Utah film critics honor the best of '07

The Utah Film Critics Association announced its choices for the best features, performances and technical achievements of 2007, led by best picture winner "No Country for Old Men."

Filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen's thriller, an adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel, also won awards for best director and best screenplay, both for the Coens, as well as best supporting actor (Javier Bardem).

Other actors honored by the local critics group were Daniel Day-Lewis, from "There Will Be Blood" (best actor); Ellen Page, "Juno" (best actress); and Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone" (best supporting actress).

The association's members provided lists of their top five choices in all the selected categories, and finalists in each were voted on online by a majority.

Members chose both winners and runners-up in all 10 categories. Winners received the most total points, rather than the most first-place votes, in order to provide the best sense of the entire voting membership, according to association president Scott Renshaw, film critic for Salt Lake City Weekly.

Here is a complete list of the Utah Film Critics Association award winners:

• Best Picture: "No Country for Old Men"; Runner-up: "Juno"

• Best Achievement in Directing: Joel and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"; Runner-up: Paul Thomas Anderson, "There Will Be Blood"

• Best Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, "No Country for Old Men"; Runner-up: Diablo Cody, "Juno"

• Best Lead Performance, Male: Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood"; Runner-up: Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"

• Best Lead Performance, Female: Ellen Page, "Juno"; Runner-up: Amy Adams, "Enchanted"

• Best Supporting Performance, Male: Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men"; Runner-up: Hal Holbrook, "Into the Wild"

• Best Supporting Performance, Female: Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"; Runner-up: Cate Blanchett, "I'm Not There"

• Best Animated Feature: "Ratatouille"; Runner-up: "The Simpsons Movie"

• Best Documentary Feature: "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters"; Runner-up: "My Kid Could Paint That"

• Best Non-English Feature: "The Host"; Runner-up: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"

The group also voted on its 10 best films. They are (alphabetically): "3:10 to Yuma," "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," "No Country for Old Men," "I'm Not There," "Into the Wild," "Juno," "Knocked Up," "Michael Clayton," "Once" and "There Will Be Blood."

The Utah Film Critics Association is a group of 13 journalists and professionals working in newspaper, radio, television and other media outlets in Utah.

Members are Chris Bellamy, Daily Chronicle; Bruce Bennett, St. George Spectrum; Cody Clark, Daily Herald; Luke Hickman, College Times; Jeremy Mathews, In Utah This Week; Sean P. Means, Salt Lake Tribune; Andrew Morgan, Logan Herald-Journal; Scott Renshaw, Salt Lake City Weekly; Steve Salles, Ogden Standard-Examiner; Missy Thompson, Tooele Transcript-Bulletin; Tony Toscano, Talking Pictures; Jeff Vice, Deseret Morning News; and Doug Wright, KSL Radio.

---

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com