A wide-ranging mix of feature films was chosen Sunday for the American Film Institute's AFI Awards 2011, the organization's almanac that records the year's outstanding achievements in movies, TV and other forms of the moving arts.
The top 10 AFI movies of 2011 are "Bridesmaids," "The Descendants," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "The Help," "Hugo," "J. Edgar," "Midnight in Paris," "Moneyball," "The Tree of Life" and "War Horse."
On the television front, honored were "Breaking Bad," "Boardwalk Empire," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Game of Thrones," "The Good Wife," "Homeland," "Justified," "Louie," "Modern Family" and "Parks and Recreation."
Special awards went to the French silent film "The Artist" and the "Harry Potter" series of pictures, which concluded this year after eight movies. The special awards are given for achievements in the moving image that don't otherwise fit into AFI's criteria, which state that movies must be in a narrative-fiction format and have significant creative and or production elements from the U.S.
The awards are selected by a jury of scholars, film and TV artists, critics and AFI trustees. Among those on the film jury were Tom Pollock, former vice chairman of MCA and chairman of Universal Pictures; actress Whoopi Goldberg; and film historian Leonard Maltin.
AFI will honor the creative ensembles at a luncheon Jan. 13.