Hey, did you know it was awards season? The one crappy thing about all these awards and nominations is that the majority of people out there have not seen any of the films on the list. For example, The Broadcast Film Critics Association (BFCA) announced their nominations for the 12th annual Critics' Choice Awards (which is kind of like the Viewer's Choice Awards, except P. Diddy isn't hosting and everyone in the room is feverishly typing on a blackberry), and just by looking at the best picture category, I assume most folks have only seen two of the films listed. Mayyybe three. But isn't that always the case?

The wonderful thing for pics like Dreamgirls and Letters from Iwo Jima is that, with these awards and nominations pouring out ahead of their release dates, it's all free marketing. But all that does is benefit people with a lot more money than you, so let's move on. With 200 members, the BFCA is the largest critics' organization in the United States and Canada, and the actual awards ceremony will be broadcast this January 20 on E! Entertainment Television. The nice thing about these awards is the diversity; basically everyone gets to join the party. Beside your standard categories (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay, Supporting, Animated, Documentary), you have Best Ensemble, Best Young Actor, Best Young Actress, Best Comedy, Best Soundtrack and Best Family Film (Live Action) -- a category I feel should be included at the Oscars.

Any surprises? Well, Deliver Us from Evil and Jesus Camp were both left off the documentary list, and Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated twice (The Departed, Blood Diamond) in the same category, Best Actor. As far as who has the most nods, The Departed, Babel, Little Miss Sunshine and Dreamgirls each received seven.

As always, a full list of nominations is waiting for you after the jump.

BEST PICTURE:

Babel

Blood Diamond

The Departed

Dreamgirls

Letters from Iwo Jima

Little Children

Little Miss Sunshine

Notes on a Scandal

The Queen

United 93


BEST ACTOR:

Leonardo DiCaprio – Blood Diamond

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Departed

Ryan Gosling – Half Nelson

Peter O'Toole – Venus

Will Smith – The Pursuit of Happyness

Forest Whitaker – The Last King of Scotland


BEST ACTRESS:

Penelope Cruz – Volver

Judi Dench – Notes on a Scandal

Helen Mirren – The Queen

Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada

Kate Winslet – Little Children


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Ben Affleck – Hollywoodland

Alan Arkin – Little Miss Sunshine

Adam Beach – Flags of Our Fathers

Djimon Hounsou – Blood Diamond

Eddie Murphy – Dreamgirls

Jack Nicholson – "The Departed"


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Adriana Barraza – Babel

Cate Blanchett – Notes on a Scandal

Jennifer Hudson – Dreamgirls

Rinko Kikuchi – Babel

Catherine O'Hara – For Your Consideration

Emma Thompson – Stranger Than Fiction


BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE:

Babel

Bobby

The Departed

Dreamgirls

Little Miss Sunshine

A Prairie Home Companion


BEST DIRECTOR:

Bill Condon – Dreamgirls

Clint Eastwood – Letters from Iwo Jima

Stephen Frears – The Queen

Paul Greengrass – United 93

Martin Scorsese – The Departed


BEST WRITER:


Michael Arndt – Little Miss Sunshine

Guillermo Arriaga – Babel

Todd Field and Tom Perrotta – Little Children

Zach Helm – Stranger Than Fiction

William Monahan – The Departed

Peter Morgan – The Queen


BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

Cars

Flushed Away

Happy Feet

Monster House

Over the Hedge


BEST YOUNG ACTOR:

Cameron Bright – Thank You For Smoking

Joseph Cross – Running With Scissors

Paul Dano – Little Miss Sunshine

Freddie Highmore – A Good Year

Jaden Christopher Syre Smith – The Pursuit of Happyness


BEST YOUNG ACTRESS:

Ivana Baquero – Pan's Labyrinth

Abigail Breslin – Little Miss Sunshine

Shareeka Epps – Half Nelson

Dakota Fanning – Charlotte's Web

Keke Palmer – Akeelah and the Bee


BEST COMEDY MOVIE:

Borat

For Your Consideration

Little Miss Sunshine

The Devil Wears Prada

Thank You For Smoking


BEST FAMILY FILM (LIVE ACTION):

Akeelah and the Bee

Charlotte's Web

Flicka

Lassie

Pirates of the Caribbean 2


BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION:

Elizabeth I

The Librarian

Nightmares & Dreamscapes

The Ron Clark Story

When the Levees Broke


BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Apocalypto

Days of Glory

Letters from Iwo Jima

Pan's Labyrinth

Volver

Water


BEST SONG:

"I Need to Wake Up" – Melissa Etheridge – An Inconvenient Truth

"Listen" – Beyonce – Dreamgirls

"My Little Girl" – Tim McGraw – Flicka

"The Neighbor" – Dixie Chicks – Shut Up & Sing

"Never Gonna Break My Faith" – Aretha Franklin and Mary J. Blige – Bobby

"Ordinary Miracle" – Sarah McLachlan – Charlotte's Web


BEST SOUNDTRACK:

Babel

Cars

Dreamgirls

Happy Feet

Marie Antoinette


BEST COMPOSER:

Philip Glass – The Illusionist

Clint Mansell – The Fountain

Thomas Newman – The Good German

Gustavo Santaolalla – Babel

Howard Shore – The Departed

Hans Zimmer – The Da Vinci Code


BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE:

An Inconvenient Truth

Shut Up & Sing

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Wordplay