Los Angeles Film Critics Association Predictions

Of the first week of major critics precursors, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) will go last on Friday, December 7. Here are my predictions!

Best Picture: The Master
(Runner-Up: Lincoln)
Others to Consider: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director: Michael Haneke, Amour
(Runner-Up: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master)
Others to Consider: Ben Affleck, Argo; Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild; Ang Lee, Life of Pi; Steven Spielberg, Lincoln; Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Best Lead Actor: Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
(Runner-Up: Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln)
Others to Consider: Richard Gere, Arbitrage; John Hawkes, The Sessions; Anthony Hopkins, Hitchcock; Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables; Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour; Denzel Washington, Flight

Best Lead Actress: Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
(Runner-Up: Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Others to Consider: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty; Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere; Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone; Greta Gerwig, Damsels in Distress/Frances Ha/Lola Versus; Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games/Silver Linings Playbook; Melanie Lynskey, Hello, I Must Be Going; Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

Best Supporting Actor: Bryan Cranston, Argo
(Runner-Up: Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln)
Others to Consider: Alan Arkin, Argo; Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook; James Gandolfini, Killing Them Softly/Not Fade Away/Zero Dark Thirty; John Goodman, Argo/Flight/Trouble with the Curve; Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild; Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master; Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike; Michael Peña, End of Watch; Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths; Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, The Master
(Runner-Up: Anne Hathaway, The Dark Knight Rises/Les Miserables)
Others to Consider: Samantha Barks, Les Miserables; Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister's Sister; Ann Dowd, Compliance; Sally Field, Lincoln; Helen Hunt, The Sessions; Isabelle Huppert, Amour; Kelly Reilly, Flight; Kerry Washington, Django Unchained

Best Screenplay: Tony Kushner, Lincoln
(Runner-Up: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master)
Others to Consider: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Moonrise Kingdom, The Sessions, Seven Psychopaths, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty

Best Cinematography: The Master
(Runner-Up: Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Others to Consider: Amour, Anna Karenina, Argo, Cloud Atlas, Django Unchained, The Hobbit, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom, Skyfall, Zero Dark Thirty

Best Production Design: Les Miserables
(Runner-Up: Anna Karenina)
Others to Consider: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Cloud Atlas, Django Unchained, The Hobbit, Life of Pi, Lincoln, The Master, A Royal Affair, Skyfall

Best Music: Jonny Greenwood, The Master
(Runner-Up: Alexandre Desplat, Argo/Moonrise Kingdom/Rise of the Guardians/Rust and Bone/Zero Dark Thirty)
Others to Consider: Amour, Anna Karenina, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Brave, Cloud Atlas, The Hobbit, Life of Pi, Lincoln, On the Road, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall

Best Foreign-Language Film: Amour
(Runner-Up: The Intouchables)

Best Non-Fiction Film: Searching for Sugar Man
(Runner-Up: The Central Park Five)

Best Animated Film: Brave
(Runner-Up: Frankenweenie)

New Generation Award: Benh Zeitlin and Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Others to Consider: Ava DuVernay and Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere