “Anna Karenina” is a piece of conceptual brilliance.

But they all yielded to “the 10,” and so, here they are. Click through the gallery below to catch up on my thoughts on the year's best films if you didn't manage to hear the podcast on Friday. And if, for whatever reason, you're too lazy and/or don't want to click through the gallery, or you're not a podcast listener and want the beef without the context, well, click through to the next page. Otherwise, enjoy the list.

My top 10 films of the year:

1. “The Grey” (Joe Carnahan)
2. “Moonrise Kingdom” (Wes Anderson)
3. “Looper” (Rian Johnson)
4. “Django Unchained” (Quentin Tarantino)
5. “Amour” (Michael Haneke)
6. “Lincoln” (Steven Spielberg)
7. “Zero Dark Thirty” (Kathryn Bigelow)
8. “Argo” (Ben Affleck)
9. “The Queen of Versailles” (Lauren Greenfield)
10. “The Master” (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Another swift turnaround from nominations, as the Chicaco Film Critics Association has joined the chorus of “Zero Dark Thirty” supporters. The film won five awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress. “The Master,” meanwhile, won four, for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography and Best Score. Check out the full list of winners below and keep track of the season via The Circuit.

Best Picture
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Supporting Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “The Master”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Lincoln”

Best Original Screenplay
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Art Direction
“Moonrise Kingdom”

Best Cinematography
“The Master”

Best Editing
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Score
“The Master”

Best Animated Film
“ParaNorman”

Best Foreign Film
“Amour”

Best Documentary
“The Invisible War”

Most Promising Newcomer
Quvenzhané Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Most Promising Filmmaker
Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Normally this column would begin with something like, “Ballots have been mailed to Oscar voters today,” but that begs reminding that for the first time ever, the Academy has adopted an electronic voting system in addition to paper ballots (for those who request them). How will that change the course of the season? Is chatter about glitches and lack of understanding just a facile talking point blown out of proportion? Maybe. The Academy has been very diligent in reminding its membership of the changes, so I think it’ll be fine, but what is tangible in all of this is the landscape as a result of the first major nominations announcements of the season.

The New York Film Critics Circle put “Zero Dark Thirty” on the critics awards map. It went on to take a number of other, similar prizes and asserted itself as the year’s critical favorite. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association, meanwhile, stuck up for the lagging “The Master” at a crucial time, yet chose Michael Haneke’s “Amour” as the year’s best film, giving it a much-needed boost as Sony Pictures Classics endeavors to get the film seen and considered by the Academy votership.

The Broadcast Film Critics Association laid the generally agreed-upon foundation, narrowing the overall race down to specific components. The Screen Actors Guild threw in some nuance (snubbing Joaquin Phoenix, tossing Nicole Kidman into the race) while the Hollywood Foreign Press Association built a little onto that (stoking the Kidman fire, inserting “Django Unchained” into the discussion). And now we have a pretty well-defined slate. The question becomes, in these hotly contested categories — Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, etc. — who will rally and claim a spot?

That’s when this time period becomes truly important. From today through January 3, members will catch up on a lot of films via screeners with nary a major announcement beyond the events of the last two weeks to “help” them decide. “Les Misérables” and “Django Unchained” will open in theaters during this time, where box office stories could give them added exposure, but the next guild announcements (from the producers, writers and art directors) are all set for January 3, by which time, it’ll be too late to make any sort of impact. However, looking for something to make an impact, as we’ve said countless times, isn’t always the trick. It’s about looking at how rhythms in this or that group might translate for similar membership in the Academy.

For instance, there is very little cross-over between the SAG’s nominating committee (the only industry group to speak up so far) and the Academy’s actors branch. So Phoenix and Amy Adams’ “snubs” there for “The Master” might not be all that indicative. But at the same time, it COULD be indicative of how actors in general perceive the film and/or their work therein. All actors aren’t cut from the same mold, of course, but you can pick up on things by that announcement each year — like, say, the exclusion of Shailene Woodley in 2011.

Also, one must take into account the fact that ineligibilities always cloud the WGA’s influence or indication, while the PGA often has its own criteria. A nomination for “Skyfall” with the producers wouldn’t be surprising, while a Best Picture nomination — though not at all out of the question — would be more surprising.

I think the race itself will be much clearer on January 8, when the 10,000-plus-member DGA offers up its picks. That’s a vast organization, much like the Academy, and it can give an idea of how consensus is shaping up. If Tom Hooper misses there, for instance, it means a LOT more than his snub by the HFPA. The SAG awards two-and-a-half weeks later may give an even better indication: I have a hunch this year’s SAG ensemble winner, be it “Argo,” “Les Misérables” or “Lincoln,” will be our Best Picture winner. (It could go to “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” or “Silver Linings Playbook,” of course, in which case, I recant.)

But that’s all a ways off. We have 18 days of voting ahead of us. So if you’re on the bubble (we’re looking at you Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Emmanuelle Riva, Matthew McConaughey, etc.), now’s the time to find that spark.

