NBR Picks Martin Scorsese’s Hugo , The Descendants

As mentioned earlier today, the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures were going to be announcing their annual awards and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo has won the top prize of “Best Film” while Scorsese has gotten the group’s award for Best Director. Alexander Payne’s The Descendants finally made a move after being snubbed at the Gotham Awards and by the New York Film Critics Circle, with George Clooney taking the group’s award for Best Actor, Shailene Woodley getting a Supporting Actress award and the screenplay also being recognized.

Independent films were also at the forefront with wins for Tilda Swinton for her performance in Lynne Ramsey’s We Need to Talk about Kevin and Christopher Plummer for his supporting role in Mike Mills’ Beginners. Will Reiser’s original screenplay for 50/50 also received recognition.

Gore Verbinski’s Rango received the group’s award for Animated Feature, while a Breakthrough Performance award was shared by Felicity Jones for Drake Doremus’ Like Crazy and Rooney Mara in David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Hugo marks the first time since the introduction of the current MPAA rating system where the NBR picked a PG family film for their top prize and their top films list covered quite a spectrum from frontrunners The Artist, The Descendants and War Horse to edgier fare such as Nicolas Refn’s Drive and David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and even Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Noticeably absent from the NBR’s picks was Bennett Miller’s Moneyball, which won two awards from the New York Film Critics Circle earlier this week.

You can read our earlier thoughts on how the NBR’s picks connect with the Oscars here and the full press release and list of winners below:

The National Board of Review has named HUGO the 2011 Best Film of the Year. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film was released on November 23rd by Paramount Pictures.

Below is a full list of the awards given by the National Board of Review:

Best Film: Hugo

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50

Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash

Best Animated Feature: Rango

Breakthrough Performance: Felicity Jones, Like Crazy

Breakthrough Performance: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Debut Director: J.C. Chandor, Margin Call

Best Ensemble: The Help

Spotlight Award: Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)

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

Top Films

(in alphabetical order)

The Artist

The Descendants

Drive

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

The Ides of March

J. Edgar

Tree of Life

War Horse

Top 5 Foreign Language Films

(In Alphabetical Order)

13 Assassins

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within

Footnote

Le Havre

Point Blank

Top 5 Documentaries

(In Alphabetical Order)

Born to be Wild

Buck

George Harrison: Living in the Material World

Project Nim

Senna

Top 10 Independent Films

(In Alphabetical Order)

50/50

Another Earth

Beginners

A Better Life

Cedar Rapids

Margin Call

Shame

Take Shelter

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Win Win

“HUGO is such a personal film by Martin Scorsese,” said Annie Schulhof, NBR President. “It is a tribute to the early years of cinema that uses today’s cutting edge technology to bring the audience into a completely unique and magical world. It is visually stunning and emotionally engaging.”

A select group of knowledgeable film enthusiasts and professionals, academics, young filmmakers and students, the National Board of Review viewed over 250 films this year including studio, independent, foreign-language, animated and documentary selections. These screenings were frequently followed by in-depth discussions with filmmakers, directors, actors, producers, and screenwriters. Voting ballots were tabulated by the accounting firm of Lutz & Carr, LLP.

The National Board of Review honors diverse members of the film community at their annual Awards Gala, which also acts as a fundraiser for student grant philanthropy. Hosted by Natalie Morales, this year’s Gala will take place on January 10, 2012 at Cipriani’s 42nd St. in New York City.

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