AWARD SEASON IS IN MOTION

The glut of awards to honor some of the most impressive and compelling movies, performers and film technicians of the year have begun to be rolled out. The National Board of Review announced their picks today while the New York Film Critics Circle and the Spirit Award nominations were released last week. Some of the expected names that had been buzzed about for months were chosen but there were a few, nice surprises among the selections:

2013 National Board of Review Winners:

Best Film: "Her"
Best Director: Spike Jonze, "Her"
Best Actor: Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"
Best Actress: Emma Thompson, "Saving Mr. Banks"
Best Supporting Actor: Will Forte, "Nebraska"
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, "Fruitvale Station"
Best Original Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Terence Winter, "The Wolf of Wall Street"
Best Animated Feature: "The Wind Rises"
Breakthrough Performance: Michael B. Jordan, "Fruitvale Station"
Breakthrough Performance: Adele Exarchopoulos, "Blue Is The Warmest Color"
Best Directorial Debut: Ryan Coogler, "Fruitvale Station"
Best Foreign Language Film: "The Past"
Best Documentary: "Stories We Tell"

2013 New York Film Critics Circle Winners:

Best Picture: "American Hustle"
Best Actor: Robert Redford, "All Is Lost"
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
Best Supporting Actor: Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, "American Hustle"
Best Director: Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave"
Best Screenplay: Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell, "American Hustle"
Best Cinematographer: Bruno Delbonnel, "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Best Foreign Film: "Blue Is the Warmest Color," directed by Abdellatif Kechiche
Best Animated Film: "The Wind Rises," directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Best Non-Fiction Film: "Stories We Tell" by Sarah Polley
Best First Film: Ryan Coogler, "Fruitvale Station"

2013 Nominations For The Independent Spirit Awards

Best Feature: 
"12 Years a Slave"
"All Is Lost"
"Frances Ha"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Nebraska"

Best Director:
Shane Carruth, "Upstream Color"
J.C. Chandor; "All Is Lost"
Steve McQueen, "12 Years a Slave"
Jeff Nichols, "Mud"
Alexander Payne, "Nebraska"

Best Screenplay:
Woody Allen, "Blue Jasmine"
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater, "Before Midnight"
Nicole Holofcener, "Enough Said"
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, "The Spectacular Now"
John Ridley, "12 Years a Slave"

Best First Feature:
"Blue Caprice"
"Concussion"
"Fruitvale Station"
"Una Noche"
"Wadjda"

Best First Screenplay:
Lake Bell, "In A World"
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, "Don Jon"
Bob Nelson, "Nebraska"
Jill Soloway, "Afternoon Delight"
Michael Starrbury, "The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete"

Best Female Lead:
Cate Blanchett, "Blue Jasmine"
Julie Delpy, "Before Midnight"
Gaby Hoffmann, "Crystal Fairy"
Brie Larson, "Short Term 12"
Shailene Woodley, "The Spectacular Now"

Best Male Lead: 
Bruce Dern, "Nebraska"
Chiwetel Ejiofor, "12 Years a Slave"
Oscar Isaac, "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Michael B. Jordan, "Fruitvale Station"
Matthew McConaughey, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Robert Redford, "All Is Lost"

Best Supporting Female:
Melonie Diaz, "Fruitvale Station"
Sally Hawkins, "Blue Jasmine"
Lupita Nyong’o, "12 Years a Slave"
Yolonda Ross, "Go For Sisters"
June Squibb, "Nebraska"

Best Supporting Male:
Michael Fassbender, "12 Years a Slave"
Will Forte, "Nebraska"
James Gandolfini, "Enough Said"
Jared Leto, "Dallas Buyers Club"
Keith Stanfield, "Short Term 12"

Best Cinematography: 
Sean Bobbitt, "12 Years a Slave"
Benoit Debie, "Spring Breakers"
Bruno Delbonnel, "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Frank G. DeMarco, "All Is Lost"
Matthias Grunsky, "Computer Chess"

Best Editing: 
Shane Carruth & David Lowery, "Upstream Color"
Jem Cohen & Marc Vives, "Museum Hours"
Jennifer Lame, "Frances Ha"
Cindy Lee, "Una Noche"
Nat Sanders, "Short Term 12"

Best Documentary:
"20 Feet From Stardom"
"After Tiller"
"Gideon’s Army"
"The Act of Killing"
"The Square"

Best International Film:
"A Touch of Sin" (China)
"Blue is the Warmest Color" (France)
"Gloria" (Chile)
"The Great Beauty"(Italy)
"The Hunt" (Denmark)