“The Tree of Life,” led the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards with seven nominations including Best Picture and nods for Malick for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, Brad Pitt for Best Supporting Actor, Jessica Chastain for Best Supporting Actress, Emmanuel Lubezki for Best Cinematography and Hunter McCracken for Most Promising Performer.
Critics favorite, “The Artist,” garnered filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius nods for Director and Original Screenplay as well as nominations for Original Score and a Best Actor slot for star Jean Dujardin.
Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog received two nominations in the Best Documentary category for his 2011 films “Cave of Forgotten Dreams” and “Into the Abyss.” Other nominees include The Interrupters, Pina, Project Nim and Tabloid.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives was nominated for Best Foreign Film, along with In a Better World, Incendies, A Separation and The Skin I Live In.
The winners of the CFCA Awards, now in their 23rd year, will be announced on the morning of December 19, 2011 and will be presented at a ceremony on January .
BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Hugo
The Tree of Life
BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius (-) The Artist
Terrence Malick (-) The Tree of Life
Alexander Payne (-) The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn (-) Drive
Martin Scorsese (-) Hugo
BEST ACTOR
George Clooney (-) The Descendants
Jean Dujardin (-) The Artist
Michael Fassbender (-) Shame
Gary Oldman (-) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Michael Shannon (-) Take Shelter
BEST ACTRESS
Kirsten Dunst (-) Melancholia
Elizabeth Olsen (-) Martha Marcy May Marlene
Anna Paquin (-) Margaret
Meryl Streep (-) The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams (-) My Week With Marilyn
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Albert Brooks (-) Drive
Nick Nolte (-) Warrior
Patton Oswalt (-) Young Adult
Brad Pitt (-) The Tree of Life
Christopher Plummer (-) Beginners
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain (-) The Tree of Life
Melissa McCarthy (-) Bridesmaids
Carey Mulligan (-) Shame
Octavia Spencer (-) The Help
Shailene Woodley (-) The Descendants
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist (-) Michel Hazanavicius
Martha Marcy May Marlene (-) Sean Durkin
Midnight In Paris (-) Woody Allen
A Separation (-) Asghar Farhadi
The Tree of Life (-) Terrence Malick
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants (-) Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Drive (-) Hossein Amini
Hugo (-) John Logan
Moneyball (-) Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (-) Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Puss In Boots
Rango
Winnie the Pooh
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
The Interrupters
Into the Abyss
Pina
Project Nim
Tabloid
BEST FOREIGN FILM
In a Better World
Incendies
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Drive (-) Newton Thomas Sigel
Hugo (-) Robert Richardson
Melancholia (-) Manuel Alberto Claro
The Tree of Life (-) Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse (-) Janusz Kaminski
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Artist (-) Ludovic Bource
Drive (-) Cliff Martinez
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (-) Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Hanna (-) The Chemical Brothers
Hugo (-) Howard Shore
MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Liana Liberato (-) Trust
Brit Marling (-) Another Earth
Hunter McCracken (-) The Tree of Life
Elizabeth Olsen (-) Martha Marcy May Marlene
Shailene Woodley (-) The Descendants
MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
J.C. Chandor (-) Margin Call
Simon Curtis (-) My Week With Marilyn
Drake Doremus (-) Like Crazy
Sean Durkin (-) Martha Marcy May Marlene
Tate Taylor (-) The Help