Take that, Anne Thompson! (We kid because we love.) Many of you have noticed the growing presence of word-of-mouth favorite “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” on the precursor beat, and the tender teen drama scored a nifty coup from the San Diego Film Critics’ Society today, taking Best Supporting Actress for Emma Watson, as well as the Best Ensemble award.

The “Perks” love is one of several ways in which the San Diego group, who announced their nominations yesterday, distinguished themselves from the herd. Their big winner, “Argo,” took four awards including Best Picture and Director: you wouldn’t have guessed it a few weeks ago when it was still the consensus Oscar frontrunner, but it’s the film’s first win in either category thus far.

They also gave Best Actress to Michelle Williams for her lovely work in “Take This Waltz,” recognized the screenplay and score of “The Master,” and preferred “The Kid With a Bike” to “Amour” in the foreign-language category. After scoring a few runner-up citations, Christoph Waltz notches up his first Supporting Actor win for his co-lead role in “Django Unchained”; this internal competition with Leonardo DiCaprio is getting interesting.

Anyway, refreshing picks all round, and a nice bonus to see Greig Fraser recognized for his diverse 2012 achievements. Check out the full list of nominees below and keep track of the growing list of precursor awards at The Circuit. 

Best Picture: “Argo”

Best Director: Ben Affleck, “Argo”

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”

Best Actress: Michelle Williams, “Take This Waltz”

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Django Unchained”

Best Supporting Actress: Emma Watson, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

Best Original Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, “The Master”

Best Adapted Screenplay: Chris Terrio, “Argo”

Best Foreign Language Film: “The Kid With a Bike”

Best Animated Film: “ParaNorman”

Best Documentary: “The Invisible War”

Best Ensemble: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

Best Cinematography: Claudio Miranda, “Life of Pi”

Best Film Editing: William Goldenberg, “Argo”

Best Original Score: Jonny Greenwood, “The Master”

Best Production Design: Hugh Bateup and Uli Hanisch, “Cloud Atlas”

Body of Work Award: Greig Fraser, cinematographer, “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Killing Them Softly” and “Snow White and the Huntsman”