The Master leads 2012 Chicago Film Critics Association nominations

Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master

The scamps who claim a second office at Lake Street Screening Room (a.k.a. the Chicago Film Critics Association) have weighed in with their nominations for 2012's best films, and The Master, with ten nods, is in the lead. Buzz for Paul Thomas Anderson's opus has been building out of Chicago since an advance 70mm screening at the Music Box in August.

A.A. Dowd and I are both CFCA members. It's worth noting that, unlike various groups on the coasts, the Chicago critics make their picks electronically, so no one knows what anyone else is choosing. That certainly affects strategizing to some degree. Still, it seems there's broad support for performances I would've deemed long shots, like Denis Lavant's protean work in Holy Motors, as well as turns so far inexplicably omitted from the year-end dialogue. (As a waterboarding CIA analyst, Australian actor Jason Clarke goes through the greatest character arc of anyone in Zero Dark Thirty.) We can't have everything: The documentary choices seem to have gravitated toward the more-promoted releases (I threw the bulk of my points behind This Is Not a Film, even though it may not, strictly speaking, be a documentary), and I didn't agree with the acclaim for Sundance sensation Beasts of the Southern Wild, which garnered nine nominations.

But on the whole, this is an excellent roster. The press release follows the jump; winners are scheduled to be announced Monday.

2012 CHICAGO FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION NOMINEES

BEST PICTURE
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Lincoln
The Master
Zero Dark Thirty

BEST DIRECTOR
Ben Affleck, Argo
Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master
Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty
Steven Spielberg, Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln
John Hawkes, The Sessions
Denis Lavant, Holy Motors
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master
Denzel Washington, Flight

BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts, The Impossible

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, The Master
Emily Blunt, Looper
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Sally Field, Lincoln
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Django Unchained by Quentin Tarantino
Looper by Rian Johnson
The Master by Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty by Mark Boal

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Argo by Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild by Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
Lincoln by Tony Kushner
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Silver Linings Playbook by David O. Russell

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM
Amour
Holy Motors
The Intouchables
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Rust & Bone

BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Central Park Five
The Invisible War
The Queen of Versailles
Searching For Sugar Man
West of Memphis

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
ParaNorman
The Secret World of Arrietty
Wreck-It Ralph

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Claudio Miranda, Life of Pi
Janusz Kaminski, Lincoln
Mihai Milaimare Jr., The Master
Roger Deakins, Skyfall
Greig Fraser, Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Alexandre Desplat, Argo
Dan Romer & Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Jonny Greenwood, The Master
Alexandre Desplat, Moonrise Kingdom
Alexandre Desplat, Zero Dark Thirty

BEST ART DIRECTION
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Lincoln
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom

BEST EDITING
Willian Goldenberg, Argo
Alexander Berner & Claus Wehlisch, Cloud Atlas
Leslie Jones & Peter McNulty, The Master
Stuart Baird, Skyfall
William Goldenberg & Dylan Tichenor, Zero Dark Thirty

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER
Samantha Barks, Les Miserables
Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Tom Holland, The Impossible
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER
Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Drew Goddard, The Cabin in the Woods
Nicholas Jarecki, Arbitrage
Colin Trevorrow, Safety Not Guaranteed
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

10 nominations--The Master
9 nominations--Beasts of the Southern Wild
8 nominations--Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty
5 nominations--Argo
4 nominations--Moonrise Kingdom
3 nominations--Les Miserables, Skyfall
2 nominations--Amour, Django Unchained, Holy Motors, The Impossible, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Sessions, The Silver Linings Playbook, Looper
1 nomination--Anna Karenina, Arbitrage, Brave, The Cabin in the Woods, The Central Park Five, Cloud Atlas, Flight, Frankenweenie, The Intouchables, The Invisible War, The Life of Pi Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Paranorman, Queen of Versailles, Rust & Bone, Safety Not Guaranteed, Searching for Sugar Man, The Secret World of Arietty, West of Memphis, Wreck-It Ralph.