Film News: Chicago Film Critics Association Names ‘Boyhood’ as 2014’s Best Picture

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CHICAGO – ‘Boyhood,’ director Richard Linklater’s story of a boy maturing from age 6 to age 18 – using the same actor over 12 years – was designated Best Picture by the Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) at a ceremony on December 15th, 2014.

‘Boyhood’, the 2014 CFCA Best Picture
Photo credit: IFC Films

There were 17 categories of film excellence selected by the CFCA, including acting, directing, screenplay, production elements and score, plus documentary, animated and foreign language films. Two of the more unique categories are Most Promising Performer and Filmmaker, which honors outstanding newcomers. Richard Linklater of “Boyhood” got the nod for Best Director, with Michael Keaton of “Birdman” taking Best Actor honors, and Julianne Moore of “Still Alice” awarded Best Actress. And the CFCA has joined several other film associations and award shows throughout the country by honoring one of their own – the late great Roger Ebert – by awarding Best Documentary to his biography, “Life Itself.”

The Chicago Film Critics Association is an organization that oversees many events in the Chicagoland area, including the Chicago Film Critics Awards, the Chicago Critics Film Festival and various film discussions and events around the city and surrounding suburbs. The complete list of 2014 honorees are as follows…

Best Picture
“Boyhood”

Best Director
Richard Linklater - “Boyhood”

Best Actress
Julianne Moore - “Still Alice”

Best Actor
Michael Keaton - “Birdman”

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette -”Boyhood”

Best Supporting Actor
J.K. Simmons - “Whiplash”

Best Original Screenplay
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” - Wes Anderson


Best Adapted Screenplay

“Gone Girl” - Gillian Flynn


Best Foreign Language Film
“Force Majeure”

Best Documentary
“Life Itself”

Best Animated Feature
“The Lego Movie”

Best Art Direction/Production Design
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Best Cinematography
TIE

“Birdman”- Emmanuel Lubezki
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”- Robert Yeoman

Best Editing
“Whiplash” - Tom Cross

Best Original Score
“Under the Skin” - Mica Levi

Most Promising Performer
Jack O’Connell - “Starred Up/Unbroken”

Most Promising Filmmaker
Damien Chazelle - “Whiplash”

By PATRICK McDONALD Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com