The 2011 Critics’ Choice Awards Are Handed Out

And so it begins … the first serious awards show of the new Awards Season took place last night as The BFCA Critics’ Choice Movie Awards were handed out at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, CA. Considered a good determiner of how the Academy Awards may turn out, the Critics’ Choice Awards tend to award the big prizes to the actors and films that will go on to win Oscars later on. The Social Network was the big winner of the night including Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Score and more!

Facebook film “The Social Network” became a big friend of broadcast critics on Friday when it won several top Critics’ Choice Awards, including best film, in the race toward Hollywood’s Oscars. The movie, which traces the history of the popular website from its founding in a college dormitory to its first million users, also earned a best director trophy for David Fincher and adapted screenplay for writer Aaron Sorkin, among others. Fincher was not on hand to accept his award, but in claiming his trophy, Sorkin made a point of mentioning Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who had not cooperated with the making of the fictional film. On stage, Sorkin called Zuckerberg “an extraordinary leader” and “altruistic” and said, “we all owe you a debt of gratitude” for creating the website that has become ingrained in much of society. Colin Firth was named best actor for his role as stammering King George VI who must prove to the United Kingdom that he can be a leader in the dark days ahead of the World War Two in “The King’s Speech,” which also claimed best original screenplay … Natalie Portman, who recently revealed she was pregnant and engaged to be married, took home the trophy for best actress portraying a young ballerina who grows into a mature woman and a dancer in drama “The Black Swan.” “I feel great,” Portman told reporters about her pregnancy “It’s been really calm and good.” The night’s other big winner was boxing drama “The Fighter,” which earned awards for best ensemble performance for its cast, best supporting actress for Melissa Leo as a headstrong mother, and supporting actor for Christian Bale playing a boxer whose career is ruined by drugs. The Critics Choice honors are given out by the Broadcast Film Critics Association, which includes some 250 TV, radio and online critics and is the largest group of film and TV reviewers in the United States and Canada. Its awards come only two days before the Hollywood Foreign Press Association hands out Golden Globe trophies, and both events come a little more than a week before nominations for Oscars are handed out on January 25. Taken as a whole, critics awards often provide hints about which films, actors, actresses and others will compete for Oscars when they are given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this year on February 27.

Yay!! This is great news!! This is the first really big win for The Social Network … and it could very well be a sign of things to come. I was most thrilled by the fact that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Score. I have no doubt that this is only the first of many awards to come for their work on The Social Network score. Here are some photos from the press room last night of some of the happy winners and their club-like crystal trophies:

Emma Stone looks stunning, I love that she won an award for her work on Easy A … and how cute is True Grit‘s Hailee Steinfeld? This is *just* the beginning for her … LOVE IT!! Click HERE for a full run down of who won what last night. Next up, the Golden Globe Awards tomorrow night … then the Oscar noms come out on the 25th. Awards Season is **officially** underway … let the games commence!!

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]