If you thought it was going to be a smooth ride to the podium for Daniel Day-Lewis, think again. Leave it to the National Board of Review to give the best actor honor to Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook.
The Board also awarded the best supporting actress award to Ann Dowd, even though she's the lead in Compliance.
The rest of the list shakes out as expected though, as Zero Dark Thirty dominated with best film, best director (Kathryn Bigelow) and best actress (Jessica Chastain) wins.
Leonardo DiCaprio got the supporting actor honor from the Board for Django Unchained while Tom Holland (The Impossible) and Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) earned respective breakthrough acting honors.
Looper (original) and Silver Linings Playbook (adapted) picked up screenwriting wins as well, while the cast of Les Miserables earned a best ensemble honor and Wreck-It Ralph netted the best animated feature win.
While it's hard to tell if Zero Dark Thirty can continue to ride this early wave of momentum all the way into February, the film is certainly off to a great start. A staggered release schedule (LA/NY on December 19, everywhere else January 11) should keep word-of-mouth strong.
As per tradition, the Board also releases an annual Top Films list. This year, they highlight nine films (since a Top Ten list is so cliché, right?): Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Looper, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Promised Land and Silver Linings Playbook.
The full list of winners are below:
Best Film: ZERO DARK THIRTY
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, ZERO DARK THIRTY
Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, ZERO DARK THIRTY
Best Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, DJANGO UNCHAINED
Best Supporting Actress: Ann Dowd, COMPLIANCE
Best Original Screenplay: Rian Johnson, LOOPER
Best Adapted Screenplay: David O. Russell, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Best Animated Feature: WRECK-IT RALPH
Special Achievement in Filmmaking: Ben Affleck, ARGO
Breakthrough Actor: Tom Holland, THE IMPOSSIBLE
Breakthrough Actress: Quvenzhané Wallis, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Best Directorial Debut: Benh Zeitlin, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Best Foreign Language Film: AMOUR
Best Documentary: SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN
William K. Everson Film History Award: 50 YEARS OF BOND FILMS
Best Ensemble: LES MISÉRABLES
Spotlight Award: John Goodman (ARGO, FLIGHT, PARANORMAN, TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE)
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: CENTRAL PARK FIVE
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: PROMISED LAND
Top Films
(in alphabetical order)
ARGO
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LES MISÉRABLES
LINCOLN
LOOPER
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER
PROMISED LAND
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(In Alphabetical Order)
BARBARA
THE INTOUCHABLES
THE KID WITH A BIKE
NO
WAR WITCH
Top 5 Documentaries
(In Alphabetical Order)
AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY
DETROPIA
THE GATEKEEPERS
THE INVISIBLE WAR
ONLY THE YOUNG
Top 10 Independent Films
(In Alphabetical Order)
ARBITRAGE
BERNIE
COMPLIANCE
END OF WATCH
HELLO I MUST BE GOING
LITTLE BIRDS
MOONRISE KINGDOM
ON THE ROAD
QUARTET
SLEEPWALK WITH ME
