Cohen Brothers Triumph At Critics’ Choice Awards

ETHAN and JOEL COEN’s movie NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN has triumphed at the 2008
Critics’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles.

The film landed the coveted Best Picture award as well as the Best Supporting
Actor accolade for Javier Bardem at the ceremony on Monday (07Jan08) night.

The awards, which are given out by the Broadcast Film Critics Association,
are not covered by Writer’s Guild contracts so was not affected by the ongoing
strike which has forced other events, including the prestigious Golden Globe
Awards, to be canceled.

Other winners at the ceremony include Daniel Day Lewis, who picked up the
Best Actor gong for his role in There Will Be Blood, and Julie Christie, who
won Best Actress for Away From Her.

Amy Ryan was honoured as Best Supporting Actress for Gone Baby Gone – Ben
Affleck’s directorial debut – and teen pregnancy movie Juno was named Best
Comedy.

Hairspray was also among the big winners of the night, scooping two awards
for Best Acting Ensemble and Best Young Actress for its 19-year-old star Nikki
Blonsky.

George Clooney, who was nominated for his starring turn in Michael Clayton,
presented the inaugural Joel Siegel Award to his Ocean’s 13 co-star Don Cheadle
for his humanitarian work – and he used the opportunity to call for a
resolution to the writers strike.

He told the audience, “When the strike happens, it’s not just writers
(affected). Our hope is that all the players will lock themselves in a room and
not come out until they finish. We want this to be done. That’s the most
important thing.”

The main category winners are as follows:

Best Picture
No Country for Old Men

Best Comedy
Juno

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood

Best Actress
Julie Christie, Away from Her

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone

Best Acting Ensemble
Hairspray

Best Young Actor
Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, The Kite Runner

Best Young Actress
Nikki Blonsky, Hairspray

Best Director
Ethan and Joel Coen, No Country for Old Men

Best Writer
Diablo Cody, Juno

Best Composer
Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood

Best Song
Falling Slowly, Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova, Once

Best Foreign Language Film
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Best Animated Feature
Ratatouille

Best Family Film
Enchanted

Best Documentary
Sicko

Best Picture Made for Television
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

(LR/WNWCPL/TN)