Houston Film Critics Announce Nominations

The awards season is upon us!

We know the nominees in the field of music. To see the Grammy nominations that were just announced, click here.

Now it’s time for the “mother of all awards shows”- the Oscars. The one television program that rivals the Super Bowl for most viewers. The one show where fashion means everything as we pay homage to the best in film.

The Oscar field has really started to take shape. Less than two weeks ago, the New York Film Critics Circle announced their winners. Silent film “The Artist” took the prize as Best Picture, Meryl Streep won Best Actress for her portrayal as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady” and Brad Pitt took the honors in the Best Actor category for “Moneyball” and “Tree of Life.”

Next week we will know who will be up for a Golden Globe.

This past weekend we learned the nominees from the Houston Film Critics Society:

Best Picture
Drive, Film District
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Warner Bros.
Midnight in Paris, Sony Pictures Classics
Take Shelter, Sony Pictures Classics
The Artist, The Weinstein Company
The Descendants, Fox Searchlight
The Help, Dreamworks & Touchstone
The Tree of Life, Fox Searchlight
War Horse, Dreamworks & Disney
Win Win, Fox Searchlight

Best Director
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Best Actor
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Michael Fassbender, Shame
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Best Actress
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis, The Help

Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks, Drive
Alex Shaffer, Win Win
Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Supporting Actress
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer, The Help
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Foxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Tom McCarthy, Win Win
Will Reiser, 50/50
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Best Cinematography
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Tree of Life
Guillaume Schiffman, The Artist
Janusz Kaminski, War Horse
Robert Richardson, Hugo
Thomas Newton Segel, Drive

Best Song
“Lay Your Head Down,” from Albert Nobbs, music & lyrics by B. Bryne & G. Close

“Life’s a Happy Song,” from The Muppets, music & lyrics by Bret McKenzie

“Star-Spangled Man,” from Captain America, music & lyrics by Alan Menken

“The Living Proof,” from The Help, music & lyrics by Mary J. Blige

“Think You Can Wait,” from Win Win, music & lyrics by The National

Best Score
Alexandre Desplat, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Harry Escott, Shame
John Williams, The Adventures of Tin-Tin
John Williams, War Horse
Ludovic Bource, The Artist

Best Foreign Film
13 Assassins, Magnet Releasing
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, New Video
I Saw the Devil, Magnet Releasing
The Artist, The Weinstein Company
The Skin I Live In, Sony Pictures Classics

Best Documentary
Buck, Sundance Selects
Cave of Forgotten Dreams, IFC Films
Project Nim, Lionsgate
The Elephant in the Living Room, NightFly Entertainment
Undefeated, The Weinstein Company

Best Animated
Adventures of Tin-Tin, Dreamworks
Happy Feet Two, Warner Bros.
Kung Fu Panda 2, Dreamworks
Puss in Boots, Dreamworks
Rango, Paramount
Winnie the Pooh, Disney

Worst Film of the Year
Jack and Jill, Columbia
Red Riding Hood, Warner Bros.
The Sitter, 20th Century Fox
The Smurfs, Columbia
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1, Summit Entertainment
Your Highness, Universal

Joanne Herring has been announced as the 2011 Humanitarian Honor recipient. Jeff Bridges will receive the Lifetime Achievement award at the upcoming annual awards gala being held Saturday January 7, 2012 in Houston, Texas.

(Dave Morales is an active voting member of the Houston Film Critics Society)