Honors, 2011

Before the Oscars go and fuck it up, I thought I'd offer my own version of who deserves what and for which.

VIP - Joe Swanberg

Joe has done more to inspire me than anyone else this year. He's released some five odd films, acted in and produced a few others besides and done so for next to no money. He's never at rest and even when his films are less than entirely successful, they are constantly evolving, exploring and unraveling the world as he knows it. He gave us two masterpieces this year about the artistic condition, revolutionized self-distribution with the help of Factory 25 and shows no signs of stopping. To me and my friends, he's the spirit of independent film embodied and he's the person who's done the most this year for modern film and made it seem like our dreams of becoming filmmakers is attainable.

Script
- Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil
- Submarine
- 13 Assassins
- Neds
- Super 8
- Princess of Montpensier
- Contagion
- Hugo
- Arthur Christmas
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
- Margaret
- A Separation
- Carnage

- Too Big To Fail

Music
- Jonny Greenwood, Norwegian Wood, We Need To Talk About Kevin
- Alexandre Desplat, The Tree Of Life
- Michael Giacchino, Super 8
- Chico & Rita
- Cliff Martinez, Contagion/Drive
- Jeff Grace, Meek's Cutoff
- John Williams, The Adventures of Tintin/War Hors
- Mychael Danna, Moneyball
- Hans Zimmer, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- Sonic Youth, Simon Werner A Disparu

Actor
- Brad Pitt, The Tree of Life
- Conor McCarron, NEDS
- Mathieu Amalric, On Tour
- Javier Bardem, Biutiful
- Joel Courtney, Super 8
- Samuel L. Jackson, The Sunset Limited
- Sermet Yesil, Kosmos
- Sam Riley, Brighton Rock
- Ryan Gosling, Drive
- Michael Shannon, Take Shelter
- Peter Mullan, Tyrannosaur
- Woody Harrelson, Rampart
- Michael Fassbender, Shame
- Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes

- Antonio Banderas, The Skin I Live In

- Chris Hemsworth, Thor (he's just so dreamy)

Actress
- Rinko Kikuchi, Norwegian Wood
- Pollyanna Mcintosh, The Woman
- Kate Lyn Sheil, Silver Bullets
- Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierece
- Yoon Jeong-hee, Poetry
- Melanie Thierry, Princess of Montpensier
- Michelle Williams, Meek's Cutoff, My Week With Marilyn
- Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia
- Olivia Colman, Tyrannosaur
- Carrie Mulligan, Shame
- Anna Paquin, Margaret
- Zoé Héran, Tomboy
- Yun Jung-hee, Poetry

- Tilda Swinton, We Need To Talk About Kevin

- Elle Fanning, Super 8

- Elena Anaya, The Skin I Live In/Hierro

- Rooney Mara, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

And were it not totally immoral, I'd give a slot to Alexandra Maiorino for her role in my film I Need You. She's brilliant all by herself in that film, so I don't feel like I'm being too ridiculous.

Ensemble
- House of Pleasures
- Super 8
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
- 13 Assassins
- NEDS
- Margaret
- A Separation
- Melancholia
- Drive
- War Horse
- Bridesmaids
- The Way Back
- Le Havre
- Carnage
- Albert Nobbs

- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

- Simon Werner A Disparu...

- Contagion

Note: The titular Three Musketeers are wasted by their moron director, but in Luke Evans, Matthew MacFadyen and Ray Stevenson we had the most virile and entertaining actors to take the roles in years. It's just a shame they were so let down by their fool director who forgot the movie was about them and not their unwatchable co-stars.

