‘Albert Nobbs,’ ‘Beginners’ and ‘Weekend’ feature in Gay & Lesbian critics nominations

The Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association has announced its list of nominees this year, and out front with two mentions apiece were “Albert Nobbs,” “Beginners” and “Weekend.”

The film of the year category includes several of the standard precursor favorites: “The Descendents,” “The Artist” and “The Tree of Life” among them. But it also includes a film that I feel as though I have been in an ongoing conversation with since seeing it several weeks ago, a contemporization of the myth of Pygmalion as only Pedro Almodóvar could conceive: “The Skin I Live In.” Andrew Haigh”s indie exploration of gay romance “Weekend” also got a nod.

Christopher Plummer and Janet McTeer both received nominations for Performance of the Year for their work in “Beginners” and” Albert Nobbs” respectively. Plummer is an odds-on favorite for a Best Supporting actor Oscar nomination, while Janet McTeer one-upped her film’s co-star, Glenn Close. My dark horse Best Actor favorite Michael Fassbender is also included in the field for his work in “Shame.”

On a lighter note, both “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” and “The Muppets” are selected as potential Campy (Intentional or Not) Film of the Year recipients. Here is me hoping (praying) that seeing those two properties together (Bieber is more of a property than a boy at this time – it”s called the reversed Pinocchio) doesn”t give Disney any ideas. DON”T GET ANY IDEAS DISNEY.

Check out the full list of film nominees below.

Film of the Year
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Skin I Live In”
“The Tree of Life”
“Weekend”

Performance of the Year
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “J. Edgar”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Michael Fassbender, “Shame”
Rooney Mara, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

LGBT-Themed Film of the Year
“Albert Nobbs”
“Beginners”
“Pariah”
“Tomboy”
“Weekend”

Campy (Intentional or Not) Film of the Year
“Justin Bieber: Never Say Never”
“Kaboom”
“The Muppets”
“Thor”
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1”

Unsung Film of the Year
“50/50”
“Insidious”
“Jane Eyre”
“Warrior”
“Win Win”

Documentary of the Year (Film, DVD or TV)
“Carol Channing: Larger Than Life”
“Cave of Forgotten Dreams”
“Page One: Inside The New York Times”
“Pina”
“We Were Here”

LGBT-Themed Documentary of the Year
“Becoming Chaz”
“Bill Cunningham New York”
“Making the Boys”
“Vito”
“We Were Here”

The We’re Wilde About You Rising Star Award
Elizabeth Olsen
Jessica Chastain
Melissa McCarthy
Michael Fassbender
Tom Hardy

Remember to keep track of the ups and downs of the 2011-2012 film awards season via The Circuit.

For year-round entertainment news and commentary follow @JRothC on Twitter.

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