Detroit Film Critics Society Announces the Best of 2011 Winners

The Detroit Film Critics Society is pleased to announce the Best of 2011 winners and nominees in ten categories. The society was founded in spring 2007 and consists of a group of twenty-two film critics (our very own Mike Tyrkus is a proud member of the society) who write or broadcast in the Detroit area as well as other major cities within a 150-mile radius of the city including Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Flint, Michigan.

Each critic submitted their top five picks in the following categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Ensemble, Breakthrough Performance, Best Screenplay, and Best Documentary. From these submissions, each entry was given a point value and the top five in each category have been placed on the final ballot. The final ballots were then given to each critic to rank in order.  The results were once again tabulated and the winners were decided.

The big winners this year were The Artist and Shame, both taking two awards a piece. Leading with six nominations this year is Take Shelter. Other top nominees include The Artist with five nominations and The Help with four. Both Michel Hazanavicius and Jeff Nichols have been nominated twice this year for Best Director and Best Screenplay. Jessica Chastain has received three nominations for Best Supporting Actress, Best Ensemble, and Breakthrough Performance. New categories this year include Best Screenplay and Best Documentary.

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The Best of 2011
as picked by the Detroit Film Critics Society
(nominees are listed in alphabetical order following winners)

BEST PICTURE

• Winner: The Artist
• The Descendants
• Hugo
• Take Shelter
• The Tree of Life

BEST DIRECTOR

• Winner: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
• Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
• Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter
• Martin Scorsese, Hugo
• Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive

BEST ACTOR

• Winner: Michael Fassbender, Shame
• George Clooney, The Descendants
• Jean Dujardin, The Artist
• Brad Pitt, Moneyball
• Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

BEST ACTRESS

• Winner: Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
• Viola Davis, The Help
• Felicity Jones, Like Crazy
• Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
• Charlize Theron, Young Adult

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Winner: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
• Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn
• Albert Brooks, Drive
• Ryan Gosling, Crazy Stupid Love
• Patton Oswalt, Young Adult

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Winner: Carey Mulligan, Shame
• Berenice Bejo, The Artist
• Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
• Vanessa Redgrave, Coriolanus
• Octavia Spencer, The Help

BEST ENSEMBLE

• Winner: Carnage
• Cedar Rapids
• Crazy Stupid Love
• The Help
• Margin Call
• Win Win

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE

• Winner: Jessica Chastain, The Help/Take Shelter/The Tree of Life
• Felicity Jones, Like Crazy
• Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
• Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
• Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

BEST SCREENPLAY

• Winner: Moneyball, Aaron Sorkin and Steven Zaillian
• 50/50, Will Reiser
• The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius
• Beginners, Mike Mills
• Take Shelter, Jeff Nichols

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• Winner: Tabloid
• Into Eternity
• Into the Abyss
• Marwencol
• We Were Here

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The Detroit Film Critics Society members for the 2011-2012 season in alphabetical order are: Kirk Baird (The Toledo Blade), Jason Buchanan (allmovie.com), Jim Fordyce (www.MIentertainment.biz), Adam Graham (The Detroit News), Corey Hall (The Metro Times), Tom Long (The Detroit News), Jeff Meyers (The Metro Times), John Monaghan (The Detroit Free Press), Warren Pierce (WJR Radio), Greg Russell (WMYD-TV), James Sanford (The Kalamazoo Gazette), Tom Santilli (Examiner.com), Debbie Schlussel (Sirius Patriot Channel 144’s Mike Church Show), Perry Seibert (allmovieguide.com), John Serba (The Grand Rapids Press), Lee Thomas (WJBK Fox 2), Mike Tyrkus (CinemaNerdz.com), Kirk Vanderbeek (Real Detroit Weekly), Greg Walton (WIOG/KRSP), Stephanie Webb (WZZM, ABC 13), Chris Williams (Advisor & Source Newspapers), and Rob Worley (Backlot D).

For further information, please contact:
Ruth Daniels, Detroit Film Critics Society
(248) 703-0997 or ruthd@emagine-entertainment.com
More information is available on the website atdetroitfilmcritics.com