“THE HELP” AND “DRIVE” EACH SCORE 8 NOMINATIONS “THE DESCENDANTS” AND “WAR HORSE” ALSO TOP CONTENDERS

AWARDS CEREMONY TO BE BROADCAST LIVE ON VH1 THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2012 AT 8:00 PM ET/PT

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) has announced the nominees for the 17th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. The winners will be announced at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony on Thursday, January 12, 2012 at the Hollywood Palladium. Hosted by Rob Huebel and Paul Scheer, featuring Fitz and The Tantrums as the house band, the show will broadcast live for the fifth year in a row on VH1 at 8:00 PM ET/PT.

“Hugo” and “The Artist” each received an impressive 11 nominations for the 17th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, one short of the record 12 nominations for “Black Swan” last year. Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” garnering nods for Best Picture, Best Young Actor for Asa Butterfield, Best Director for Martin Scorsese, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound and Best Score. Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor for Jean Dujardin, Best Supporting Actress forBerenice Bejo, Best Acting Ensemble, Best Director for Michel Hazanavicius, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Best Costume Design, and Best Score.

Martin Scorsese could have a very big night at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. In addition to the 11 nominations for his film “Hugo,” he directed the Best Documentary Feature nominee “George Harrison: Living in the Material World.”  Last week it was announced that Scorsese will also be honored with the Critics’ Choice Music+Film Award at this year’s show.

“The Help” and “Drive” earned 8 nominations each, and “The Descendants” and “War Horse” both garnered 7 nominations. “Drive” was honored in the Best Picture and Best Action Movie categories while “Midnight in Paris” was recognized in Best Picture and Best Comedy categories. “The Tree of Life,” “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” and “My Week With Marilyn” also scored multiple nominations. “The Muppets” received four nominations, three of which came in the Best Song category for “Life’s a Happy Song,” “Man or Muppet,” and “Pictures in My Head,” the fourth for Best Comedy.

George Clooney received three nominations as part of the Best Acting Ensemble nominees for “The Descendants” and “The Ides of March,” along with his Best Actor nomination in “The Descendants.”  This gives Clooney a record 13 Critics’ Choice nominations over the years, having received 10 prior nominations in addition to winning a special Freedom Award for “Good Night, and Good Luck.”

Meryl Streep will be seeking her third Critics’ Choice Movie Award as a Best Actress nominee for “The Iron Lady” while Charlize Theron will be after her second award in the category. Streep previously won Best Actress for “Doubt” and “Julie & Julia” while Charlize Theron took the prize in 2003 for “Monster.”Michelle Williams, Critics’ Choice winner for Best Supporting Actress in 2005′s “Brokeback Mountain” will also compete for Best Actress for “My Week With Marilyn.” Twenty-year-old newcomer Shailene Woodley earned nods in both the Best Supporting Actress and Best Young Actor/Actress categories, among the seven nominations for “The Descendants.” Saoirse Ronan was also nominated for Best Young Actor/Actress for her role in “Hanna,” having previously won the category in 2009 for “The Lovely Bones.”

The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are bestowed annually by the BFCA to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. The BFCA is the largest film critics’ organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 250 television, radio and online critics.  BFCA members are the primary source of information for today’s film going public.  Eligible films were released in 2011. The accounting firm of CMM, LLP tallied the written ballots.

Since its inception in 1995, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards has been a star-studded bellwether event of the movie awards season.  Historically, the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are the most accurate predictor of the Academy Award nominations. Last year, for example, all four of the acting category winners at the Oscars – Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo – first accepted their awards in the same categories at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards.  In all, 18 of the 20 actors nominated for Oscars were first Critics’ Choice Movie Awards nominees.

Final ballots for the 17th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards will be sent to BFCA members on January 8, 2012 with a deadline for returning final ballots on January 10, 2012. For more information about the show visit CriticsChoice.VH1.com, “Like” VH1 on Facebook, and follow @VH1 on Twitter and use the hashtag #CCMA to talk about the awards!

The 17th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards is executive produced by Jesse Ignjatovic for Den of Thieves, Joey Berlin for Berlin Entertainment and Lee Rolontz for VH1.

About The Broadcast Film Critics Association:

The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) is the largest film critics organization in the United Statesand Canada, representing more than 250 television, radio and online critics.  BFCA members are the primary source of information for today’s film going public.  The very first opinion a moviegoer hears about new releases at the multiplex or the art house usually comes from one of its members.

About Den of Thieves:

Founded in 2007 by Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager, Den of Thieves has quickly emerged as a force for ambitious event shows and uniquely stylized reality television series. Using their extensive experience working with talent, Ignjatovic and Prager launched Den of Thieves as the TV arm of the Warner Music Group in 2007. After a successful three year partnership there, they branched out and are now fully independent.  With an array of formats ranging from Comedy Central’s stand-up special “Russell Brand in NYC” to VH1′s “The T.O. Show” to the MTV Video Music Awards, Den of Thieves continues to create, develop and produce original television.

About VH1:

VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 99 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, and extensive video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree Of Life
War Horse

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio – J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Michael Fassbender – Shame
Ryan Gosling – Drive
Brad Pitt – Moneyball

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis – The Help
Elizabeth Olsen – Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Charlize Theron – Young Adult
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks – Drive
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Patton Oswalt – Young Adult
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Andrew Serkis – Rise of the Planet of the Apes

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Carey Mulligan – Shame
Octavia Spencer – The Help
Shailene Woodley – The Descendants

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Asa Butterfield – Hugo
Elle Fanning – Super 8
Thomas Horn – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Ezra Miller – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Saoirse Ronan – Hanna
Shailene Woodley – The Descendants

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March

BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Alexander Payne – The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Steven Spielberg – War Horse

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
50/50 – Will Reiser
Midnight In Paris – Woody Allen
Win Win – Screenplay by Tom McCarthy, Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
Young Adult – Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants – Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – Eric Roth
The Help – Tate Taylor
Hugo – John Logan
Moneyball – Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist – Guillaume Schiffman
Drive – Newton Thomas Sigel
Hugo – Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse – Janusz Kaminski

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Artist – Production Designer: Laurence Bennett, Art Director: Gregory S. Hooper
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 – Production Designer: Stuart Craig, Set Decorator: Stephenie McMillan
Hugo – Production Designer: Dante Ferretti, Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo
The Tree of Life – Production Designer: Jack Fisk, Art Director: David Crank
War Horse – Production Designer: Rick Carter, Set Decorator: Lee Sandales

BEST EDITING
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion
Drive – Matthew Newman
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo – Thelma Schoonmaker
War Horse – Michael Kahn

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Artist – Mark Bridges
The Help – Sharen Davis
Hugo – Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre – Michael O’Connor
My Week With Marilyn – Jill Taylor

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
My Week With Marilyn

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
The Tree of Life

BEST SOUND
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Drive
Fast Five
Hanna
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8

BEST COMEDY
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In Darkness
Le Havre
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Where Do We Go Now

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Project Nim
Undefeated

BEST SONG
“Hello Hello” – performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga/written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin – Gnomeo & Juliet
“Life’s a Happy Song” – performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“The Living Proof” – performed by Mary J. Blige/written by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman and Harvey Mason, Jr. – The Help
“Man or Muppet” – performed by Jason Segel and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie – The Muppets
“Pictures in My Head” – performed by Kermit and the Muppets/written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman – The Muppets

BEST SCORE
The Artist – Ludovic Bource
Drive – Cliff Martinez
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Hugo – Howard Shore
War Horse – John Williams