And of course, I’m burying the lead here a bit, because the real question is how many Best Picture nominees we will have. Last year was the first experiment with having between five and 10, and no one expected a nearly full boat of nine nominees. This year, I’ve talked to countless people who think we could easily have 10, and in such a competitive year full of quality work, that’s not at all out of the question. But films like “Amour,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Django Unchained,” “Flight,” “The Impossible,” “The Master,” “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Skyfall” need to find ways to connect right now if they’re going to join the assumed sextet of “Argo,” “Les Misérables,” “Life of Pi” (though this isn’t as solid as the others), “Lincoln,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Zero Dark Thirty.”

But enough out of me and my ilk. It’s time for the Academy to speak up. Well?

Check out my updated predictions HERE and, as always, see how Guy Lodge, Greg Ellwood and I collectively think the season will turn out at THE CONTENDERS.

As I’ve said before, I don’t know a lot about the International Press Academy, which quietly holds the Satellite Awards every year, but I’ve gathered this much: they really, really like “Silver Linings Playbook.” At last night’s ceremony, David O. Russell’s pleasantly frayed romantic comedy won Best Picture, Director and Film Editing, as well as the top two acting prizes for stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

One of the few major categories it didn’t scoop was Best Adapted Screenplay, which went to “Life of Pi” — Ang Lee’s FX-heavy meta-fable also won Best Cinematography, but oddly lost the Best Visual Effects award to “Flight.” As their unusual slate of nominees already showed, the Satellites don’t generally follow the herd: Javier Bardem took Best Supporting Actor, while two films, neither of them “Amour,” tied in the foreign -language race. Still, even they couldn’t resist Anne Hathaway in “Les Misérables,” which, with two extra trophies for its aural elements, ended up the night’s second-biggest winner. Full list of winners after the jump, with everything else at The Circuit..  

Best Picture: “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Director: David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem, “Skyfall”

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables”

Best Original Screenplay: Mark Boal, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Adapted Screenplay: David Magee, “Life of Pi” 

Best Foreign Language Film: (tie) “The Intouchables” and “Pieta”

Best Documentary: “Chasing Ice”

Best Animated or Mixed-Media Film: “Rise of the Guardians”  

Best Cinematography: Claudio Miranda, “Life of Pi”

Best Art Direction: Rick Carter, “Lincoln”

Best Costume Design: Manon Rasmussen, “A Royal Affair”

Best Film Editing: Jay Cassidy and Crispin Struthers, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, “Argo”

Best Original Song: Claude-Michel Schönberg, Alain Boubil and Herbert Kretzmer, “Suddenly” from “Les Misérables”

Best Sound: “Les Misérables” 

Best Visual Effects: “Flight” 

Another day, another Palm Springs Film Festival honoree. (I totally missed the addition of Helen Mirren to the list last week, but I imagine even she can’t keep up with the honorary awards she racks up these days.) The latest one is “Arbitrage” star Richard Gere, who’ll receive the Chairman’s Award — following Bradley Cooper, he’s the second actor tapped for a gong at this year’s festival. After a slow start to the season that saw him miss out on an Indie Spirit nod, Gere has rallied a bit in the last week: this publicity-friendly Palm Springs honor consolidates a semi-unexpected Best Actor Golden Globe nod that saw his stock rise in a very crowded race — where potential vote-splintering at the bottom end of the Oscar ballot, combined with distributor Roadside Attractions’ campaign savvy, raises the possibility of a surprise entry. Could it be Gere? I’m increasingly tempted to go there. [PSIFF]

Joe Reid’s list of the year’s 12 best performances starts with the obvious (Daniel Day-Lewis) and gets increasingly inspired with the likes of Dane DeHaan, Kirsten Dunst and Channing Tatum. Hurrah. [Film.com] 

Jon Weisman asks the question close so many Oscar geeks have asked before him: why not release the full voting tallies. (Personally, I don’t think my heart could stand knowing just how little support my favorites had.) [Variety]

Stephen Holden looks at the how the human body has had a rough time of it in many of 2012’s standout films, from “Amour” to “Rust and Bone” to “The Sessions.” [New York Times]

Amir Soltani speaks to Michel Franco, director of Mexico’s Oscar entry “After Lucia” — one of the trickiest, most intriguing entries in this year’s high-calibre competition. [The Film Experience]

Continuing the foreign-language discussion, the directors of “A Royal Affair,” “Lore,” “The Deep” and “Lost Loves” talk to the Reporter — though I’m not sure about the subhead claiming they “lead” this year’s field. [THR] 

Kenneth Turan names “Amour” the best film of the year — incidentally, he’s a member of the LAFCA, who handed it their top prize. [LA Times]

“Wadjda” and “Ernest and Celestine” were among the big winners at the Dubao International Film Festival this weekend. I think they could feature in next year’s foreign-language and animation Oscar races, respectively. [Screen]

Songwriter and producer Paul Epworth talks about the daunting recording sessions that led to his and Adele’s Oscar-longlisted “Skyfall” theme. Could he get an Oscar for his pains? I’m beginning to think so — though the song could just as easily not be nominated at all. [MTV] 

Didn’t think there was anything noteworthy about the costume design in “Cabin in the Woods?” Think again. [Clothes on Film]

The San Francisco Film Critics Circle has joined the game, and the bandwagon for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master,” handing the film Best Picture and Best Actor honors. Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director for “Zero Dark Thirty” while Emmanuelle Riva won Best Actress for “Amour.” Check out the full list of winners below and keep track of the season at The Circuit.

