New York and Los Angeles Choose Best

The New York Film Critics Online, The New York Film Critics Circle and The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Bests of 2006 became available to the press yesterday, and Stephen Frears' "The Queen" (Helen Mirren, left), Paul Greengrass' 9/11 docudrama "United 93" and Clint Eastwood's "Letters From Iwo Jima" came out strong (if not stronger) with the highest honors. The Sundance sweetheart "Little Miss Sunshine," George Miller's "Happy Feet" and Guillermo Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" didn't do half-bad either. Golden Globe nominations come Thursday, but until then, tally up the bests in these critics' circles.

The New York Film Critics Online
Best Picture: "The Queen," Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland," Best Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen," Best Director: Stephen Frears, "The Queen," Best Supporting Actor: Michael Sheen, "The Queen," Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls," and Catherine O'Hara, "For Your Consideration," Best Ensemble Cast: "Little Miss Sunshine," Best Breakthrough Performer: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls," Best Debut Director: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, "Little Miss Sunshine," Best Screenplay: Peter Morgan, "The Queen," Best Documentary Feature: "An Inconvenient Truth," Best Foreign Language Picture: "Pan's Labyrinth," Best Animated Feature: "Happy Feet," Best Cinematography: Dick Pope, "The Illusionist," Best Film Score: Philip Glass, "The Illusionist," Top Ten Films (in alphabetical order) "Babel," "The Fountain," "Inland Empire," "Little Children," "Little Miss Sunshine," "Pan's Labyrinth," "The Queen," "Thank You for Smoking," "Volver" and "Water"

The New York Film Critics Circle
Best Picture: "United 93," Best Actor: Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland," Best Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen," Best Director: Martin Scorsese, "The Departed," Best Foreign Film: "Army of Shadows," Best Screenplay: Peter Morgan, "The Queen," Best Supporting Actor: Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children," Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls," Best Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro, "Pan's Labyrinth," Best Documentary: "Deliver Us From Evil," Best First Film: Ryan Fleck, "Half Nelson," Best Animated Film: "Happy Feet"

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Best Picture: "Letters From Iwo Jima," Runner-Up: "The Queen," Best Director: Paul Greengrass, "United 93," Runner-Up: Clint Eastwood, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima," Best Actor: Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat: Cultural Learnings From America To Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" and Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland," Best Actress: Helen Mirren, "The Queen," Runner-Up: Penelope Cruz, "Volver," Best Supporting Actor: Michael Sheen, "The Queen," Runner-Up: Sergi Lopez, "Pan's Labyrinth," Best Supporting Actress: Luminita Gheorghiu, "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu," Runner-Up: Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls," Best Screenplay: Peter Morgan, "The Queen," Runner-Up: Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine," Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, "Children of Men," Runner-Up: Tom Stern, "Flags of Our Fathers" and "Letters From Iwo Jima," Best Production Design: Eugenio Caballero, "Pan's Labyrinth," Runner-Up: Jim Clay and Geoffrey Kirkland, "Children of Men," Best Music: Alexandre Desplat, "The Queen" and "The Painted Veil," Runner-Up: Thomas Newman, "The Good German" and "Little Children," Best Foreign Language Film: "The Lives of Others," Runner-Up: "Volver," Best Documentary: "An Inconvenient Truth," Runner-Up: "Darwin's Nightmare," Best Animated Film: "Happy Feet," Runner-Up: "Cars"