LOS ANGELES FILM CRITICS ANNOUNCE 2007 AWARD WINNERS

CONTACT:           

Michael Lawson, mPRm Public Relations

323-933-3399

LOS ANGELES, DECEMBER 9, 2007 "There Will Be Blood" was voted Best Picture of the Year, it was announced today by Lael Loewenstein, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA). The runner up was "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly."

LAFCA's 33rd annual achievement awards ceremony will be held Saturday, January 12 at the InterContinental Los Angeles.  This year’s awards ceremony will be dedicated to the memory of the late Robert Altman, Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, Ousmane Sembene and Edward Yang.  www.lafca.net

Other award winners are:

DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"

Runner-up: Julian Schnabel, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”

ACTRESS: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie en Rose"

Runner-up: Anamaria Marinca, “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”

ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”

Runner-up: Frank Langella, “Starting Out in the Evening”

SCREENPLAY: "The Savages" by Tamara Jenkins

Runner-up: “There Will Be Blood” by Paul Thomas Anderson

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone" and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead”

Runner-up: Cate Blanchett, "I’m Not There"

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Vlad Ivanov, "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"

Runner-up: Hal Holbrook, “Into the Wild"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" directed by Cristian Mungiu

Runner-up: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" directed by Julian Schnabel

DOCUMENTARY/NON-FICTION FILM: "No End in Sight" directed by Charles Ferguson

Runner-up: "Sicko“ directed by Michael Moore

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Jack Fisk, "There Will Be Blood"

Runner-up: Dante Ferretti, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"

ANIMATION: (tie) “Ratatouille" (Brad Bird) and “Persepolis” (Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi)

MUSIC: Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, “Once"

Runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, "There Will Be Blood”

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Janusz Kaminski, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

Runner-up: Robert Elswit, “There Will Be Blood"

NEW GENERATION: Sarah Polley, “Away From Her”

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT:  Sidney Lumet (previously announced)

INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL: “Colossal Youth” directed by Pedro Costa

SPECIAL CITATIONS:  To New Crowned Hope, an extraordinary project in honor of Mozart’s 250th birthday, commissioning adventurous work in multiple art forms including cinema.  New Crowned Hope’s films included works marking major achievements in current world film, including “Syndromes and a Century,” “I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone,” “Paraguayan Hammock,” “Daratt,” “Half Moon,” “Opera Jawa” and “Meokgo and the Stickfighter.”  We are honoring artistic director Peter Sellars and producers Simon Field and Keith Griffiths.

LEGACY OF CINEMA AWARDS (two):  To Dennis Doros and Amy Heller of Milestone Film & Video for their tireless efforts on behalf of film restoration and preservation, which in 2007 brought about the debut releases on DVD of such noteworthy films as "Killer of Sheep and "My Brother's Wedding," as well as the re-release of "I Am Cuba."

To the Outfest Legacy Project a collaboration between Outfest and the UCLA Film & Television Archive, which is spearheading the rescue and restoration of lost gay and lesbian cinema, and which hosted its first presentation of a Legacy Project restoration this summer with a new print of the seminal 1986 comedy/drama "Parting Glances."

Founded in 1975, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is comprised of Los Angeles-based, professional film critics working in the Los Angeles print and electronic media.  Each December, LAFCA members vote on the year’s Achievement Awards, honoring screen excellence on both sides of the camera. Plaques of recognition are then presented to winners during LAFCA’s annual awards ceremony, held in mid-January.

Aside from honoring each year’s outstanding cinematic achievements, LAFCA has also made it a point to look back and pay tribute to distinguished industry veterans with its annual Career Achievement Award, which is announced in October, as well as to look forward by spotlighting fresh, promising talent with its annual New Generation Award.  In addition, over the past three decades, LAFCA has sponsored and hosted numerous film panels and events and donated funds to various Los Angeles film organizations, especially where film preservation was concerned.  LAFCA members have also collectively been vocal about taking up causes they have felt passionate about, from drafting formal protests against censorship and colorization to lending their support to controversial films.