Best Picture
“The Master”

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”

Best Actress
Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”

Best Supporting Actor
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”

Best Supporting Actress
Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Lincoln”

Best Original Screenplay
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Cinematography
“Life of Pi”

Best Film Editing
“Argo”

Best Production Design
“Moonrise Kingdom”

Best Animated Feature
“ParaNorman”

Best Documentary
“The Waiting Room”

LONDON — It scarcely needs to be stated that, in terms of professional arduousness, film journalism is not exactly coal-mining — so I understand when our occasional complaints about the wearying nature of the circuit rankle with some readers. Too many festivals. Too many parties. Too many canapés. How your hearts must bleed.  

Still, the truth is that when attending such events becomes a key part of one’s job — and compared to my across-the-pond colleagues, it’s a far smaller component of mine — not everything is an unqualified pleasure. So when an invitation drops in your inbox that gets you even half as excited as a “Twilight”-bound tween, it must be for a rather special occasion. Such was the case when I was asked if I’d like to attend AMPAS’s intimate tribute to one of our most essential living auteurs, Pedro Almodóvar, in London — and that was before I knew Grace Jones and Kristin Scott Thomas were also on the guest list.

Neither Jones — resplendently intimidating in skyscraper heels and enormous fur hat — nor Scott Thomas were called upon to participate in an evening that featured verbal tributes from a host of the director’s collaborators, from fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier to Oscar-nominated composer Alberto Iglesias, as well as unaffiliated British admirers Stephen Frears, Sally Potter and Peter Morgan. It says much for Almodóvar’s cultural currency that several such A-listers were there silently to support a beloved peer and enjoy the show. 

Though not official accolades in the vein of the far more grandiose Governors’ Awards back in Los Angeles, these low-key but high-class Academy tribute events have taken place in London for several years, not least to demonstrate the international presence of AMPAS as an organization (neither of those A’s stands for ‘America,’ after all). The beneficiaries have usually been British, like last year’s honoree Vanessa Redgrave; this year, it was decided to extend a hand to the Continent, and who better to receive it than one of the few filmmakers to have won both a major-category Oscar and the Best Foreign Language Film award? 

Where Redgrave’s tribute last year was perhaps tacitly tied into a (sadly unsuccessful) Oscar campaign for her work in “Coriolanus,” Almodóvar’s had no such immediate relevance — beyond providing a handy occasion for the first-ever screening of the chirpy new teaser trailer for his upcoming 2013 feature “I’m So Excited!.” (Greg shared the clip on Friday.) In any case, what occasion is needed to celebrate one of the richest, most singular filmographies of the last 30 years?

The erstwhile enfant terrible‘s Best Original Screenplay win for “Talk to Her” a decade ago sealed his ascent to the degree of crossover arthouse respectability that, I would suggest, now permits such an Academy tribute in the first place. (Not that the film itself offered much in the way of dumbed-down compromise.)

But across the evening’s handpicked selection of 12 clips — covering two-thirds of his feature-length work — there were several healthy reminders of just how far his work has veered from Oscar territory, be it the kinky, oddly prescient reality-TV satire of 1993’s “Kika,” the darkly elusive post-Oscar gamble of “Bad Education” or, only last year, the coolly warped genre gymnastics of “The Skin I Live In.” The audience’s simultaneously bewildered and delighted response to the campy, context-free “I’m So Excited!” teaser, meanwhile, proved he still has the power to surprise us.    

The evening’s first speaker was also the most affecting: Almodóvar’s younger brother and longtime producer Agustin, who filled us in on the director’s childhood experiences in rural Spain, as a precocious exception to a largely illiterate community, before a formative period in religious boarding school. (Spot the film connection there.)

Almodóvar’s passion for cinematic storytelling, he explained developed at an early age, where he’d follow trips to the movies with his sisters by retelling alternative, elaborate versions of the stories they’d just seen. As an anecdote, it tied into a first-hand recollection from the director later in the evening, as he remembered his mother’s practice of romantically embellishing letters to local farm labourers, for whom she’d read them aloud. “My mother was talking about the need we have for fiction in order to survive,” he said; the young man felt the same need, shooting ambitious short films in friends’ houses and screening them independently, relating in voiceover the content of the scenes he hadn’t the resources to film.

Next it was Oscar-nominated writer and playwright Peter Morgan’s turn to sing Almodóvar’s praises, and specifically those of his under-seen 1991 comedy-thriller “High Heels” — a TV-industry study that, in Morgan’s opinion, makes Paddy Chafesky’s “Network” its “bitch.” Though his recent forays into fiction, “360” and “Hereafter,” have suggested Morgan aspires to melodrama, but all the same, you wouldn’t necessarily expect the studious scribe behind “The Queen” and “Frost/Nixon” to be such a devoted fan: “I don’t just wish I’d written several of Pedro’s films,” Morgan said. “I wish I’d lived all of them.”

