D.C. Film Critics Circle Awards Honor Carey Mulligan, NINE and More

The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) today announced their 2009 winners, awarding Best Film to Up in the Air. Additionally, awards were given to Broadway star Carey Mulligan, most recently of The Seagull, for her work in the film "An Education," as well as the upcoming film of Maury Yeston's "Nine."

Relative newcomer Carey Mulligan took home the Best Actress award for An Education, while what many considered the only locks of the season - the Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories - went to Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) and Mo'Nique (Precious), respectively. Precious also walked away with the Best Breakthrough Performance for first-time actress Gabourey Sidibe.

"We are thrilled with these results," said Tim Gordon, president of WAFCA. "As with every year, there were consensus favorites as well as surprises that both stunned and delighted us. In a year full of as many great films as this one, things are always...up in the air!"

In other categories, Sheldon Turner and two-time winner Jason Reitman (2006's Thank You for Smoking) won Best Adapted Screenplay for Up in the Air. Reitman also won the same award in 2006 for Thank You For Smoking. Quentin Tarantino won Best Original Screenplay for his heavily lauded Inglourious Basterds. Up snagged the Best Animated Film award, the fourth WAFCA win for the Disney/Pixar juggernaut. Best foreign film went to the immigration drama Sin Nombre, and Best Documentary went to Food, Inc.

The Washington, D.C. Area Film Critics Association is comprised of 48 DC-VA-MD-based film critics from television, radio, print and the Internet. Voting was conducted from December 4 - 5, 2009.

Best Film:
Up in the Air | Paramount

Best Director:
Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)

Best Actor:
George Clooney (Up in the Air)

Best Actress:
Carey Mulligan (An Education)

Best Supporting Actor:
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Supporting Actress:
Mo'Nique (Precious)

Best Ensemble:
The Hurt Locker | Summit Entertainment

Best Breakthrough Performance:
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)

Best Screenplay, Adapted:
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner (Up in the Air)

Best Screenplay, Original:
Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds)

Best Animated Film:
Up | Walt Disney & Pixar

Best Foreign Film:
Sin Nombre | Focus Features

Best Documentary:
Food, Inc. | Magnolia

Best Art Direction:
Nine | The Weinstein Company

Mulligan made her Broadway debut in the 2008 US transfer of The Seagull, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She launched her professional acting career in the 2005 movie version of the Jane Austen novel "Pride & Prejudice." That same year she appeared in the BAFTA award-winning BBC adaption of Charles Dickens "Bleak House." Since then, her extensive credits include: the TV series "The Amazing Mrs Pritchard" opposite Jane Horrocks, "The Sittaford Mystery", and "ITV's Marple. She appeared in the acclaimed 2007 revival of "The Seagull," the film adaptation of Blake Morrison's memoirs "And When Did You Last See Your Father?" and "My Boy Jack" with Kim Catrall and Daniel Radcliff. She will next appear in Lone Scherfig's new movie "An Education," alongside Peter Sarsgaard and Dominic Cooper, which opens on October 9. The actress also recently filmed "Wall Street 2" and "Never Let Me Go."

NINE will have a limited release on December 18th in New York and Los Angeles and will then go on wide release on December 25th. The big screen adaptation of NINE THE MUSICAL stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Penelope Cruz and Nicole Kidman. The all-star cast is directed by Rob Marshall, who also helmed critically-acclaimed 2002 musical Chicago - which garnered six Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actress nod for Catherine Zeta-Jones. Daniel Day-Lewis replaced the previously attached Javier Bardem in the leading role of Guido Contini, Bardem left the project citing exhaustion. Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson, Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, Sophia Loren and Judi Dench star in the film as well. Nine is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Maury Yeston and is based off of Fredrico Fellini's movie 8 1/2. The play tells the story of a highly stressed director living in VenIce Trying to juggle all of the women in his life.

The Broadway production of Nine, directed by Tommy Tune and choreographed by Thommie Walsh, opened on May 9, 1982 at the 46th Street Theatre, where it ran for 729 performances. The cast included Raúl Juliá as Guido, Karen Akers as Luisa, Liliane Montevecchi as Liliane, Anita Morris as Carla, Shelly Burch as Claudia, and Taina Elg as Guido's mother. Replacements later in the run included Bert Convy and Sergio Franchi as Guido, Maureen McGovern as Luisa, and Priscilla Lopez as Liliane. The musical won five Tony Awards, including best musical. The first revival of the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical hit Broadway in 2003 led by Antonio Banderas-who made his Broadway debut in the role of Guido. Laura Benanti, Jane Krakowski,Mary Stuart Masterson, and Chita Rivera rounded out the original revival cast. For more information visit the official NINE website by clicking here.

For more information regarding the D.C. Critics Circle, visit their website at www.dcfilmcritics.com.

 

 

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