The 2011 Knight Award Nominations

By Sean Knight

Welcome to the 2011 Knight Award Nominations!  As many of you will know I have been doing this since about 2000 when I was a freshmen film student in High School.  It's a way for me to honor the films that I love in a given year and let my opinion be known to the world at large... or rather the few friends who indulge me and pretend to care about what I have to say.  A few things to note about the Awards - 1. There are six nominees per category because I like even numbers and its hard enough whittling down the nominee list as it is.  2. There are best limited performance categories for roles that are smaller than your average supporting role, essentially extended cameos.  3. I also have a best animated, voice over, motion capture, or mixed media award because contrary to the Academy's thinking this does count as real acting.  Instead of confusing matters by mixing them in with the regular acting nominees I have given them their own category.  Perhaps the Academy should consider something similar.  4.  I also don't nominate a traditional slate of  Best Pictures.  Instead I list my top 20 films of the year in Alphabetical Order.  Essentially, they are all competing for Best Picture.  The winners will be announced the day before the Oscars, so this year it will be February 25th.  Thank you for stopping by to read the nominees.  Feel free to comment, bitch, moan etc.  And now onward to the 2011 Knight Award Nominations!

Special Citations

Lifetime Achievement Award

Christopher Plummer

Breakthrough Filmmaker

Andrew Haigh - Weekend

Special Cinematic Achievement Award

Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life

Breakthrough Actor

Joel Courtney – Super 8

Breakthrough Actress

Felecity Jones – Like Crazy

Most Disappointing Film of the Year

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Most Overrated Film of the Year

Moneyball

Most Underrated Film of the Year

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Worst Film of the Year

The Green Lantern

Most Mediocre Film of the Year

Carnage

Worst Actor of the Year

Ezra Miller – We Need to Talk About Kevin

Worst Actress of the Year

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley – Transformers Dark of the Moon

Top 20 Films of the Year in Alphabetical Order

50/50

The Adventures of Tintin

The Artist

Attack the Block

Contagion

Drive

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hanna

Hugo

Martha Marcy May Marlene

Midnight in Paris

Rango

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Shame

Super 8

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

The Tree of Life

War Horse

Weekend

Win Win

2011 Knight Award Nominations

Best Director

Tomas Alfredson – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris

Steve McQueen – Shame

Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive

Martin Scorsese – Hugo

Steven Spielberg – War Horse

Best Actor

Tom Cullen – Weekend

Michael Fassbender – Shame

Paul Giamati – Win Win

Ryan Gosling – Drive

Joseph Gordon Levitt – 50/50

Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Actress

Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis – The Help

Roony Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Elizabeth Olson – Martha Marcy May Marlene

Soarise Ronan - Hanna

Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn

Albert Brooks – Drive

Benedict Cumberbatch – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Ben Kingsley – Hugo

Chris New – Weekend

Brad Pitt – The Tree of Life

Best Supporting Actress

Jessica Chastain – The Help

Elle Fanning – Super 8

Anna Kendrick – 50/50

Janet McTier – Albert Nobbs

Carey Mulligan - Shame

Shailene Woodley – The Descendants

Best Actor in a Limited Role

Niels Arestrup – War Horse

Adrian Brody – Midnight in Paris

Robert Forster – The Descendants

Philip Baker Hall – 50/50

John Hurt – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Alan Rickman – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Best Actress in a Limited Role

Nicole Beharie – Shame

Kathy Burke – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Judy Dench – My Week with Marilyn

Judy Greer – The Descendants

Anjelica Huston – 50/50

Emily Watson – War Horse

Best Animated, Motion Capture, Voice Over, or Mixed Media Performance

Ned Beatty – Rango

Daniel Craig – The Adventures of Tintin

Johnny Depp – Rango

Peter Linz – The Muppets

Andy Serkis – The Adventures of Tintin

Andy Serkis – Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Best Ensemble

Attack the Block

Contagion

The Ides of March

Midnight in Paris

Super 8

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Adapted Screenplay

Hossein Amini - Drive

Steven Zaillian - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon - The Ides of March

Moira Buffini - Jane Eyre

Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin - Moneyball

Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Original Screenplay

Will Reiser - 50/50

Joe Cornish - Attack the Block

Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris

John Logan - Rango

Abi Morgan, Steve McQueen - Shame

Andrew Haigh - Weekend

Best Cinematography

Newton Thomas Sigel - Drive

Robert Richardson - Hugo

Adriano Goldman - Jane Eyre

Emmanuel Lubezki - The Tree of Life

Hoyte Van Hoytema - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Janusz Kaminski - War Horse

Best Editing

Michael Kahn - The Adventures of Tintin

Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist

Mathew Newman - Drive

Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Stephen Mirrione - The Ides of March

Dino Jansater - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Costume Design

Mark Bridges - The Artist

Anna B. Sheppard - Captain America: The First Avenger

Sandy Powell - Hugo

Sonia Grande - Midnight in Paris

Jill Taylor - My Week with Marilyn

Jacqueline Durran - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Production Design

Andrew L Jones, Jeff Wisniewski - The Adventures of Tintin

Rick Heinrichs - Captain America: The First Avenger

Dante Ferretti - Hugo

Mark McCreery, John Bell - Rango

Maria Djurkovic, Tom Brown - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Jack Fisk, David Crank - The Tree of Life

Best Musical Score

The Chemical Brothers - Hanna

Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hans Zimmer - Rango

Michael Giacchino - Super 8

Alberto Iglesias - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

John Williams - War Horse

Best Sound Design

Dave Whitehead - The Adventures of Tintin

Ren Klyce - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Chuck Michael - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Peter J. Devlin - Transformers Dark of the Moon

Erik Aadahl, Craig Berkey - The Tree of Life

Gary Rydstrom - War Horse

Best Sound Editing

Lon Bender, Victor Ray Ennis - Drive

Ren Klyce - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Christopher Scarabosio - Hanna

Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty - Hugo

Addison Teague - Rango

Ben Burtt - Super 8

Best Make-Up

Clarisse Domine, Zoey Hay - The Artist

Lisa Westcott - Captain America

Mark Coulier, Nick Dudman, - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Morag Ross, Anni Buchanan - Hugo

Daniel Phillips - Jane Eyre

Deborah La Mia Denaver - Super 8

Best Visual Effects

The Adventures of Tintin

Hugo

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Super 8

Transformers Dark of the Moon

The Tree of Life

Stop back on February 25th for the announcement of the 2011 Knight Award Winners!