‘Zero Dark Thirty,’ Daniel Day-Lewis Win New York Film Critics Awards

Awards season kicked off last night with the New York Film Critics Circle handing Best Picture to Zero Dark Thirty and Best Actor to Daniel Day-Lewis for his turn in Lincoln, The Los Angeles Times reports. Day-Lewis’ co-star Sally Field was also recognized for her performance as Mary Todd Lincoln, as was Tony Kushner for penning the the Steven Spielberg-directed biopic. 

Zero Dark Thirty, which chronicles the decade-long hunt for Osama bin Laden, also won top directorial honors for Kathryn Bigelow.  

Peter Travers’ 2012 Fall Movie Preview

Rachel Weisz won Best Actress for her work in the emotional drama The Deep Blue Sea, while Matthew McConaughey won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Magic Mike. Best Animated Film went to Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, while David France won Best First Film for How to Survive a Plague.

While it didn’t take home any awards, Ben Affleck’s CIA thriller Argo received a moderate boost going into the rest of awards season, finishing second in the New York Critic’s Best Picture poll, while Affleck placed third among directors behind Bigelow and The Master‘s Paul Thomas Anderson.