Vegas critics vote for Clooney (7369)

The Las Vegas Film Critics Society has entered its votes as awards season gets into full swing. As reported by Daily Variety, the Vegas voters bestowed Best Picture honors upon Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, the directing debut of George Clooney, one of The Advocate's "Coolest Straight People of 2002," while The Lord of the Rings franchise, in a repeat performance this awards season, again racked up the most kudos, with four. Daniel Day-Lewis took the actor nod for Gangs of New York, Nicole Kidman received the actress prize (The Hours), John C. Reilly earned supporting actor (Gangs of New York, The Hours, Chicago), and Susan Sarandon walked away with supporting actress (Igby Goes Down, Moonlight Mile).

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers won for director Peter Jackson, visual effects (Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke), costume design (Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor), and film editing (D. Michael Horton and Jabez Olssen). Also honored were Conrad L. Hall for cinematography (Road to Perdition); The Rookie, starring recent Advocate cover boy Dennis Quaid, for family film; Lilo & Stitch (animated film); Mexico's Y Tu Mama Tambien (foreign film); and Kieran Culkin, who grabbed the Youth in Film Award (Igby Goes Down).