National Society of Film Critics names ‘Spotlight’ best movie – ‘Amy’ nabs trophy for non-fiction film

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LOS ANGELES, Jan 4, (RTRS): Investigative journalism tale “Spotlight” won the National Society of Film Critics’ award for the best picture of 2015, as well as the group’s honor for best screenplay (given to the film’s co-writers Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, who also directed). Period romance “Carol” also took two awards, with one for director Todd Haynes and another for cinematographer Ed Lachman.

In the acting categories, NSFC named Michael B. Jordan best actor for his role in “Creed” and Charlotte Rampling best actress for “45 years.” Mark Rylance, a well-known stage presence who’s won three Tony Awards, picked up supporting actor for “Bridge of Spies,” while Kristen Stewart took supporting actress for her turn in “Clouds of Sils Maria.”

Amy Winehouse documentary “Amy” nabbed the trophy for non-fiction film, with Abderrahmane Sissako’s “Timbuktu” scoring for foreign language film.

NSFC tweeted out the voting results as each category was decided. The society hands out at least eight major awards per year, with the possibility of winners in further categories should the group decide to expand the year’s list. Chaired by Variety’s Justin Chang, the NSFC is made up of 53 film critics from around the country; eight of them disqualified themselves from voting because they haven’t seen every film.

The group dedicated its 50th annual meeting to the memory of the late Time critic Richard Corliss.

* Picture: “Spotlight” (23)

Runners-up: “Carol” (17), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (13)

* Director: Todd Haynes, “Carol” (21)

Runners-up: Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight” (21); George Miller, “Mad Max: Fury Road” (20)

(McCarthy received as many points as Haynes, but did not appear on a majority of ballots.)

* Actor: Michael B. Jordan, “Creed” (29)

Runners-up: Geza Rohrig, “Son of Saul” (18); Tom Courtenay, “45 Years” (15)

* Actress: Charlotte Rampling, “45 Years” (57)

Runners-up: Saoirse Ronan, “Brooklyn” (30); Nina Hoss, “Phoenix” (22)

* Supporting actor: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies” (56)

Runners-up: Michael Shannon, “99 Homes” (16); Sylvester Stallone, “Creed” (14)

* Supporting actress: Kristen Stewart, “Clouds of Sils Maria” (53)

Runners-up: Alicia Vikander, “Ex Machina” (23); Kate Winslet, “Steve Jobs” (17)

* Screenplay: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, “Spotlight” (21)

Runners-up: Charlie Kaufman, “Anomalisa” (15); Charles Randolph and Adam McKay, “The Big Short” (15)

* Cinematography: Ed Lachman, “Carol” (25)

Runners-up: Mark Lee Ping-bin, “The Assassin” (22); “Mad Max: Fury Road” (12)

* Foreign-language film: “Timbuktu” (22)Runners-up: “Phoenix” (20); “The Assassin” (16)

* Non-fiction film: “Amy” (23)

Runners-up: “In Jackson Heights” (18); “Seymour: An Introduction” (15)

* Film Heritage awards:

Film Society of Lincoln Center and the programmers Jake Perlin and Michelle Materre for the series “Tell It Like It Is: Black Independents in New York, 1968-1986” The Criterion Collection and L’Immagine Ritrovata for the restoration and packaging of the reconstructed version of  “The Apu Trilogy” by Satyajit RayAssociation Chaplin for supervising the digital restoration of Charlie Chaplin’s Essanay Films

* Special citation for a film awaiting American distribution: Radu Muntean’s “One Floor Below”

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