A wry comedy-drama about a man who makes his living firing people and an adaptation of a classic piece of children’s literature were the big winners when the Chicago Film Critics Association announced their list of nominees for their 2009 awards. Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air” and Spike Jonze’ “Where the Wild Things Are” each scored six nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

A pair of radically different war movies, Kathryn Bigelow’s gripping Iraq conflict drama “The Hurt Locker” and Quentin Tarantino’s World War II romp “Inglourious Basterds,” were right behind with five nominations each including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. “A Serious Man,” the latest work from Joel & Ethan Coen, previously honored by the group in 1996 for “Fargo” and 2007 for “No Country for Old Men,” scored the fifth Best Picture slot and also received nominations for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor for Michael Stuhlbarg.

Joining Stuhlbarg in the Best Actor category are Jeff Bridges as a down-and-out country singer in “Crazy Heart,” George Clooney as a slick corporate type in “Up in the Air,” Matt Damon as a would-be whistle-blower in “The Informant!” and Jeremy Renner as an adrenaline-junkie bomb defuser in “The Hurt Locker.” In the Best Actress category, the legendary Meryl Streep, nominated for her inspired turn as Julia Child in “Julie & Julia,” is up against four relative newcomers--Abbie Cornish for “Bright Star,” Carey Mulligan for “An Education,” Maya Rudolph for “Away We Go” and Gabourey Sidibe for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

In the category of Supporting Actor, the nominees include Peter Capaldi for his hilarious turn as a foul-mouthed political insider in “In the Loop,” Woody Harrelson as a veteran soldier charged with informing families that their loved ones died in combat in “The Messenger,” Christian McKay as Orson Welles in “Me and Orson Welles,” Stanley Tucci as the neighborhood killer in “The Lovely Bones” and Christoph Waltz as the embodiment of milk-sipping evil in “Inglourious Basterds.”

“Up in the Air” co-stars Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick both received nominations for Best Supporting Actress along with Mo’nique as the monstrous mother in “Precious,” Julianne Moore as the platonic pal of “A Single Man” and Natalie Portman as a woman torn between her presumed-dead husband and his ne’er-do-well brother in “Brothers.” McKay, Mulligan and Sidibe were also nominated for Most Promising Performer along with Sharlto Copley for “District 9” and Max Records for “Where the Wild Things Are.”

The final round of voting for the CFCA awards has begun and will conclude at 6:00 PM (CST) on December 20 and the winners will be announced on the morning of December 21.

BEST PICTURE

The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
A Serious Man
Up in the Air
Where the Wild Things Are

BEST DIRECTOR

Kathryn Bigelow (-) The Hurt Locker
Joel & Ethan Coen (-) A Serious Man
Spike Jonze (-) Where the Wild Things Are
Jason Reitman (-) Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino (-) Inglourious Basterds

BEST ACTOR

Jeff Bridges (-) Crazy Heart
George Clooney (-) Up in the Air
Matt Damon (-) The Informant!
Jeremy Renner (-) The Hurt Locker
Michael Stuhlbarg (-) A Serious Man

BEST ACTRESS

Abbie Cornish (-) Bright Star
Carey Mulligan (-) An Education
Maya Rudolph (-) Away We Go
Gabourey Sidibe (-) Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Meryl Streep (-) Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Peter Capaldi (-) In the Loop
Woody Harrelson (-) The Messenger
Christian McKay (-) Me and Orson Welles
Stanley Tucci (-) The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz (-) Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Vera Farmiga (-) Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick (-) Up in the Air
Mo'Nique (-) Precious
Julianne Moore (-) A Single Man
Natalie Portman (-) Brothers

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Away We Go (-) Dave Eggers & Vendela Vida
The Hurt Locker (-) Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds (-) Quentin Tarantino
A Serious Man (-) Joel & Ethan Coen
Up (-) Bob Peterson

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

An Education (-) Nick Hornby
In the Loop (-) Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci & Tony Roche
The Informant! (-) Scott Z. Burns
Up in the Air (-) Jason Reitman & Sheldon Turner
Where the Wild Things Are (-) Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Capitalism: A Love Story
The Cove
Food, Inc.
Tyson

BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM

Broken Embraces
Red Cliff
Sin Nombre
Summer Hours
The White Ribbon

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
Up

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Avatar (-) Mauro Fiore
Bright Star (-) Greig Fraser
The Hurt Locker (-) Barry Ackroyd
Inglourious Basterds (-) Robert Richardson
Where the Wild Things Are (-) Lance Acord

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Avatar (-) James Horner
Fantastic Mr. Fox (-) Alexandre Desplat
The Informant! (-) Marvin Hamlisch
Up (-) Michael Giacchino
Where the Wild Things Are (-) Carter Burwell & Karen Orzolek

MOST PROMISING PERFORMER

Sharlto Copley (-) District 9
Christian McKay (-) Me and Orson Welles
Carey Mulligan (-) An Education
Max Records (-) Where the Wild Things Are
Gabourey Sidibe (-) Precious

MOST PROMISING FILMMAKER

Neill Blomkamp (-) District 9
Scott Cooper (-) Crazy Heart
Cary Fukunaga (-) Sin Nombre
Duncan Jones (-) Moon
Marc Webb (-) (500) Days of Summer