‘Up in the Air,’ ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ Lead Nominations By Chicago Film Critics Association

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CHICAGO – The Chicago Film Critics Association, of which HollywoodChicago.com writers Brian Tallerico, Adam Fendelman, and Pat McDonald are all voting members, announced their nominees for the best of 2009 this morning. “Up in the Air” and “Where the Wild Things Are” led the way with six nominations each, closely followed by “The Hurt Locker” and “Inglourious Basterds,” each with five.

“Up in the Air” and “Where the Wild Things Are” each scored nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. “The Hurt Locker” and “Inglourious Basterds” scored a similar trifecta of Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. The fifth Best Picture slot went to the latest work by Joel & Ethan Coen, “A Serious Man,” a pair who were also nominated for Best Director. The Coen’s “Fargo” and “No Country For Old Men” are previous Best Picture winners of the CFCA. “A Serious Man” also landed a nod for Best Original Screenplay.

Director Spike Jonze and Max Records on the set of Where the Wild Things Are
Director Spike Zonze (front) and Max Records on the set of “Where the Wild Things Are”.
Image credit: Sonny Geras

The acting categories honored a wide range of talent from timeless stars like Meryl Streep (“Julie & Julia”) to new actors like Michael Stuhlbarg (“A Serious Man”). Joining Stuhlbarg in the Best Actor category are Jeff Bridges as a down-and-out country singer in “Crazy Heart,” George Clooney as a slick corporate type in “Up in the Air,” Matt Damon as a would-be whistle-blower in “The Informant!” and Jeremy Renner as an adrenaline-junkie bomb defuser in “The Hurt Locker.”

In the Best Actress category, the legendary Meryl Streep, nominated for her inspired turn as Julia Child in “Julie & Julia,” is up against four relative newcomers in Abbie Cornish for “Bright Star,” Carey Mulligan for “An Education,” Maya Rudolph for “Away We Go” and Gabourey Sidibe for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

In the category of Supporting Actor, the nominees include Peter Capaldi for his hilarious turn as a foul-mouthed political insider in “In the Loop,” Woody Harrelson as a veteran soldier charged with informing families that their loved ones died in combat in “The Messenger,” Christian McKay as Orson Welles in “Me and Orson Welles,” Stanley Tucci as the neighborhood killer in “The Lovely Bones” and Christoph Waltz as the embodiment of milk-sipping evil in “Inglourious Basterds.”

“Up in the Air” co-stars Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick both received nominations for Best Supporting Actress along with Mo’nique as the monstrous mother in “Precious,” Julianne Moore as the platonic pal of “A Single Man” and Natalie Portman as a woman torn between her presumed-dead husband and his ne’er-do-well brother in “Brothers.” McKay, Mulligan and Sidibe were also nominated for Most Promising Performer along with Sharlto Copley for “District 9” and Max Records for “Where the Wild Things Are.”

BEST PICTURE

The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow (-) The Hurt Locker
Joel & Ethan Coen (-) A Serious Man
Spike Jonze (-) Where the Wild Things Are
Jason Reitman (-) Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino (-) Inglourious Basterds

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges (-) Crazy Heart
George Clooney (-) Up in the Air
Matt Damon (-) The Informant!
Jeremy Renner (-) The Hurt Locker
Michael Stuhlbarg (-) A Serious Man

BEST ACTRESS

Abbie Cornish (-) Bright Star
Carey Mulligan (-) An Education
Maya Rudolph (-) Away We Go
Gabourey Sidibe (-) Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Meryl Streep (-) Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Peter Capaldi (-) In the Loop
Woody Harrelson (-) The Messenger
Christian McKay (-) Me and Orson Welles
Stanley Tucci (-) The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz (-) Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Vera Farmiga (-) Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick (-) Up in the Air
Mo’Nique (-) Precious
Julianne Moore (-) A Single Man
Natalie Portman (-) Brothers

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Away We Go (-) Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida
The Hurt Locker (-) Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds (-) Quentin Tarantino
A Serious Man (-) Joel & Ethan Coen
Up (-) Bob Peterson

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

An Education (-) Nick Hornby
In the Loop (-) Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche
The Informant! (-) Scott Z. Burns
Up in the Air (-) Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
Where the Wild Things Are (-) Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Anvil!: The True Story of Anvil
Capitalism: A Love Story
The Cove
Food, Inc.
Tyson

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

Broken Embraces
Red Cliff
Sin Nombre
Summer Hours
The White Ribbon

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
Up

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Avatar (-) Mauro Fiore
Bright Star (-) Greig Fraser
The Hurt Locker (-) Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds (-) Robert Richardson
Where the Wild Things Are (-) Lance Acord

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Avatar (-) James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (-) Alexandre Desplat
The Informant! (-) Marvin Hamlisch
Up (-) Michael Giacchino
Where the Wild Things Are (-) Carter Burwell & Karen Orzolek

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER

Sharlto Copley (-) District 9
Christian McKay (-) Me and Orson Welles
Carey Mulligan (-) An Education
Max Records (-) Where the Wild Things Are
Gabourey Sidibe (-) Precious

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER

Neill Blomkamp (-) District 9
Scott Cooper (-) Crazy Heart
Cary Fukunaga (-) Sin Nombre
Duncan Jones (-) Moon
Marc Webb (-) (500) Days of Summer

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Chan's picture

Inglourious Basterds

In my opinion, “Inglourious Basterds” deserves all the nominations! :-)

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