Morgan’s dedication was neatly shadowed by that of “The Queen” director Stephen Frears, who recalled first encountering Almodóvar around the time Frears was promoting his gay-themed social drama “My Beautiful Launderette.” Frears describes himself as an “imposter” on that well-received 1985 film, “released into transgressive behavior by [writer] Hanif Kureishi”; in contrast, he said, the Spaniard “was the real thing,” and has remained so. “I’m really jealous and it makes me spit,” he concluded, in as affectionate a tone as those words can bear.

There were words from avant-garde UK director Sally Potter and a sweetly shy Alberto Igesias (plus a dude-ish video valentine from Quentin Tarantino), before a trio of the director’s regular ensemble players, Rossy De Palma, Leonor Watling and Javier Camara took to the stage to introduce the new clip — its bouncy Pointers Sisters backing indicating, accord toCamara, “a film of crazy, sexy turbulences.”

Then it was Almodóvar’s turn for a lively Q&A, and my notes don’t really do justice to his conversational, freewheeling chat, in which he described his directorial career as “an anthology of frustration: I’ve been a frustrated actor, a failed musician, a failed architect, a failed sex symbol.” On another note, he doesn’t seem to find it any easier than we would to pin down his style: “Jack Cardiff mixed with the colors of Pop art, mixed with Caravaggio, Mondrian, Hopper, mixed the Impressionists, with the Caribbean, Mexico… and Spain, but not La Mancha.” He’s not afraid of artifice, he added: his films, he said, aim to improve on reality: “Try to make life more liveable: that’s the homework of any kind of artistic expression.”   

It’s fascinating to contemplate what his improved take on reality might have brought to alternative film adaptations of “The Silence of the Lambs,” “The Hours” and “The Human Stain,” three novels to which, as he told us, he pursued the rights before they were brought to the screen. (He was also linked at one point to “The Paperboy.”) Perhaps they’d have translated as fluently into Almodovarian as Ruth Rendell’s “Live Flesh” — one great film not spotlighted at the event. He admitted once considering a move into English-language cinema, but now feels “too old for that.” In any event, the Academy tribute suggested he needn’t trade in his identity to be one of them: when Iglesias stammered that “we are proud to be close to you in your revolution,” he evidently spoke for the room.

The second-oldest critics group in the country (behind the NYFCC), the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, has announced its slate of 2012 winners. “The Master” took Best Picture while “Life of Pi” helmer Ang Lee won Best Director.  Daniel Day-Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence won top acting honors for “Lincoln” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” respectively. Check out the full set of winners below and remember to keep track of the season at The Circuit.

Best Picture
“The Master”

Best Director
Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”

Best Actress
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Supporting Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”

Best Supporting Actress
Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Argo”

Best Original Screenplay
“The Master”

Best Animated Film
“Frankenweenie”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Amour”

Best Documentary
“The Imposter”

Best Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror Film
“The Cabin in the Woods”

The African-American Film Critics’ Association is an interesting group on the precursor circuit — while not explicitly dedicated to promoting black cinema and artists in the manner of, say, the Image Awards, their selections invariably reflect their identity to some extent. This year, for example, four of their five acting winners — Denzel Washington, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Nate Parker and Quvenzhané Wallis — are African-American.

Meanwhile, though Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty” scooped yet another Best Picture gong, the group’s biggest winner was African-American writer-director Ava DuVernay’s “Middle of Nowhere.” The indie drama landed four awards for Best Actress, Screenplay, Independent Film and Music, as well as placing at #4 on their 10 Best list. Nice to see this strong film having a day in the sun, even if its dynamite pair of supporting actresses, Lorraine Toussaint and Edwina Findley, couldn’t defeat the redoubtable Sally Field. Full list of winners after the jump, and keep up with the trophy trail so far at The Circuit.

Best Picture: “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Director: Ben Affleck, “Argo”

Best Actress: Emayatzy Corinealdi, “Middle of Nowhere”

Best Actor: Denzel Washington, “Flight”

Best Supporting Actress: Sally Field, “Lincoln”

Best Supporting Actor: Nate Parker, “Arbitrage”

Best Screenplay: Ava DuVernay, “Middle of Nowhere”

Best Foreign Language Film: “The Intouchables”

Best Documentary: (tie) “The House I Live In” and “Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution”

Best Animated Feature: “Rise of the Guardians”

Best Independent Film: “Middle of Nowhere”

Best Breakthrough Performer: Quvenzhané Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Best Music: Kathryn Bostic and Morgan Rhodes, “Middle of Nowhere”

Special Achievement Awards: Cicely Tyson and Billy Dee Williams

TOP 10 FILMS OF 2012

1. “Zero Dark Thirty”
2. “Argo”
3. “Lincoln”
4. “Middle of Nowhere”
5. “Life of Pi”
6. “Les Misérables”
7. “Django Unchained”
8. “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
9. “Moonrise Kingdom”
10. “Think Like a Man”

“I think with each year, we come out and stake our ground on the question of best film, and particularly with some of our out-of-the-box choices.” So says Houston Film Critics’ Society president Josh Starnes, and while I admire the sentiment, I’m struggling to identify too many out-of-the-box picks in their 2012 nominations list — led by “Lincoln,” with eight nods. Save a Best Picture nomination for the contentious “Cloud Atlas,” and arguably a supporting mention for Judi Dench in “Skyfall,” this looks largely like a copy-paste of umpteen other groups’ lists this season, with “Les Misérables” and “The Master” also doing well with six nods apiece.

