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It’s January, which in the world of film & television means one thing: we’re in the throes of awards season. It’s time for the industry to look back over the last year in film and recognize outstanding achievements, and it kicked off a couple of weeks ago with the Golden Globes. Now, every other film enthusiast is busily making predictions ahead of next month’s Academy Awards.

The Globes was fun, though I didn’t think they gave half-enough time to hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler…or some of the recipients, for that matter. But, it was an enjoyable show nonetheless. Lena Dunham’s wins were well-deserved. Given my ever-increasing fixation with Jessica Chastain, I was glad she took an award. And, in light of Ben Affleck’s Academy snub, it was nice to see his efforts with Argo recognized. My chief disappointments were for Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) and Mark Boal (Screenwriter, Zero Dark Thirty). But, accolades aside, my favorite moment of the night came from these two…

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G2jMY3j3mM[/youtube]

It has been a banner year for film. Testament to this is the fact that Beasts of the Southern Wild, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Amour, Django Unchained, and Argo are all nominated for Best Picture at next month’s Academy Awards. I would say it’s the highest caliber of films to appear in that category in many years, and many of the films deserve to take home the Best Picture award.

Indiewire.com predicts that Lincoln will win, but says that Zero Dark Thirty should win and that Silver Linings Playbook could win. That sounds like some impressive fence sitting to me, but admittedly it is a tough one to call. Screenwriter @BretEastonEllis makes a valid point in a recent tweet:

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I have to agree with Ellis; relevance is massively important to me as a filmmaker and something I strive to achieve in all material I produce. I’m not entirely sure of the relevance of Lincoln, but for me, it’s really a toss up between the other two. Zero Dark Thirty is relevant in so far as it attempts to shed light on political events of the last decade, but Silver Linings Playbook is far more relatable for me on a ground level. The characters were both brilliantly written and played, and the story just felt genuinely relevant. I felt more so with this film than the rest that I was drawn into the world of that story, and for me, that is what a film should achieve. For that reason, my vote is for Silver Linings Playbook. It probably won’t win, though.

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I’m just glad that both films are in separate screenplay categories, so that Mark Boal can take Best Original Screenplay for Zero and David O. Russell can take Best Adapted Screenplay for Silver. That probably won’t happen, either.

If it’s not already overtly apparent, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty, and the highly underrated Chronicle are my films of 2012.

Full list of Golden Globe winners here, Saturday night’s Sundance winners here, last night’s SAG Award winners here, and all the nominations and trailers ahead of next month’s Academy Awards here. Lastly, inspired by Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell’s golden Golden Globes moment, some of us producers and directors threw together an impromptu iPhone production last Saturday night, showcasing the nominations for Best Actress.

Damn film students.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCaIj0z_ofo&list=UUrmmPj5zNKiUy1ePuocuVdQ&index=1[/youtube]