'The Social Network' wins National Board of Review prize

Image Credit: Merrick MortonThe Social Network has won the first major pre-Oscar Best Picture prize of the awards season, earning honors from the National Board of Review. The acclaimed film also won awards for Best Director (David Fincher), Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin). Last year’s winner, Up in the Air, ended up as an Oscar nominee but lost to The Hurt Locker; in other recent years, the NBR winner has lined up with the eventual Oscar winner (Slumdog Millionaire, No Country for Old Men). Missing from the group’s top 10: 127 Hours, The Kids Are All Right, and Black Swan — though it’s worth noting that four of last year’s 10 Oscar nominees weren’t recognized by the NBR either. The King’s Speech, meanwhile, made the top 10 list but failed to win any awards. Perhaps the biggest surprise (and a very pleasant one at that) is Jacki Weaver’s supporting actress victory for the amazing Australian drama Animal Kingdom. She and Eisenberg, along with Another Year‘s Best Actress winner Lesley Manville, pick up the biggest boosts in the overall awards race. The full list of winners is below.

Best Film The Social Network

Top 10 Films

Another Year

The Fighter

Hereafter

Inception

The King’s Speech

Shutter Island

The Town

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter’s Bone

Best Director David Fincher, The Social Network

Best Actor Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Best Actress Lesley Manville, Another Year

Best Supporting Actor Christian Bale, The Fighter

Best Supporting Actress Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Foreign Film Of Gods and Men

Top Five Foreign Films

I Am Love

Incendies

Love, Above All

Soul Kitchen

White Material

Best Documentary Waiting for “Superman”

Top Five Documentaries

A Film Unfinished

Inside Job

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Restrepo

The Tillman Story

Best Animated Feature Toy Story 3

Best Ensemble Cast The Town

Breakthrough Performance Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone

Best Directorial Debut Tim Hetherington & Sebastian Junger, Restrepo

Best Original Screenplay Chris Sparling, Buried

Best Adapted Screenplay Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network

Special Filmmaking Achievement Award Sofia Coppola, Somewhere

Top 10 Independent Films

Animal Kingdom

Buried

Fish Tank

The Ghost Writer

Greenberg

Let Me In

Monsters

Please Give

Somewhere

Youth in Revolt

Check out my interview with NBR winners Eisenberg and Sorkin, along with their castmates Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, and Justin Timberlake. And follow me on Twitter (@davekarger) for awards updates.