Awards Roundup: ‘The Ghost Writer’ Scores At European Film Awards; ‘The King’s Speech’ Takes British Independent Film Awards
It’s that time of the year when there will be one film awards ceremony and/or critical poll after another, and we’ve got the results of three to kick off this week. The European Film Awards took place in Estonia over the weekend, andRoman Polanski’sThe Ghost Writerscored six awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor, the latter forEwan McGregor.
Meanwhile, at the British Independent Film Awards,The King’s Speechtook best picture, whileMonstersdirectorGareth Edwardsscored Best Director. And the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association honoredThe Social Network,InceptionandThe Fighter. All the lists are after the break.
We’ll kick off with the DC critics, because it’s the shortest list. It’s also a very safe list, with very little consideration for films outside the expected list of studio and studio-indie awards choices. (Also nominated:127 Hours,Black Swan,True Gritand a handful of others.)
The Social Networktook Best Film, Best Director (David Fincher) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin).Inceptiontook Best Original Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography and Score.Colin Firth(The King’s Speech) took Best Actor,Jennifer Lawrence(Winter’s Bone) got Best Actress, and the supporting categories went toChristian BaleandMelissa LeofromThe Fighter.Toy Story 3took Best Animated Feature,Biutifultook Best Foreign Language Film andExit Through the Gift Shoptook best Documentary. [winners viaIn Contention, which also presents the full nominee list]
On the other side of the coin is the European Film Awards, which handedThe Ghost Writersix awards: Film, Director (Roman Polanski), Actor (Ewan McGregor), Screenwriter (Robert Harris & Roman Polanski), Production Designer (Albrecht Konrad), and Composer (Alexandre Desplat). Wonder if this will do anything to change the film’s position in the Oscar and general stateside awards races? As Anne Thompson says, more people will probably watch the screener now, at least.
Also honored wereSylvie Testudfor Best Actress inLourdesandLuc Barnier & Marion Monnierfor Editing onCarlos. The tank thrillerLebanonscored the Carlo Di Palma European Cinematographer Award forGiora Bejachand the Euopean Discovery Award.The Illusionisttook best animated film. [Deadline]
Finally, the British Independent Film Awards gave six major awards toThe King’s Speech: Best Picture, Best Actor (Colin Firth), Best Supporting Actor (Geoffrey Rush), Best Supporting Actress (Helena Bonham Carter) Best Screenplay (David Seidler) and the honorary Richard Harris Award (Helena Bonham Carter).
But there was also a surprise. Gareth Edwards' filmMonsterstook Best Director, Best Achievement in Production and Best Technical Achievement. Those are great awards for Monsters, given that the semi-improvised film relied heavily on some nimble thinking and direction on the part of Mr. Edwards, along with a heavy dose of technical assistance. Carey Mulligan won Best Actress forNever Let Me Go, andA Prophettook the Best Foreign Film award.
