Over the weekend the Houston Film Critics Society joined The Los Angeles Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Board of Review, and 14 others in designating The Social Network as the "Best Picture" of 2010. Described by Peter Travers as a film that "brilliantly defines a decade", the picture also landed awards for "Best Screenplay" (Aaron Sorkin), "Best Actor" (Jesse Eisenberg), and "Best Director" (David Fincher) in a ceremony held Saturday at MFAH's Brown Auditorium.
Other top honors went to Inception ("Best Cinematography", "Best Original Score"), The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo ("Best Foreign Language Film"), and Toy Story 3 ("Best Animated Feature"). The 2010 "Lifetime Achievement Award" was bestowed upon Texas native Sissy Spacek for continued excellence as an onscreen performer, most notably for her roles in Carrie (1976), Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), and 2009's Get Low. George Clooney was presented with "The Humanitarian Award" for his work as a United Nations Messenger of Peace since 2008. The organization named Jonah Hex, a movie based on the DC Comic character by the same name, 2010's "Worst Film of the Year".
In addition, two awards for Special Achievement in Cinema in Cinema were presented to Rice Media Center's Charles Dove, and Hector Luna, founder and editor of C-47, Houston's only television, film, and entertainment magazine.
A complete list of HFCS winners and nominees, after the jump.
BEST PICTURE 127 Hours, Fox Searchlight (produced by Christian Colson, John Smithson, Danny Boyle) Black Swan, Fox Searchlight (produced by Mike Medavoy, Scott Franklin, Arnold Messer, Brian Oliver) Inception, Warner Bros. (produced by Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas) Kick Ass, Lionsgate (produced by Matthew Vaughn, Brad Pitt, Kris Thykier, Adam Bohling, Tarquin Pack, David Reid) The Kids are All Right, Focus Features (produced by Gary Gilbert, Jordan Horowitz, Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Philippe Hellmann) The King's Speech, The Weinstein Company (produced by Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin) The Social Network, Columbia Pictures (produced by David Fincher, Scott Rudin, Danna Brunetti, Michael de Luca, Cean Chaffin, Kevin Spacey) Toy Story 3, Walt Disney Pictures (produced by Darla K. Anderson, John Lasseter, Nicole Paradis) True Grit, Paramount Pictures (produced by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin, Steven Spielberg) Winter's Bone, Roadside Attractions (produced by Anna Rosellini, Alix Madigan)
NOMINEES FOR BEST PICTURE, RANKED BY HFCS VOTES 1. The Social Network 2. Inception 3. 127 Hours 4. Black Swan 5. True Grit 6. Winter's Bone 7. Toy Story 3 8. The Kids Are Allright 9. The King's Speech 10. Kick Ass
BEST DIRECTOR Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan Danny Boyle, 127 Hours Joel & Ethan Coen, True Grit David Fincher, The Social Network Christopher Nolan, Inception
BEST ACTOR Jeff Bridges, True Grit Robert Duvall, Get Low Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network Colin Firth, The King's Speech James Franco, 127 Hours
BEST ACTRESS Annette Bening, The Kids are All Right Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone Natalie Portman, Black Swan Noomi Rapace, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Christian Bale, The Fighter Andrew Garfield, The Social Network Bill Murray, Get Low Jeremy Renner, The Town Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech Melissa Leo, The Fighter Julianne Moore, The Kids are All Right Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom
BEST SCREENPLAY Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg, The Kids are All Right Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini (based on the novel Winter's Boneby Daniel Woodrell), Winter's Bone John Lasseter (story) & Andrew Stanton (story) & Lee Unkrich (story) and Michael Arndt (screenplay), Toy Story 3 Christopher Nolan, Inception Aaron Sorkin (based on the book "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich), The Social Network
BEST ANIMATED FILM Despicable Me, Universal Pictures (directed by Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud, produced by John Cohen, Janet Healy, Chris Meledandri) How to Train Your Dragon, DreamWorks Animation (directed by Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois, produced by Bonnie Arnold, Doug Davison, Roy Lee, Michael Connolly, Tim Johnson) Megamind, Paramount Pictures (directed by Tom McGrath, produced by Lara Breary, Ben Stiller, Denise Nolan Cascino) Tangled, Walt Disney Pictures (directed by Nathan Greno & Byron Howard, produced by Roy Conli, John Lasseter, Glen Keane) Toy Story 3, Walt Disney Pictures (directed by Lee Unkrich, produced by Darla K. Anderson, John Lasseter, Nicole Paradis)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Roger Deakins, BSC, ASC, True Grit Matthew Libatique, Black Swan Anthony Dod Mantle, BSC & Enrique Chediak, 127 Hours Wally Pfister, ASC, Inception Eduardo Serra, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One
BEST DOCUMENTARY Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, Magnolia Pictures (directed by Alex Gibney, produced by Maiken Baird, Robert DeBitetto, Alex Gibney) Marwencol, The Cinema Guild (directed by Jeff Malmberg, produced by Jeff Malmberg, Tom Putnam, Matt Radecki, Chris Shellen, Kevin W. Walsh) Restrepo, National Geographic Entertainment (directed and produced by Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger) The Tillman Story, The Weinstein Company (directed by Amir Bar-Lev, produced by John Battsek, Robert DeBitetto) Waiting for Superman, Paramount Pictures (directed by Davis Guggenheim, produced by Lesley Chilcott)
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Biutiful, (Mexico) directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, produced by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Alfonso Guaron, Guillermo del Toro, Fernando Bovaira, Sandra Hermida, Jon Kilik, Ann Ruark Carlos, (France/Germany) directed by Olivier Assayas, produced by Jens Meurer, Judy Tossell, Daniel Leconte, Raphael Cohen) Mother, (South Korea) directed by Bong Joon-ho, produced by Choi Jae-won, Seo Woo-sik) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, (Sweden) directed by Niels Arden Oplev, produced by Soren Staermose The Secret in their Eyes, (Argentina) directed by Juan Jose Campanella, produced by Juan Jose Campanella, Gerardo Herrero, Mariela Besuiveski, Vanessa Ragone, Axel Kuschevatsky
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Carter Burwell, True Grit John Powell, How to Train your Dragon A.R. Rahman, 127 Hours Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, The Social Network Hans Zimmer, Inception
BEST ORIGINAL SONG "If I Rise," from 127 Hours, music by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Dido Armstrong & Rollo Armstrong "Shine," from Waiting for Superman, music & lyrics by John Legend "The Clap," from Get Him to the Greek, music & lyrics by Dan Bern & Mike Viola "We are Sex Bob-Omb!" from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, music & lyrics by Beck "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," from Burlesque, music & lyrics by Diane Warren
WORST MOVIES OF THE YEAR Furry Vengeance, Summit Entertainment (produced by Robert Simonds, Brendan Fraser, Keith Goldberg, Ira Shuman) Jonah Hex, Warner Bros. (produced by Akiva Goldsman and Andrew Lazar) Sex and the City 2, Warner Bros. (produced by Michael Patrick King, Sarah Jessica Parker, Darren Star, John Melfi) Splice, Warner Bros. (produced by Steve Hoban, Guillermo del Toro) The Last Airbender, Paramount Pictures (produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Sam Mercer, Scott Aversano)
