With travel and near-terminal laptop trouble consuming the last two days for me, I was late getting to Indiewire’s 2011 critics’ poll, the most comprehensive collective of its type, and one in which Kris and I both participated. The results are unsurprising, but no less gratifying for it — I’m particularly pleased to see “Margaret” scoring in the Top 10, while Anna Paquin, Jeannie Berlin and Kenneth Lonergan’s screenplay all place in the top three of their respective fields. Additionally, they collected some observations from participants about the year in film: I muse on the British auteur revival, Mike D’Angelo celebrates the Team Margaret hashtag phenomenon and Richard Brody tackles the distribution racket. Fun reading all round. [Indiewire]
A list to go with Kris’ Christmas-themed Top 10 yesterday: Brad Bird’s favorite winter movies. [The Daily Beast]
“A Separation” director Asghar Farhadi talks about the challenges of making a film in Iran, and what an Oscar nomination would mean for the industry. [Living in Cinema]
Paolo Sorrentino’s “This Must Be the Place,” which premiered at Cannes seven months ago and has already been picked up by the Weinsteins, will play Sundance 2012. What’s the point? [Thompson on Hollywood]
Todd McCarthy’s top 30 films of 2011 mixes the ubiquitous (“The Descendants”) with the refreshing (“My Joy”). [Hollywood Reporter]
David Fincher tells Benjamin Secher why he took on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” The words “guaranteed hit” do not come up. [The Telegraph]
Janet McTeer, for my money the sole spark of life in “Albert Nobbs,” talks to Rachel Dodes. [Wall Street Journal]
Sasha Stone sizes up the screenplays in the race. (Not sure “Harry Potter” counts as an “outside-the-box” feat of scripting, however.) [Awards Daily]
Finally, away from the Oscar bait, Stuart Heritage looks at Kim Jong-il’s cinematic legacy. [The Guardian]