This afternoon Time magazine hosted its annual panel discussion debating exactly who deserves to be the 2011 “Person of the Year.”

The panelists were comprised of “NBC Nightly News” anchor and panel stalwart Brian Williams, his colleague “Saturday Night Live” fake news anchor Seth Meyers, actor Jesse Eisenberg, law professor Anita Hill, Americans for tax Reform president Grover Norquist and celebrity chef Mario Batali. Moderated by Time editor Richard Stengel, the panelists debated whether a dead person (Steve Jobs, Osama Bin Laden) or group (populist movements, the 99%) deserve to be considered.

Some of the surprises:  Hill had a stern “no comment” when asked about the Herman Cain allegations, though she did say sexual harassment is more likely to be taken seriously now than it was 20 or so years ago.

Mario Batali is a serious dude. As you will see below, he had harsh words for Wall Street bankers (comparing them to Hitler and Stalin!), as well as Occupy Wall Street protestors, saying “it is a kind of a part time job for those guys, they aren’t really playing the real thing. They are kind of quietly sitting around. It is a very 2011 rebellion, they aren’t breaking anything, no one is getting hurt, for that very reason no one is paying any attention.”

Some of the other highlights from the lunch:

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The Road to the Oscars went through Manhattan over the weekend. New York-based National Society of Film Critics chose The Social Network, the movie that chronicles the genesis of Facebook, as best picture.  

The assembled 61 critics from across the country met at Sardi’s Restaurant for their 45th annual meeting.

The group “liked” The Social Network enough to give best actor honors to Jesse Eisenberg (above). He played the emotionless Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The motion picture was also handed directing (David Fincher) and screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) accolades.

Italian actress Giovanna Mezzogiorno won as best actress for her role as Mussolini’s secret lover in the little known (at least in the U.S.) Vincere.

Named as supporting actor, Geoffrey Rush was honored for his turn as a speech therapist in The King’s Speech, while Olivia Williams was victorious as supporting actress for The Ghost Writer.  

True Grit was named best cinematography.