"Brokeback Mountain" named Best Picture of 2005 while director Ang Lee was named Best Director for the same film by the New York Film Critics Circle

"Brokeback Mountain" scored with the New York Film Critics Circle with nods for Best Picture, Best Director for Ang Lee and Best Actor for Heath Ledger. The 30 member group voted for its 71st annual awards for excellence in cinema today at the Algonquin Hotel in New York.

Wong Kar Wai's "2046" was selected as Best Foreign-Language Film, with "2046" lensmen Christopher Doyle, Lai Yiu Fai and Kwan Pun Leung sharing honors for Best Cinematography. Hayao Miyazakis animated adventure "Howl's Moving Castle, " was named Best animated feature.

Werner Herzog will be honored for two of the Best Non-Fiction Films for his documentaries "Grizzly Man" and "White Diamond" and Best First Film was given to filmmaker Bennett Miller for "Capote." "The Squid and the Whale" written by Noah Baumbach was voted Best Screenplay.

Reese Witherspoon was named was named Best Actress for "Walk the Line." The award for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress went to William Hurt and Maria Bello for their work in "A History of Violence."

NEW YORK FILM CRITICS CIRCLE

Paul H. Juhn and James Saito co-star in the one act play "Drizzle" by Sung Rno presented as part of the Drama League's Directorfest 2005, the twenty-second annual presentation of one-act plays staged by The Drama League Fall Directing Fellows, Dec. 8-11, 2005 at the 45th Street Theatre, 354 W. 45th St. in New York.

Paul H. Juhn and James Saito co-star in the one act play "Drizzle" by Sung Rno presented as part of the Drama League's

Ziyi Zhang, who stars in the recently released "Memoirs of a Geisha," has been nominated for best actress in the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Ziyi Zhang, who stars in "Memoirs of a Geisha," has been nominated for best actress in the 63rd Annual Golden Globe Awards.

In the movie based on Arthur Golden's 1997 novel, Ziyi played a poor fisherman's daughter, Chiyo, who is sold to a geisha house or okiya, and through rigorous training becomes Sayuri, the top geisha in Kyoto during the pre-World War II era.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association comprises 86 voters, most of them freelance writers for foreign publications, while the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has 5,800 who are eligible to vote for the Oscars. The Golden Globes will be presented on Jan. 16, 2005 and televised on NBC.

Director Ang Lee named Best Director by Los Angeles Film Critics Association and his "Brokeback Mountain" is their Best Picture of the Year choice. LAFCA's 31st annual achievement awards ceremony will be held Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Los Angeles. www.lafca.net

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) has kicked off awards season by voting "Brokeback Mountain" as Best Picture of the Year for 2005, and honoring Ang Lee, director of the gay cowboy drama starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal with the Best Director Award. William Chang Suk-Pick won in the production design category for Wong Kar Wai's "2046," and Joe Hisaishi won in the music score category the Japanese anime spectacular "Howl's Moving Castle." The Los Angeles Film Critics Association is made up of print, radio and online critics in the Southern California area. LAFCA's 31st annual achievement awards ceremony will be held Tuesday, January 17, 2006 at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Los Angeles. www.lafca.net

Other award winners include:

DIRECTOR:
Runner-up: David Cronenberg, "A History of Violence"

ACTRESS: Vera Farmiga, "Down to the Bone"
Runner-up: Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"

ACTOR: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Runner-up: Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"

SCREENPLAY: TIE:
"Capote" by Dan Futterman