More wilful is their Worst Film of 2012 category, where the critics have decided to give Joe Wright’s ambitious “Anna Karenina” a kicking — and it’s not the only film on the list that I rather like. Anyway, check out the full slate after the jump, and everything else at The Circuit.

Best Picture
“Argo” 
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Cloud Atlas”
“Django Unchained”
“Lincoln”
“The Master”
“Les Miserables” 
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Zero Dark Thirty”  

Best Director
Ben Affleck, “Argo” 
Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”
Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
Tom Hooper, “Les Miserables” 
Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty” 

Best Actor 
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”
John Hawkes, “The Sessions”
Hugh Jackman, “Les Miserables”
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”  

Best Actress
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Emmanuelle Riva, “Amour”
Quvenzhane Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, “Argo”
Javier Bardem, “Skyfall”
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”
Matthew McConaughey, “Magic Mike”  

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “The Master”
Judi Dench, “Skyfall”
Sally Field, “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables”
Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”  

Best Screenplay
“Argo”
“Lincoln”
“Looper”
“Silver Linings Playbook” 
“Zero Dark Thirty”  

Best Cinematography
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“The Master”
“Les Miserables” 
“Skyfall”  

Best Original Score
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Cloud Atlas”
“Hitchcock”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“The Master”
“Skyfall”          

Best Original Song
“Skyfall,” “Skyfall”
“Suddenly,” “Les Miserables”
“Song of the Lonely Mountain,” “The Hobbit”
“Learn Me Right,” “Brave”
“Touch the Sky,” “Brave”  

Best Foreign Language Film
“Amour”
“The Intouchables”
“Holy Motors”
“A Royal Affair”
“Rust and Bone”  

Best Animated Film 
“Brave”  
“Frankenweenie” 
“ParaNorman”
“Rise of the Guardians” 
“Wreck-It Ralph” 

Worst Film of 2012
“Anna Karenina” 
“Battleship” 
“Prometheus”
“That”s My Boy” 
“The Three Stooges”

Every year it’s worth noting that a number of the original and adapted screenplays in the hunt for Oscar consideration won’t get the extra bump of a nomination from the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Reasons for failing to qualify include the writer of the script not being a guild member or not retroactively handling the requisite process, among other things.

After taking a look at the official WGA ballot this season, I count 15 scripts from our screenplay Contenders pages that will not be eligible for consideration. Many of them seem out of the Oscar hunt for the most part and the number of notable exclusions is smaller than normal.

In the original screenplay category, as always, Quentin Tarantino will not be competing for his work on “Django Unchained.” He has never been a member of the guild, but of course, that didn’t stop his scripts for “Pulp Fiction” and “Inglorious Basterds” to go on to Oscar recognition. (Tarantino was similarly not a member of the DGA until this year, but he received two nominations prior nominations from that group, nevertheless.)

Also ineligible for original screenplay with the guild is “Amour” from Michael Haneke. Foreign films made under the rules of WGA-affiliated international guilds can often qualify, but alas, a number of movies made outside the US are often disqualified due to further guild requirements. (Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano’s “The Intouchables” is in a similar boat this year.)

Haneke might be seen as a more likely Oscar nominee than even Tarantino, but he won’t be getting the boost of a WGA nod. Then again, neither have a number of other foreign films that went on to Oscar nominations, including Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation” just last year from the same company — Sony Pictures Classics — that’s pitching “Amour” for awards this season.

Oscar nominee for “In Bruges,” Martin McDonagh, will not be in play for “Seven Psychopaths,” nor will Ava DuVernay for indie film “Middle of Nowhere” or the animated “Brave” (animated films are often made outside the guild guidelines and typically fail to qualify). But all three could find traction with members of the Academy’s writers branch.

Other original screenplays out with WGA include “The Impossible,” “Take This Waltz” and “Your Sister’s Sister.”

While there are 68 scripts on the ballot for the original category, the adapted field features only 44 titles. A handful are notable, beginning with “Les Misérables.” Tom Hooper’s musical, written by William Nicholson, is one of the big dogs of the awards season, just like “The King’s Speech” was in 2010. And just like that Oscar-winning script, this one won’t be competing for a WGA award.

Also worth pointing out is the exclusion of Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” widely believed to be in the thick of the Oscar hunt. The film was also ineligible with SAG, meaning any support for the film will likely remain beneath the surface until the Academy announces nominations on January 10.

Zeitlin and Alibar’s Fox Searchlight stablemate Ol Parker will also be on the sidelines for “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” as will Ronald Harwood’s “Quartet” self-adaptation and the great Tom Stoppard for “Anna Karenina.” Each of them will have support within the Academy, however.

