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Image courtesy of Missesdressy.

HOLLYWOOD—The Broadcast Critics Choice Nominations were announced on Tuesday, December 11 and leading the pack with 13 nominations is the biopic “Lincoln.”  Following close behind was the musical “Les Misérables” with 11 nominations, followed behind “Silver Linings Playbook” with 10 nominations.

Best Picture is a competitive race as “Argo,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Django Unchained,” “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln,” “The Master,” “Les Misérables,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Zero Dark Thirty” all vie for the night’s biggest award.  This absolutely has been one of the best years for cinema in a long time with incredible pictures being made, so this will be a tough one indeed.

For Best Actress the nominees are Jessica Chastain “Zero Dark Thirty,” Marion Cotillard “Rust and Bone,” Jennifer Lawrence “Silver Linings Playbook,” Naomi Watts “The Impossible,” Emmanuelle Riva “Amour” and Quvenzhané Wallis “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”  Wallis has the opportunity to walk away with two awards as she is also a nominee in the Best Young Actor/Actress category for her work in “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”  She will face-off against Kara Hayward “Moonrise Kingdom,” Tom Holland “The Impossible,” Logan Lerman “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” Suraj Sharma “Life of Pi” and Elle Fanning “Ginger & Rosa.”

Nominees for Best Actor include Bradley Cooper “Silver Linings Playbook,” Denzel Washington “Flight,” Joaquin Phoenix “The Master,” John Hawkes “The Sessions,” Daniel-Day Lewis “Lincoln” and Hugh Jackman “Les Misérables.” Major contenders in this category, but I do see this as being perhaps a two-person race right now between Cooper and Lewis, but all can change in the coming weeks as more of the films are viewed by the public.

In the Supporting Actress race the nominees are Judi Dench “Skyfall,” Amy Adams “The Master,” Ann Dowd “Compliance,” Sally Field “Lincoln,” Helen Hunt “The Sessions” and Anne Hathaway “Les Misérables.”  Hathaway is garnering rave reviews for her work in the musical, as are both Field (Lincoln) and Dowd (Compliance) so at the moment it looks like a three-person race.

Previous Oscar-winners Robert De Niro, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Alan Arkin will all compete in the Best Supporting Actor race. The only newcomer to the category is heartthrob Matthew McConaughey for his worker in “Magic Mike.”  This is indeed perhaps one of the most difficult acting races to predict.

For Best Director the nominees are Ben Affleck “Argo,” Tom Hooper “Les Misérables,” Ang Lee “Life of Pi,” Steven Spielberg “Lincoln,” Kathryn Bigelow “Zero Dark Thirty” and David O. Russell “Silver Linings Playbook.”   In the Best Original Screenplay category, the contenders are Quentin Tarantino “Django Unchained,” Paul Thomas Anderson “The Master,” Mark Boal “Zero Dark Thirty,” Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola “MoonriseKingdom,” Rian Johnson “Looper” and John Gatins “Flight.”

Best Adapted Screenplay nominees include Tony Kushner “Lincoln,” Stephen Chbosky “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” David O. Russell “Silver Linings Playbook,” Chris Terrio “Argo” and David Magee “Life of Pi.”  Best Acting Ensemble includes “Lincoln,” “Les Misérables,” “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” “Moonrise Kingdom,” “Silver Linings Playbook” and “Argo.”

The winners for the Critics Choice Awards will be announced on Tuesday, January 10, 2013.  The irony in that date is it’s the same day that the nominees for the 84th Annual Academy Awards will be announced.  It will be interesting to see how close the Critics Choice Awards matches the nominees for the Oscars.

By LaDale Anderson