New York hearts Milk, Los Angeles prefers Wall-E

With award season in full swing, Milk and Wall-E have proven to be be the big winners on both sides of the coast. The New York Film Critics Circle named the Gus Van Sant-directed drama as its best film, while the Los Angeles Film Critics Association went for Pixar's latest opus.

The other big winners were Sean Penn, named best actor by both organizations, as well as little-known actress Sally Hawkins, also named best actress by both voting bodies. Hawkins stars in Happy-Go-Lucky, a film about a constantly cheerful woman. Roger Ebert called her role "one of the most difficult roles any actress could be assigned" in his overwhelmingly laudatory review of her and the film.

Elsewhere, Penélope Cruz was named best supporting actress by both groups for her fiery turn in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, while the groups split supporting actor between Josh Brolin in Milk and the late Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (recently released on DVD). L.A. went for the Danny Boyle freight train for best director, while New York opted for Mike Leigh (director of Happy-Go-Lucky).

The full list of winners:

New York Film Critics Circle:
Best Picture: Milk
Best Director: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, Milk
Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Screenplay: Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married
Best Animated Film: Wall-E
Best Documentary: Man on Wire
Best Foreign Film: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Best First Film: Courtney Hunt, Frozen River
Best Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire

The New York Film Critics Circle is comprised of such heavy hitters as Peter Travers of Rolling Stone, David Edelstein of New York Magazine and David Denby of The New Yorker, among many, many others.

Los Angeles Film Critics Assocation:
Best Picture: Wall-E
Best Director: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Best Actor: Sean Penn, Milk
Best Actress: Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Best Supporting Actress: Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Screenplay: Mike Leigh, Happy-Go-Lucky
Best Animated Film: Waltz with Bashir
Best Documentary: Man on Wire
Best Foreign Film: Still Life
Best Cinematography: Yu Lik Wai, Still Life
Best Production Design: Mark Friedberg, Synedoche New York
Best Music/Score: A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
New Generation Award: Steve McQueen, Hunger

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association is composed of (among others) Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times, Claudia Puig of USA Today and renowned movie critic Leonard Maltin.

To see which of these films scored Golden Globe nominations, head here.

Related links:
Ctrl-V: Oscar Buzz: Who's ahead in this year's key races?
News: Independent Spirit Awards topped by tight budgets
News: Ballast, The Visitor, Synecdoche earn Gotham nominations

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