NSFC: Painters, Bomb Squads and Foxholes

The National Society of Film Critics, typically the last critics group to announce, have finally done the deed. They've gone with the following...

Picture & Director: The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow)
Actress: Yolande Moreau, Seraphine
Actor: Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique, Precious
Supporting Actor (tie): Paul Schneider, Bright Star and Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

winners from California, Minnesota, North Carolina and Maryland

Foreign Film: Summer Hours (Olivier Assayas)
Cinematography: The White Ribbon (Christian Bergen)
Production Design: Fantastic Mr. Fox (Nelson Lowry)
Screenplay: A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen)
Documentary: The Beaches of Agnes (Agnes Varda)

The acclaim for certain pictures and performances continues. I knew about the Cesar award but it's strange that I remember hearing nothing from the critical community about Yolande Moreau until her two big awards (LAFCA and NSFC). But it's nice to see Bright Star getting a smidgeon of last minute acting attention. It's not so strange that Whishaw's pensive sensitivity was overlooked (that's not what voters go for in male actors, no matter how skilled they are at delivering it) but it was a mildly strange development that Abbie Cornish couldn't generate awards season traction at any point... though she did come in third with the NSFC.

Do you think Fantastic Mr. Fox could be the first animated film to win an Art Direction Oscar nomination or is that a pipe dream?
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