Others not in the mix for adapted include “The Deep Blue Sea” and “Rust and Bone.”

So nix those from your list of predictions. The WGA Award nominations will be announced on January 3, 2013 — incidentally, the very day Oscar ballots are due from Academy members.

The Academy has announced its shortlist of seven Best Makeup and Hairstyling contenders. The films will proceed to the “bake-off” stage, where reels of the work put into the makeup and hairstyling effects will be screened for the branch and three nominees will be chosen, revealed alongside the rest of the Oscar nominations on January 10.

The immediate exclusion of note is “Cloud Atlas,” which transformed a number of movie stars across a variety of eras, ages and even races. Some of the work was quite wonderful, but much of it was a bone of contention for some, and clearly, that bore itself out in the narrowing process for the branch.

Also absent is “Holy Motors,” which isn’t a shock, one supposes. Who knows if the membership even bothered to watch the film. Because you’d think, if they had, they would have seen that it’s far and away the best representation of their contribution to the form this year. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and with “Who Were We?” failing to make the finalist cut for Best Original Song, the film’s Oscar hopes in general have likely been dashed.

Another film that unfortunately (in my opinion) missed was “The Impossible.” The work on wounds and whatnot was very well accomplished, but like with the Best Visual Effects shortlist, the film got the shaft.

The other two we were predicting for a nomination, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” and “Lincoln,” both made the list and seem like likely nominees. I’d say the third is a toss-up between “Hitchcock” and “Les Misérables,” though I wouldn’t count out “Men in Black 3” and the great Rick Baker. “Snow White and the Huntsman,” too for that matter. Hell, any of these could get nominated and I wouldn’t be surprised.

The full list:

“Hitchcock”

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”

“Les Misérables”

“Lincoln”

“Looper”

“Men in Black 3”

“Snow White and the Huntsman”

The Indiana Film Journalists Association has, for the first time this year, elected to publicly acknowledge its full list of nominees for superlatives to be announced on Monday. It’s a massive list including, apparently, every film mentioned in each category by the group’s respective members. Check out the full list of contending films and individuals below. “The Master” led the way with nine mentions. “Beasts of the Southern Wild” wasn’t too far behind with seven. As always, keep track of all this madness throughout the season via The Circuit.

Best Film
“21 Jump Street”
“Anna Karenina”
“Argo”
“The Avengers”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Bernie”
“Cabin in the Woods”
“Chronicle”
“Cloud Atlas”
“Dark Horse”
“The Dark Knight Rises”
“Django Unchained”
“The Grey”
“Hitchcock”
“Holy Motors”
“Hyde Park on Hudson”
“Les Misérables”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“Looper”
“The Master”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
“The Raid: Redemption”
“Ruby Sparks”
“Safety Not Guaranteed”
“The Sessions”
“Silver Linings Playbook”
“Skyfall”
“Starry, Starry Night”
“Take This Waltz”
“Trouble with the Curve”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Director
Michael Haneke, “Amour”
Joe Wright, “Anna Karenina”
Ben Affleck, “Argo”
Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, “Cloud Atlas”
Christopher Nolan, “The Dark Knight Rises”
Quentin Tarantino, “Django Unchained”
Sacha Gervasi, “Hitchcock”
J.A. Bayona, “The Impossible”
Tom Hooper, “Les Misérables”
Ang Lee, “Life of Pi”
Steven Spielberg, “Lincoln”
Rian Johnson, “Looper”
Paul Thomas Anderson, “The Master”
Wes Anderson, “Moonrise Kingdom”
Stephen Chbosky, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Ben Lewin, “The Sessions”
David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Sam Mendes, “Skyfall”
Sarah Polley, “Take This Waltz”
Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Actor
Bradley Cooper, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Matt Damon, “Promised Land”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”
Mark Duplass, “Safety Not Guaranteed”
Clint Eastwood, “Trouble with the Curve”
John Hawkes, “The Sessions”
Anthony Hopkins, “Hitchcock”
Hugh Jackman, “Les Misérables”
Tommy Lee Jones, “Hope Springs”
Kim Kold, “Teddy Bear”
Logan Lerman, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Bill Murray, “Hyde Park on Hudson”
Joaquin Phoenix, “The Master”
Channing Tatum, “21 Jump Street”
Jean-Louis Trintignant, “Amour”
Denzel Washington, “Flight”

Best Actress
Amy Adams, “The Master”
Jessica Chastain, “Zero Dark Thirty”
Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Helen Mirren, “Hitchcock”
Aubrey Plaza, “Safety Not Guaranteed”
Emanuelle Riva, “Amour”
Meryl Streep, “Hope Springs”
Quvenzhane Wallis, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Michelle Williams, “Take This Waltz”
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, “Smashed”

