Utah critics: For once The Social Network isn’t alone

"127 Hours" shared film's top honor with "The Social Network" in Utah.

In a surprisingly tie-filled ceremony, the Utah Film Critics Association (UFCA), yesterday, gave both 127 Hours and The Social Network “Best Picture” accolades. The director and foreign-film races were ties as well. Natalie Portman and Christian Bale continue to prove they’re guaranteed future, bigger awards — unless the infamous too-many-awards backlash kicks in. James Franco continued to challenge the notion of a “frontrunner” in the “Lead Actor” with his win. In an odd switch Lesley Manville (Another Year) was placed in the “Supporting Actress” field, where she lost to Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom), in favor of Hailee Steinfeld for “Lead Actress,” where Portman continues to reign. Though it didn’t receive stellar reviews nor heavy awards buzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World has recently appeared in multiple races from multiple critics groups — maybe there’s more to come for the comedy, though it’s doubtful the movie will break free of the smaller, regional awards.

Best Picture

• 127 Hours and The Social Network (tie)

Nominees:
Inception
Toy Story 3
True Grit

Australian Film Institute Awards give Animal Kingdom and Jacki Weaver an “Oscar” boost

The AFI (Australian Film Institute) Awards held its 52nd ceremony recently and gave crime drama Animal Kingdom 10 awards, the most of the night. Its star Jacki Weaver, who plays the crime family’s imposing matriarch Janine “Smurf” Cody, gained more momentum for her Oscar campaign. She won in the “Lead Actress” category, but is heavily predicted to be nominated in the “Supporting Actress” category if she were one of the five chosen by the Academy. Other winners included Mia Wasikowska for her role as Alice in Alice in Wonderland and Sam Worthington for playing Avatar‘s protagonist Corporal Jake Sully.

NOTE: The list below is a shortened list of the more popular categories. If you would like to read the entire list, including both awards for TV series and technical filmic work, click here.

SAMSUNG MOBILE AFI AWARD FOR BEST FILM

• Animal Kingdom. Liz Watts.
• Beneath Hill 60. Bill Leimbach.
• Bran Nue Dae. Robyn Kershaw, Graeme Isaac.
• Bright Star. Jan Chapman, Caroline Hewitt.
• The Tree. Sue Taylor, Yaël Fogiel.
• Tomorrow When The War Began. Andrew Mason, Michael Boughen.