’12 Years a Slave’ leads with 11 Chicago Film Critics Association nominations

I was hit with a pang of sadness this morning when it occurred to me that the Chicago Film Critics Association’s list of nominees this year are the organization’s first since the passing of legendary Chicago critic Roger Ebert. What would he have thought of “12 Years a Slave,” which led the way with 11 nominations? How would he have responded to “Gravity?” What invaluable insight might he have afforded films like “American Hustle,” “Her” and “Inside Llewyn Davis,” all of which fill out the group’s Best Picture slate? We’ll never know, and I don’t know – it strikes me as particularly unfortunate in a year like this, which has been so, so extraordinary. Rest in peace, Roger. Check out the full list of CFCA nominations below. And remember to keep track of the season via The Circuit.

Best Picture
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Director
Joel & Ethan Coen, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Alfonso Cuaron, “Gravity”
Spike Jonze, “Her”
Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave”
David O. Russell, “American Hustle”

Best Actor
Bruce Dern, “Nebraska”
Chiwetel Ejiofor, “12 Years a Slave”
Oscar Isaac, “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Matthew McConaughey, “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford, “All is Lost”

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett, “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock, “Gravity”
Adèle Exarchopoulos, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Brie Larson, “Short Term 12”
Meryl Streep, “August: Osage County”

Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Michael Fassbender, “12 Years a Slave”
James Franco, “Spring Breakers”
James Gandolfini, “Enough Said”
Jared Leto, “Dallas Buyers Club”

Best Supporting Actress
Scarlett Johansson, “Her”
Jennifer Lawrence, “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Lea Seydoux, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
June Squibb, “Nebraska”

Best Adapted Screenplay
“August: Osage County”
“Before Midnight”
“Philomena”
“12 Years a Slave”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Original Screenplay
“American Hustle”
“Blue Jasmine”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Nebraska”

Best Foreign Language Film
“The Act of Killing”
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“The Hunt”
“Wadjda”
“The Wind Rises”

Best Documentary
“The Act of Killing”
“The Armstrong Lie”
“Blackfish”
“Stories We Tell”
“20 Feet from Stardom”

Best Animated Feature
“The Croods”
“From Up on Poppy Hill”
“Frozen”
“Monsters University”
“The Wind Rises”

Best Cinematography
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Prisoners”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Original Score
“Blancanieves”
“Gravity”
“Her”
“Spring Breakers”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Art Direction/Production Design
“Gravity”
“The Great Gatsby”
“Her”
“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“12 Years a Slave”

Best Editing
“American Hustle”
“Gravity”
“12 Years a Slave”
“Upstream Color”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”

Most Promising Filmmaker
Lake Bell, “In A World”
Ryan Coogler, “Fruitvale Station”
Destin Cretton, “Short Term 12”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “Don Jon”
Joshua Oppenheimer, “The Act of Killing”

Most Promising Performer
Barkhad Abdi, “Captain Phillips”
Chadwick Boseman, “42”
Adele Exarchopoulos, “Blue is the Warmest Color”
Lupita Nyong’o, “12 Years a Slave”
Tye Sheridan, “Mud”