Several months from now, when we're totally tired of talking or thinking about movie awards while cancer researchers go unheralded, we'll look back on the days before awards season began.  Those days were pretty much yesterday, as today seemed to mark a shift into full-on awards craziness.  There were last night's Gotham Awards (The Tree of Life and Beginners both received Best Picture adulation), then this morning, Film Independent announced its 2012 Independent Spirit Award nominees.  Now, we have the full list of New York Film Critics Circle winners for 2011.

Love letter to silent film The Artist, which is also a Best Picture nominee at the Spirit Awards and seems destined to be an Academy Award favorite, won the top prize, and its writer and director Michel Hazanavicius took home the prize for Best Director.  Brad Pitt nabbed the actor award for his work in both Moneyball and The Tree of Life, while prestige-machine Meryl Streep was similarly recognized for playing Margaret Thatcher in the upcoming The Iron Lady.  The supporting categories were more interesting, with Albert Brooks deservedly winning based on his menacing turn in Drive and Jessica Chastain continuing The Year of Chastain with a win for The Tree of Life, Take Shelter, and The Help.