National Board of Review names ‘Hugo’ best picture
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‘Hugo,’ director Martin Scorsese’s family film reflecting his love of cinema, was named the best film of the year Thursday by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures. The lavish 3-D fantasy set in a Paris railway station in 1931 also won best director for Scorsese.
Ironically, the black-and-white silent film ‘The Artist,’ which won the New York Film Critics Circle honor Tuesday, was shut out of the list of awards, though it was named one of the top 10 films of the year by the National Board of Review.
Lead actor honors went to George Clooney as the father of two in Alexander Payne’s Hawaii-set ‘The Descendants,’ and Tilda Swinton was named lead actress as a mother of a troubled son in ‘We Need to Talk About Kevin.’
Veteran Christopher Plummer won supporting actor as a widower who comes out of the closet in ‘Beginners,’ and Shailene Woodley won supporting actress honors as Clooney’s rebellious teenage daughter in ‘The Descendants.’ The film also won best adapted screenplay for Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, with Will Reiser winning the original screenplay prize for the cancer-themed film ‘50/50.’
‘Rango’ took best animated feature honors, and two actresses were recognized for breakthrough performance honors: Felicity Jones for ‘Like Crazy’ and Rooney Mara for ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.’ J.C. Chandor won best debut director for ‘Margin Call,’ and the cast of ‘The Help’ earned best ensemble.
The Spotlight Award went to Michael Fassbender for a quartet of performances -- in ‘A Dangerous Method,’ ‘Jane Eyre,’ ‘Shame’ and ‘X-Men: First Class.’
The National Board of Review, which was founded in 1909, is made up of film professionals, educators, historians and students.
Though considered by some to be a bellwether for the Academy Awards, NBR and the Oscars haven’t seen eye-to-eye on the best film selections since 2008’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’ Two years ago, NBR chose ‘Up in the Air’ as the best movie of 2009, while the Academy Award went to ‘The Hurt Locker.’ Last year, ‘The Social Network’ was the organization’s top choice, but the Oscar went to ‘The King’s Speech.’
The NBR awards will be presented Jan. 10 at Cipriana’s 42nd Street in New York City.
Other winners announced Thursday:
NBR Freedom of Expression: ‘Crime After Crime’
NBR Freedom of Expression: ‘Pariah’
Best Foreign Language Film: ‘A Separation’
Best Documentary: ‘Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory’
Special Achievement in Filmmaking: The Harry Potter Franchise -- A Distinguished Translation from Book to Film
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New York critics name ‘The Artist’ best film of the year
-- Susan King
