American Splendor, the HBO Films/Fine Line movie based on the life of comic book cult legend Harvey Pekar, was named Best Picture by The National Society of Film Critics last weekend.  Second place was Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, adapting Dennis Lehane's novel, with third going to Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation.

 

The American Splendor film also was recognized for Best Screenplay.

 

American Splendor continues to rack up the awards (see 'American Splendor Movie Debuts August 15'), having been chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the ten best films of 2003 in December, joining major studio releases such as Finding Nemo, Mystic River, The Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King and Lost in Translation.

 

The abundance of critical awards for the movie, along with high profile strips in The New York Times (see 'American Splendor Strip in Sunday Times') and Entertainment Weekly (see 'EW Has Pekar and Crumb'), have boosted sales of American Splendor products such as posters, comics, graphic novels, and bobblehead dolls.