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, “Argo”
Javier Bardem, “Skyfall”
Russell Crowe, “Les Misérables”
Robert De Niro, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “Django Unchained”
Dwight Henry, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master”
Hal Holbrook, “Promised Land”
Tom Holland, “The Impossible”
Jake Johnson, “Safety Not Guaranteed”
Tommy Lee Jones, “Lincoln”
Jude Law, “Anna Karenina”
William H. Macy, “The Sessions”
Matthew McConaughey, “Magic Mike”
Scoot McNairy, “Argo” and “Promised Land”
Ezra Miller, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Bill Nighy, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”
Nick Offerman, “Somebody Up There Likes Me”
Eddie Redmayne, “Les Misérables”
Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”
Samuel West, “Hyde Park on Hudson”
Bruce Willis, “Moonrise Kingdom”

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “The Master”
Doona Bae, “Cloud Atlas”
Sally Field, “Lincoln”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables” & “The Dark Knight”
Lamaiporn Hougaard, “Teddy Bear”
Scarlett Johanssen, “Hitchcock”
Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Helen Sjöholm, “Simon and the Oaks”
Emma Watson, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Jacki Weaver, “Silver Linings Playbook”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“Anna Karenina”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Cloud Atlas”
“Hitchcock”
“Life of Pi”
“Lincoln”
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
“The Sessions”

Best Original Screenplay
“Amour”
“The Cabin in the Woods”
“Chronicle”
“Dark Horse”
“Django Unchained”
“Looper”
“The Master”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Ruby Sparks”
“Safety Not Guaranteed”
“Take This Waltz”
“Zero Dark Thirty”

Best Musical Score
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Cloud Atlas”
“The Grey”
“Haywire”
“Life of Pi”
“The Master”
“Safety Not Guaranteed”
“Skyfall”

Best Animated Film
“Brave”
“Frankenweenie”
“Hotel Transylvania”
“Madagascar 3: Europe”s Most Wanted”
“ParaNorman”
“Rise of the Guardians”
“Wreck-It Ralph”

Best Foreign Language Film
“Amour”
“Holy Motors”
“Otello Burning”
“The Raid: Redemption”
“Simon and the Oaks”
“Starry, Starry Night”

Best Documentary
“Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry”
“All Me: The Life and Times of Winfred Rembert”
“Bully”
“The Central Park Five”
“From a Whisper to a Roar”
“The Invisible War”
“Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet”
“Jiro Dreams of Sushi”
“Marley”
“The Queen of Versailles”
“Rising From Ashes”
“Room 237”
“Samsara”
“Searching for Sugar Man”

Original Vision Award
“Anna Karenina”
“Beasts of the Southern Wild”
“Cloud Atlas”
“Django Unchained”
“Holy Motors”
“Life of Pi”
“Looper”
“The Master”
“Moonrise Kingdom”
“Samsara”
“Somebody Up There Likes Me”
“Starry, Starry Night”

Peter Jackson’s franchise-christening “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” arrives under no small amount of pressure: not only does the shadow of the impressively executed “Lord of the Rings” trilogy loom large over it, but the new film faces widespread cynicism over Jackson’s decision to stretch J.R.R. Tolkien’s slender children’s yarn into three gargantuan films.

Sad to say, I’m not the only one to think it buckles rather catastrophically. Unexpected or otherwise, this is one dourly overextended journey, sorely missing the jaunty dramatic propulsion of the source material — and that’s before I factor in my concerns about the deadening, daytime-drama effect of the sleek but texture-draining 48fps technology. Still, the film has some ardent advocates, and not necessarily among the Tolkienite crowd, while our colleague Drew McWeeny deemed it a qualified success. So I’m very curious to know what you make of it — in any frame rate. Do share your thoughts in the comments.

It really feels petty and pointless in light of this morning’s events to forge ahead with stuff like this. Anne Thompson and I dropped our top 10 lists to start the day and, quite clearly, more important things are dominating our hearts and minds at the moment. Nevertheless, diversion and the distraction has always been the identity of the magic of the movies, so Film Comment’s announcement of the year’s best comes at as appreciated a time as any.

The FIlm Society of Lincoln Center’s annual survey of film critics, journalists and editors left Leos Carax’s “Holy Motors” at the top of an auteur heavy list of films from fimmakers such as Paul Thomas Anderson, Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Wes Anderson, among others. Falling just outside the list included Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis” and David O. Russell’s ‘Silver Linings Playbook.”

Separate to the list is another collective of the best films yet to be released in 2012. Joachim Lafosse’s “Our Children” topped that tally, with festival players such as Alan Berliner’s “First Cousin Once Removed” and Jun Robles Lana’s “Bwakaw” not far behind.

Explained Film Comment editor Gavin Smith via press release, “Film Comment”s annual Best Films lists offer a comprehensive look at the year in film by combining the viewpoints of most of the magazine”s staff and contributors as well as many of America”s most influential film critics, writers and minds – with a specific emphasis this year on soliciting votes both in print and online.”

The Film Society’s “The Conversation starts here…” event on December 18 will feature a discussion of the list between Smith and Film Society’s new programming team: Kent Jones and Robert Koehler.

Check out the top 10 lists below. The full lists can be found at FilmComment.com.