Director
- Tomas Alfredson, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

- Trần Anh Hùng, Norwegian Wood
- Terence Malick, The Tree of Life
- Jim Mickle, Stake Land
- Sylvain Chomet, The Illusionist
- Takashi Miike, 13 Assassins
- Richard Ayoade, Submarine
- Peter Mullan, NEDS
- Reha Erdem, Kosmos
- Stephen Soderbergh, Contagion
- Nic Winding Refn, Drive
- Lech Majewski, The Mill & The Cross
- Roland Emerich, Anonymous
- Martin Scorsese, Hugo
- Steve McQueen, Shame
- Lynne Ramsay, We Need To Talk About Kevin
- Bertrand Bonello, House of Pleasures
- Pedro Almodovar, The Skin I Live In
- Fabrice Gobert, Simon Werner a Disparu...
- Guy Ritchie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- Gabe Ibáñez, Hierro

- Joe Swanberg, Silver Bullets/Art History

- Tarsem Singh, Immortals

- Steven Spielberg, War Horse

- David Fincher, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Cinematography
- Norwegian Wood
- The Tree of Life
- Submarine
- Les Amours Imaginaires
- Meek's Cutoff
- 13 Assassins
- Beginners
- Biutiful
- Stake Land
- The Strange Case of Angelica
- Miral
- Jane Eyre
- Brighton Rock
- Kosmos
- Contagion
- Melancholia
- Marcy Marcy May Marlene
- Anonymous
- Immortals
- J. Edgar
- Hugo
- Shame
- Hierro

- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

- The Conspirator

- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Editing
- Norwegian Wood
- Super 8
- Tree of Life
- 13 Assassins
- Beginners
- Contagion
- Hugo
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

- Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

- Attack the Block

- Immortals

- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Costume
- The Princess of Montpensier
- Mysteries of Lisbon
- 13 Assassins
- Les Amours Imaginaires
- Captain America
- Stake Land
- Anonymous
- Hugo
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- The Mill & The Cross

- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

- Immortals

Supporting Actor
- Guy Pierce, Mildred Pierece
- Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
- Paddy Considine, Submarine
- Ti West, Silver Bullets
- Kyle Chandler, Super 8
- Colin Farrell, The Way Back
- Lambert Wilson, The Princess of Montpensier

- Christopher Plummer, Beginners,
- Will Patton, Meek's Cutoff
- Jared Harris, The Ward, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- Geoffrey Wright, Source Code
- Adrian Brody, Midnight in Paris
- Sean Bridgers, The Woman
- James McAvoy, X:Men: First Class
- Edward Hogg, Anonymous
- Ben Kingsley, Hugo
- Jean-Pierre Leaud, Le Havre
- Mark Strong, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
- Peter Mullan, War Horse
- Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method

- Sacha Baron Cohen, Hugo

- Tom Hardy, Warrior/Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Supporting Actress
- Lesley Manville, Another Year
- Paulina Gaitan, We Are What We Are
- Hiam Abbas, Miral
- Trieste Kelly Dunn, Cold Weather
- Vanessa Redgrave, Anonymous
- Imelda Staunton/Ashley Jensen, Arthur Christmas
- Yasmin Paige, Submarine
- Lea Seydoux, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
- Keira Knightley, A Dangerous Method
- Evan Rachel Wood, Mildred Pierce/The Ides of March

- Jennifer Ehle, Contagion

I'd give this to Rae Mathias for Tron Wayne Gacy, but I must recuse myself. She is something marvelous.

Production Design
- Norwegian Wood
- Jane Eyre
- Stake Land
- Mysteries of Lisbon
- Mildred Pierce
- Super 8
- Beginners
- NEDs
- 13 Assassins
- Tree of Life
- Anonymous
- Immortals
- J. Edgar
- Hugo
- Le Havre
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
- House of Pleasures
- The Mill & The Cross
- The Turin Horse

- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Art Direction
- Mildred Pierce
- Rango
- Jane Eyre
- Captain America
- Chico & Rita
- The Illusionist
- Les Amours Imaginaires
- Meek's Cutoff
- On Tour
- Submarine
- Anonymous
- Immortals
- Le Havre
- House of Pleasures
- We Need To Talk About Kevin
- The Mill & The Cross

- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

- Miral

- Attack The Block

- The Skin I Live In

- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Visual Effects
- The Troll Hunter
- X-Men
- Harry Potter
- Cowboys & Aliens
- Super 8
- Tree of Life
- Immortals
- Hugo
- Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows