“Brokeback Mountain” was named Best Picture of 2006 while director Ang Lee was named Best Director for the same film in voting Monday by the N.Y. Film Critics Circle. The 30 member group voted for its 71st annual awards for excellence in cinema today at the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan.
“I was not surprised at all that the voting was so competitive. What did surprise me was that we came to our conclusion so quickly, ” said the group's chair Newsday Critic Gene Seymour. “I'm not sure if that means it was a good year or a so-so year but it always shakes out.”
Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Best Director
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Best Non-Fiction Film
Werner Herzog for Grizzly Man and White Diamond
Best Foreign-Language Film
2046, directed by Wong Kar Wai
Best First Film
Bennet Miller for Capote
Best Animated Feature
Hayao Miyazakis Howl's Moving Castle
Best Actor
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Best Actress
Reese Witherspoon, Walk The Line
Best Supporting Actor
William Hurt, A History of Violence
Best Supporting Actress
Maria Bello, A History of Violence
Best Cinematography
Chris Doyle, Kwan Pun Leung, Yiu-Fai Lai, 2046
Best Screenplay
Noah Baumbach, The Squid & The Whale