Hit the Like Button: The Social Network Moves Into Serious Oscar Contention

Oscar race heats up as Facebook-conceiving flick scores a leading four awards from the National Board of Review, including Best Picture

Ladies and gentlemen, this is what you call a frontrunner.

Unlike other prestigious trophy givers who bother with nominations, the National Board of Review cut right to the chase today and named The Social Network the Best Picture of the Year.

Which is just one of the leading four awards it picked up. But you'll never guess who the Board thinks is the new George Clooney...

MORE: Spirit Award nominations

It's Jesse Eisenberg!

Along with the main prize, the Facebook-conceiving flick also earned its main star a Best Actor award, the prize taken home by Clooney last year, as well as the Best Director nod for David Ficherand writing kudos for Aaron Sorkin, who won Best Adapted Screenplay.

Which could either be really good news for the film, or really, really good news for the film.

While the National Board of Review isn't the most accurate harbinger for Oscar night, like all awards shows that take place in the lead up to the Academy Awards, it does count for something. While last year's Best Picture winner, Up in the Air, failed to score the same prize at the Oscars, the previous two recipients of the Board's honor, Slumdog Millionaire and No Country For Old Men, did wind up at the podium come Oscar night.

So, get those grains of salt ready.

Meanwhile, the Best Supporting Actor prize went to Christian Bale, for his work in The Fighter, and Ben Affleck, Blake Lively, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm and Rebecca Hall need to collectively clear a space on their mantles, as the group nabbed the award for Best Ensemble Cast.

Rounding out the acting categories were Another Year's Lesley Manville, and Animal Kingdom's Jacki Weaver, who took home Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress honors, respectively. Winter's Bone star Jennifer Lawrence, coming off a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination, earner the Breakthrough Performance award.

Toy Story 3 was named Best Animated Feature, and the plaudits didn't stop there. As always, the Board named a heap of other honorable mentions for the year, breaking down the top 10 films, top 10 independent films, 5 best documentaries (including one from our own Fashion Police chief Joan Rivers!), and 5 best foreign films.

The ceremony, hosted by Meredith Vieira, will take place Jan. 11. Here's the complete list of winners:

Best Film: The Social Network
Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network
Best Actor: Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Best Actress: Lesley Manville, Another Year
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
Best Supporting Actress: Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Best Foreign Language Film: Of Gods and Men
Best Documentary: Waiting for "Superman"
Best Animated Feature: Toy Story 3
Best Ensemble Cast: The Town
Breakthrough Performance: Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Debut Directors: Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington, Restrepo
Spotlight Award: Sylvain Chomet and Jacques Tati, The Illusionist
Best Original Screenplay: Chris Sparling, Buried
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
Special Filmmaking Achievement Award: Sofia Coppola for writing, directing, and producing Somewhere
William K. Everson Film History Award: Leonard Maltin
NBR Freedom of Expression: Fair Game, Conviction, Howl
Production Design Award: Dante Ferretti, Shutter Island

10 Best Films
Another Year
The Fighter
Hereafter
Inception
The King's Speech
Shutter Island
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

5 Best Foreign-Language Films
I Am Love
Incendies
Life, Above All
Soul Kitchen
White Material

5 Best Documentaries
A Film Unfinished
Inside Job
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Restrepo
The Tillman Story

Top 10 Independent Films
Animal Kingdom
Buried
Fish Tank
The Ghost Writer
Greenberg
Let Me In
Monsters
Please Give
Somewhere
Youth in Revolt