L.A. critics pick year’s top films

The Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. selected “There Will Be Blood,” an epic drama about the oil industry in the early 1900s, the best film of 2007 on Sunday.

The film, based on Upton Sinclair’s novel “Oil!” and opening Dec. 26, was the big winner. The movie also won best director for Paul Thomas Anderson, best actor for Daniel Day-Lewis as a greedy prospector and best production design for Jack Fisk.

Marion Cotillard was selected best actress for her performance as the French singer Edith Piaf in “La Vie en Rose.”

Screenplay honors went to Tamara Jenkins for “The Savages.” LAFCA chose the Romanian drama “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” as best foreign film.

The group also selected Amy Ryan as best supporting actress for her roles as troubled mothers in “Gone Baby Gone” and “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.” Supporting actor went to Vlad Ivanov for “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days,” which opens next month in the U.S.

Best documentary went to Charles Ferguson’s examination of the Iraq war, “No End in Sight.” “Ratatouille” and France’s “Persepolis,” which opens on Christmas Day, tied for best animated feature.

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures named its choices for the best of 2007 on Wednesday and kicked the awards season into high gear, but the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. is the first major critics group to announce its selections for the top films of the year.

The group is known for its eclectic selections: Last year, “Borat” star Sacha Baron Cohen tied with Forest Whitaker of “The Last King of Scotland” for best actor.

The critics and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rarely see eye to eye on best picture winners. In fact, the last time they agreed was with 1993’s “Schindler’s List.” However, among last year’s LAFCA winners that went on to receive Oscar gold were Whitaker, best actress Helen Mirren for “The Queen,” best animated film “Happy Feet,” best documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and best foreign language film “The Lives of Others.”

The critics group will hold its 33rd annual achievement awards ceremony Jan. 12 at the InterContinental, Los Angeles. Several other groups will be announcing their picks this week: The New York Film Critics Circle reveals its list today, and the Golden Globe nominations are announced Thursday.

Other winners announced Sunday included:

Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”

Music/score: Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, “Once”

The Douglas Edwards experimental/independent film/video award: “Colossal Youth” by Pedro Costa

Career achievement: Sidney Lumet

New generation: Sarah Polley, “Away From Her”