Up in the Air Tops Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards

Up in the Air, Jason Reitman's alternately funny and surprisingly touching comic drama about the misadventures of a corporate axe man, was named best picture of the year in the 18th Annual Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards.

The film also scored awards for George Clooney, for best actor, and Reitman and Sheldon Turner, for their adaptation of the Walter Kirn novel.

Kathryn Bigelow was named best director for her work on the intense and disturbing The Hurt Locker, set in wartime Iraq.

The other major acting awards went to Meryl Streep (best actress), who portrayed celebrated cook Julia Child in Julie & Julia; Christoph Waltz (best supporting actor) as a frighteningly sly SS officer in Inglourious Basterds; and hip-hop star Mo'Nique, as an emotionally abusive mother from hell in Precious.

The funny and romantic (500) Days of Summer won for best original screenplay, for a script co-written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, while Pixar's Up barely edged out Wes Anderson's stop-motion gem Fantastic Mr. Fox for best animated feature.

Food, Inc. won for best documentary. Writer-director Scott Teems’ That Evening Sun, featuring Hal Halbrook's sterling portrayal of an aging, bitter Tennessee farmer facing the loss of his home, won the Wyatt Award for the most outstanding Southern-themed film.

I was one of the 44 critics who participated in this year's voting, and I'm happy to report that so many of my favorites -- including The Hurt Locker, Up in the Air, and many of the below mentioned films -- landed in the Top 10 or otherwise gained attention.

BEST PICTURE
1. Up in the Air
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Up
4. Inglourious Basterds
5. A Serious Man
6. (500) Days of Summer
7. Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
8. The Messenger
9. Fantastic Mr. Fox
10. District 9

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney – Up in the Air
* Runner-up: Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia
* Runner-up: Gabourey Sidibe – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by
Sapphire

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds
* Runner-up: Woody Harrelson – The Messenger

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mo’Nique – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
* Runner-up: Anna Kendrick – Up in the Air

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker
* Runner-up: Jason Reitman – Up in the Air

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber - (500) Days of Summer
* Runner-up: Mark Boal – The Hurt Locker

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner – Up in the Air
* Runner-up: Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach – Fantastic Mr. Fox

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Summer Hours (France)
* Runner-up: The White Ribbon (Germany)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Food, Inc.
* Runner-up: The Cove

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Up
* Runner-up: Fantastic Mr. Fox

WYATT AWARD
That Evening Sun
* Runner-up: Goodbye Solo

The Southeastern Film Critics Association is comprised of journalists
from nine states in the Southeast.