Viola Davis, George Clooney Win Critics' Choice Awards

by UInterviewJanuary 13, 2012, 12:00 amNews >

It was a night that celebrated silence with plenty of stirring words. The Critics' Choice Movie Awards aired on Thursday, handing out four trophies to the French silent film The Artist, including Best Picture, Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, Best Costumes and Best Score.

Viola Davis and her film The Help also won big. Davis won for Best Actress while her co-star Octavia Spencer won for Best Supporting Actress. The cast, which also includes Emma Stone and Jessica Chastain, won for Best Ensemble.

Davis delivered an eloquent acceptance speech and nodded to the achievements of the under-appreciated women that she and Spencer portrayed in The Help. "The two most important days in a person's life are the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born," Davis said during her acceptance speech. "I considered it my honor to pay homage to these women at this time period who were not allowed to dream and not allowed to find their purpose but thank God, praise God they gave birth to me and my mother."

George Clooney was named Best Actor for playing a bewildered Hawaii land baron in The Descendants, while Christopher Plummer was named Best Supporting Actor for Beginners. The Critics' Choice Awards have had a clean record in predicting the Oscar winners in the acting categories for the past two years.

Here is a list of complete winners:

Best Picture: "The Artist"
Best Comedy: "Bridesmaids"
Best Animated Feature: "Rango"
Best Action Movie: "Drive"
Best Documentary: "George Harrison: Living in the Material World"
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Best Actress: Viola Davis, "The Help"
Best Actor: George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, "The Help"
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Best Ensemble: "The Help"
Best Young Actor: Thomas Horn, "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian, "Moneyball"
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Best Foreign Language Film: "A Separation"
Best Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski, "War Horse"
Best Art Direction: "Hugo"
Best Editing: "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Best Costume: "The Artist"
Best Score: "The Artist"
Best Song: "The Muppets," "Life's a Happy Song"
Best Visual Effects: "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
Best Make-Up: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2"
Best Sound: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2"