'Attack of the 50 Foot Vanessa!' San Francisco Winners
Monday, December 12, 2011 at 4:54PM I've long been saying that if Oscar voters actually see Ralph Fiennes Shakespearean adaptation Coriolanus -- it's an "if" because 80% of the contenders, even the teensy tiny ones, chose December as their best Oscar strategy -- it'll be tough to stop Vanessa Redgrave from crushing her Best Supporting Actress competition. Though Fiennes is the actor/director it's the legendary Oscar winner who walks away with the movie as his proud, fierce, monster mom, so proud of her son's battle scars she comes across as yet more bloodthirsty than he.
So today she picks up her second precursor after the British Independent Film Awards. San Francisco apparently likes their moms all sticky with a violent son's blood. See also their best actress winner: Tilda Swinton
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Winners
PICTURE The Tree of Life
DIRECTOR Terrence Malick, the Tree of Life
ACTRESS Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin
ACTOR... Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
SUPPORTING ACTRESS Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus
SUPPORTING ACTOR Albert Brooks, Drive
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY JC Chandor, Margin Call
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
ANIMATED FEATURE Rango
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Certified Copy
DOCUMENTARY Tabloid
CINEMATOGRAPHY The Tree of Life
SPECIAL CITATION "The Mill and the Cross"
MARLON RIGGS AWARD (Courage and Vision in Bay Area film community)
National Film Preservation Foundation
All in all a very good showing for The Tree of Life, Tinker Tailor and bloody mamas everywhere. Now excuse me while I do a happy dance for Certified Copy. YES.
Reader Comments (8)
I'm really hoping Redgrave pulls out a win this year. I've been worried about her because she's been MIA with most of the critics' awards choosing instead to honor Jessica Chastain's gargantuan collection of performances (which is fine, although I really wish one group would have the balls to pick ONE).
And one minor, funny quibble...I think you put "James Brooks" instead of "Albert Brooks"...let's hope James L. Brooks doesn't come out of hiding until he's atoned for his sins after committing the How Do You Know atrocity.
I don't want Redgrave to win, but I do want her to get nominated.
omg SWEET! they honored *five* of what are shaping up to be my favorites of the year in their respective categories (i.e. TREE OF LIFE, Malick, Swinton, Redgrave, Lubezki). I doubt we'll see another critic org with winners this deserving.
Yes! I still can't believe Binoche haven't won any prizes yet. I had this wishful thinking that she'd win LA and then would start a campaign. I love Poetry and Jeong-hie Yun, but not even this magnificent lady from Korea had such a difficult role and this task to gove flesh to a brilliant gimmick. It's like twenty performaces in one, and every one is fake and every one is true, and the movie is a game but it's still devastating. OMG I love this movie and this role only is maze in which we'd be lost if we weren't seeing such a marvelous actress playing it. It's a miracle.
And, I sorry?, but no screenplay in this decade will be half as intelligent and provocative and perfect. In the next 20 years, maybe.
AARON -- lol. thanks for the catch. That's not the first time i've done that. James L Brooks as mob boss with dirty hands is a funny notion though.
CAL -- keep fighting the good fight. Certified Copy is indeed a marvel.
Critics' groups in San Francisco, San Diego, and to a lesser extent, Chicago and LA, seem to make more iconoclastic selections for their top prizes than in other cities, which tend to be safer and more mainstream. In a very competitive year for pretty much all categories, it will be interesting to see how San Diego and Chicago weigh in.
MERYL on the cover of American Vogue ... What is the last time a woman over sixty years do it? Hillary maybe, but an actress?? Now, that campaign ..
Btw, here are the just-announced San Diego nominees for picture/directing and acting:
BEST FILM –
DRIVE
HUGO
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
THE ARTIST
THE TREE OF LIFE
BEST DIRECTOR –
Martin Scorsese, HUGO
Michel Hazanavicius, THE ARTIST
Nicolas Winding Refn, DRIVE
Terrence Malick, THE TREE OF LIFE
Woody Allen, MIDNIGHT IN PARIS
BEST ACTRESS –
Brit Marling, ANOTHER EARTH
Elizabeth Olsen, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
Michelle Williams, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN
Tilda Swinton, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Viola Davis, THE HELP
BEST ACTOR –
Brad Pitt, MONEYBALL
Brendan Gleeson, THE GUARD
George Clooney, THE DESCENDANTS
Jean Dejardin, THE ARTIST
Michael Shannon, TAKE SHELTER
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS –
Bérénice Bejo, THE ARTIST
Carey Mulligan, SHAME
Jessica Chastain, THE HELP
Mélanie Laurent, BEGINNERS
Shailene Woodley, THE DESCENDANTS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR –
Albert Brooks, DRIVE
Andy Serkis, RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Christopher Plummer, BEGINNERS
Max von Sydow, EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE
Nick Nolte, WARRIOR