Best Picture Power Rankings: Post-NBR

1. The Social Network (NO CHANGE)

Landing at number one on Sight & Sound’s Top 10 of the year is enough to jump-start a campaign, but having a clean sweep of the National Board of Review doesn’t hurt either. Winning Best Picture, Director, Actor and Adapted Screenplay is almost unprecedented for the NBR. If one movie stands atop the pile, this is it.

2. Inception (NO CHANGE)

Earning a crucial spot on the National Board of Review Top 10 list and scoring 11 nominations in the International Press Academy’s Golden Satellite Awards (even if that organization doesn’t really mean anything) makes sure this will be sticking around.

3. The King’s Speech (UP ONE)

It made a per-screen average killing in super-limited release over Thanksgiving and the reviews treat it as the annual British movie that the Oscars will love. It also landed on the NBR Top 10.

4. True Grit (DOWN ONE)

The earliest reviews are strong, but no one seems bowled over yet. That’s the price you pay of positioning yourself as a major frontrunner before release – the reviews will inevitably have a tinge of restraint in their praise, because they know you’re automatically in the Oscar game. A slot on the NBR top 10 keeps it alive and kicking.

5. Toy Story 3 (NO CHANGE)

This is going to be nominated. Pixar is going to try to manipulate as many heartstrings as it can to make a plea for the prize.

"Here...We...Go!" 'Social Network' sweeps National Board of Review

Each year, the awards season officially-unofficially kicks off with the National Board of Review. While the Independent Spirit Awards and Gotham Awards have already helped jockey some independent films into striking position, this is the first major group to announce their winners. Full list of winners below, commentary and analysis to come later.

Best Film: "The Social Network"
Best Director: David Fincher for "The Social Network"
Best Actor: Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network"
Best Actress: Lesley Manville for "Another Year"
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale for "The Fighter"
Best Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver for "Animal Kingdom"
Best Foreign Film: "Of Gods and Men"
Best Documentary: "Waiting for 'Superman'"
Best Animated Feature: "Toy Story 3"
Best Ensemble Cast: "The Town"
Breakthrough Performance: Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone"
Best Original Screenplay: Chris Sparling for "Buried"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin for "The Social Network"

Top Tens in film, independent film, foreign film, documentary after the jump...

Independent Spirit Award Nominations favor 'Winter's Bone,' 'Kids Are All Right'

2011 Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Nomination leaders: "Winter's Bone" (7), "The Kids Are All Right" (5), "Greenberg" (4), "Rabbit Hole" (4), "Black Swan" (4)

Remember, the ISA only nominates independent productions. Most of these films probably won't show up at the Oscars, but being mentioned here is an important part of building a campaign for very small films like "Winter's Bone."

Best Feature

"127 Hours"
"Black Swan"
"Greenberg"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"Winter's Bone"

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan"
Danny Boyle for "127 Hours"
Lisa Cholodenko for "The Kids Are All Right"
Debra Granik for "Winter's Bone"
John Cameron Mitchell for "Rabbit Hole"

'Winter's Bone' tops 20th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards

The Gotham Independent Film Awards usually don't have a huge impact on the Oscars, but scoring here can certainly help a small independent film get noticed.

Best Feature: Winter's Bone
Breakthrough Director: Kevin Asch for Holy Rollers
Breakthrough Actor: Ronald Bronstein for Daddy Longlegs
Best Ensemble Performance: Winter's Bone
Best Documentary: The Oath
Best Film Not Showing at a Theater Near You: Littlerock
Festival Genius Audience Award: Waiting for Superman

This week marks the official start of the 2010 awards season, as the National Board of Review opens the floodgate for the critics groups on Thursday, December 2.

Franco, Hathaway to host Oscars

Entertainment Weekly has the scoop:

James Franco and Anne Hathaway will co-host this year's Academy Awards.  Continuing last year's co-host trend (with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin), I actually think this is a bold, smart move on the Academy's part. They're not traditionally comic actors, but Franco's proved his mettle on Saturday Night Live, and Hathaway has some singing chops were they to get a little showy. Plus, this is a very obvious plea to get younger viewers to tune in and boost the ratings, especially when several "youthful" movies are almost surefire nominees (The Social Network, Inception).

I'm VERY interested to see what they have up their sleeves. Read the Academy's press release after the jump.

Sight & Sound names 'Social Network' best of year

Sight & Sound magazine is one of the most prestigious international film magazines. Each year, they do a Top Films list, which is usually not so kind to major American releases. Here are their top films for 2010 (repeat numbers indicate a tie in the votes):

1. "The Social Network" (David Fincher)
2. "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)
3. "Another Year" (Mike Leigh)
4. "Carlos" (Olivier Assayas)
5. "The Arbor" (Clio Barnard)
6. "Winter's Bone" (Debra Granik)
6. "I Am Love" (Luca Guadagnino)
8. "The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu" (Andrei Ujica)
8. "Film Socialisme" (Jean-Luc Godard)
8. "Nostalgia for the Light" (Patricio Guzman)
8. "Poetry" (Lee Chang-dong)
8. "A Prophet" (Jacques Audiard)