'Gravity,' 'Her' share top prize from L.A. film critics group

[December 09, 2013]  (Reuters) —The Los Angeles Film Critics Association named "Gravity" and "Her" as the year's best films on Sunday and chose Bruce Dern, Cate Blanchett and French actress Adele Exarchopoulos for top acting honors in the latest of a series of early awards leading up to Hollywood's biggest prize, the Oscars.

In making their choices, the critics declared ties in three top categories, including best picture, best actress and best supporting actor.

The Los Angeles critics also named Alfonso Cuaron best director for "Gravity," the outer space-set box office hit which also won the awards for best cinematography and best editing.

Earlier this week the New York Film Critics Circle chose "American Hustle," about 1970s con artists forced to work with the FBI, as the year's best film and gave its best actress award to Blanchett, while the National Board of Review named Spike Jonze's "Her" as 2013's best film.

"Her," a quirky love story about a withdrawn Los Angeles writer played by Joaquin Phoenix, and his computer operating system, will be released in selected U.S. theaters later this month.

Best screenplay went to "Before Midnight," written by director Richard Linklater and his two stars, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke.

Dern won best actor for his turn as an ornery old man convinced he has won a fortune in Alexander Payne's "Nebraska."

In one of two acting ties, Exarchopoulos, star of the lesbian love story "Blue is the Warmest Color" and Blanchett, who won raves for Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine," were both named best actress.

"Blue is the Warmest Color" also won the prize for best foreign language film. The French film also won the Cannes Film Festival's top award, the Palme d'Or.

The other acting tie was for best supporting actor, with Jared Leto as a transsexual fighting HIV in "Dallas Buyers Club" and James Franco as a gangster drug dealer in the comic drama "Spring Breakers" sharing the prize.

Lupita Nyong'o was named best supporting actress for "12 Years a Slave."

"Stories We Tell," a Canadian film about myth, memory and family storytellers, won best documentary, and "Ernest & Celestine" took the prize for best animated film.

Best score was won by "Inside Llewyn Davis," while the critics picked "Her" for best production design.

Earlier on Sunday both the Boston Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Online both gave their best picture prize to "12 Years a Slave," another Oscar contender and winner of the Toronto International Film Festival's top prize.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Paul Simao)

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