AWARD UPDATE: NY Film Critics love ‘The Artist’

The New York Film Critics Circle has bestowed The Artist, an independent movie about the silent-film industry, with its coveted Best Picture prize. The announcement is one of the earliest benchmarks on what films will likely prosper during the award season.

The critics organization, which consists of reviewers from Variety, Time and The New Yorker, among other publications, also honored Michael Hazanavicius for his directorial work on The Artist.

Brad Pitt won Best Actor for his work in Moneyball and The Tree of Life, while Meryl Streep was honored for her role in The Iron Lady, the upcoming biopic about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Albert Brooks (Drive) and Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life, The Help and Take Shelter) earned wins in the supporting acting categories. The Tree of Life also won for Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki)

Best Screenplay went to Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin for Moneyball.

No award was given for Best Animated Film, but A Separation won for Best Foreign Language Film and Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams won for Best Nonfiction Film.

Margin Call was honored for Best First Feature and a special award will be given to filmmaker Raoul Ruiz.

The awards will be handed out at a ceremony on Jan. 9.