'Zero Dark Thirty' Tops New York Film Critics Circle Awards

The New York Film Critics Circle met earlier today to vote for the winners of their annual awards. Four hours later (if you think I'm exaggerating, check their Twitter feed) they finally reached a verdict: Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" is the best film of 2012 -- and Bigelow herself is the best director. The results were a repeat of the NYFCC's 2009 vote, when Bigelow won those same two prizes for "The Hurt Locker," which ultimately went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

The other big winner of the day was Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln," which took home the Best Screenplay and Best Actor awards for Tony Kushner and Daniel Day-Lewis, along with a surprising Best Supporting Actress award for Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln. Other major surprises included giving David France's "How to Survive a Plague" Best First Film over Benh Zeitlin's widely acclaimed "Beasts of the Southern Wild" -- the first time in the group's history that a documentary won that particular award. Then "How to Survive a Plague" didn't win the NYFCC's Best Non-Fiction Film Award -- which went instead to Ken Burns' "The Central Park Five." From this biased observer's perspective, the most pleasant surprise was the richly deserved Best Supporting Actor award for Matthew McConaughey, who gave outstanding supporting turns in several excellent films this year, including "Bernie" and "Magic Mike."

Here's the full list of 2012 NYFCC winners:

Best Film: "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best Screenplay: Tony Kushner, "Lincoln"
Best Actress: Rachel Weisz, "The Deep Blue Sea"
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"
Best Supporting Actress: Sally Field, "Lincoln"
Best Supporting Actor: Matthew McConaughey, "Bernie" and "Magic Mike"
Best Cinematography: Greig Fraser, "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best Non-Fiction Film: "The Central Park Five"
Best Animated Film: "Frankenweenie"
Best Foreign Language Film: "Amour"
Best First Film: David France, "How to Survive a Plague"

The NYFCC will officially honor their winners at their annual Awards Ceremony on January 7th.

Other 2012 Critics Awards (Best Film Pick in Parenthesis)
-Sight & Sound ("The Master")