THE TOP 10 FILMS RELEASED IN 2012

1. “Holy Motors” (Leos Carax)

2. “The Master” (Paul Thomas Anderson)

3. “Moonrise Kingdom” (Wes Anderson)

4. “This is Not a Film” (Jafar Panahi & Moitaba Mirtahmasb)

5. “Amour” (Michael Haneke)

6. “The Turin Horse” (Béla Tarr)

7. “The Kid with a Bike” (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne)

8. “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” (Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

9. “Lincoln” (Steven Spielberg)

10. “Zero Dark Thirty” (Kathryn Bigelow)

THE TOP 10 FILMS WITHOUT DISTRIBUTION IN 2012

1. “Our Children” (Joachim Lafosse)

2. “Memories Look at Me” (Song Fang)

3. “First Cousin Once Removed” (Alan Berliner)

4. “When Night Falls” (Ying Liang)

5. “Bwakaw” (Jun Robles Lana)

6. “Gebo and the Shadow” (Manoel de Oliveira)

7. “differently, Molussia” (Nicolas Rey)

8. “Perret in France and Algeria” (Heinz Emigholz)

9. “The Extravagant Shadows” (David Gitten)

10. “Three Sisters” (Wang Bing)

It may have struggled to gain a foothold this week with groups like SAG and the HFPA, but “The Master” remains a pet of the critical community that has championed it since the fall. Right after The Guardian team named it the top film of 2012, Paul Thomas Anderson’s thorny character study received further good news today from the Chicago Film Critics’ Association, as it led their nominations list with a whopping 10 mentions.

The Chicago critics arguably sit alongside their Boston counterparts as the most significant regional critics’ group after New York and Los Angeles — not least because they incorporate the vote of America’s favorite critic, Roger Ebert. Their picks can often be counted upon to avoid Oscar-season groupthink, and while it doesn’t go out on too many limbs, this year’s list follows suit.

Just behind “The Master,” with nine nods, is “Beasts of the Southern Wild” — meaning two films that are by no means Oscar certainties lead the pack, while industry favorites like “Les Miserables” and “Silver Linings Playbook” are largely left on the sidelines. Consensus picks “Argo,” “Zero Dark Thirty” and “Lincoln” fill out the top category — I might have expected to see LA Critics’ champ “Amour” score here or for Michael Haneke in Director and Original Screenplay, though at least Emmanuelle Riva nabbed a Best Actress mention. 

Among the Windy City’s more interesting picks, it’s great to see “Holy Motors” dynamo Denis Lavant grab at Best Actor nod at the expense of stars like Bradley Cooper and Hugh Jackman, and I’m also glad to see at least one group ignoring campaign instructions and nominating “The Sessions” star Helen Hunt for Best Actress. Also, this is the first nomination I can recall for the superb Jason Clarke in Best Supporting Actor; I’d love to see his name mentioned more as “Zero Dark Thirty” builds momentum.

Meanwhile, it’s interesting to see two previously under-the-radar screenplay contenders keep racking up mentions: “Looper” scores again in the original field, while word-of-mouth favorite “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” gets another adapted nod ahead of major Oscar hopefuls like “Life of Pi.” Is the Academy’s writers’ branch hearing the same buzz? I’m beginning to think they might.

Check out the full list of nominations below, and catch up with the season thus far at The Circuit.

BEST PICTURE

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Lincoln

The Master

Zero Dark Thirty



BEST DIRECTOR

Ben Affleck, Argo

Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild



BEST ACTOR

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Denis Lavant, Holy Motors

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Denzel Washington, Flight



BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts, The Impossible



BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty

Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained

Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln



BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams, The Master

Emily Blunt, Looper

Judi Dench, Skyfall

Sally Field, Lincoln

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables



BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Django Unchained by Quentin Tarantino

Looper by Rian Johnson

The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson

Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola

Zero Dark Thirty by Mark Boal



BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Argo by Chris Terrio

Beasts of the Southern Wild by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin

Lincoln by Tony Kushner

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Silver Linings Playbook by David O. Russell



BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

Amour

Holy Motors

The Intouchables

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

Rust and Bone



BEST DOCUMENTARY

The Central Park Five

The Invisible War

The Queen of Versailles

Searching For Sugar Man

West of Memphis



BEST ANIMATED FILM

Brave

Frankenweenie

ParaNorman

The Secret World of Arrietty

Wreck-It Ralph



BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi

Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln

Mihai Milaimare Jr., The Master

Roger Deakins, Skyfall

Greig Fraser, Zero Dark Thirty



BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Alexandre Desplat, Argo

Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Jonny Greenwood, The Master

Alexandre Desplat, Moonrise Kingdom

Alexandre Desplat, Zero Dark Thirty



BEST ART DIRECTION

Anna Karenina

Les Miserables

Lincoln

The Master

Moonrise Kingdom



BEST EDITING

Willian Goldenberg, Argo

Alexander Berner and Claus Wehlisch, Cloud Atlas

Leslie Jones and Peter McNulty, The Master

Stuart Baird, Skyfall

William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty



MOST PROMISING PERFORMER

Samantha Barks, Les Miserables

Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom

Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Tom Holland, The Impossible

Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild



MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER

Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods

Nicholas Jarecki, Arbitrage

Colin Trevorrow, Safety Not Guaranteed

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild