by POPSUGAR Entertainment 1

The Golden Globe Awards will be handed out tonight, and that's not the only place to find pre-Oscar buzz. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association gave out its 2006 awards, which are also considered early Oscar indicators. The critically acclaimed Letters from Iwo Jima was voted Best Picture of the Year, with The Queen as runner up. For directing, Clint Eastwood was runner up to Paul Greengrass of United 93, and Helen Mirren took home the prize for Best Actress.

To see the rest of the winners and pics of Sacha Baron Cohen, the Little Miss Sunshine team, Forest Whitaker, and more, read more

BEST ACTRESS: Helen Mirren, The Queen
Runner-up: Penelope Cruz, Volver

ACTOR: Tie – Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat & Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland

SCREENPLAY: The Queen by Peter Morgan
Runner-up: Little Miss Sunshine by Michael Arndt

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Luminita Gheorghiu, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
Runner-up: Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Michael Sheen, The Queen
Runner-up: Sergi López, Pan’s Labyrinth

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: The Lives of Others directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Runner-up: Volver directed by Pedro Almodóvar

DOCUMENTARY/NON-FICTION FILM: An Inconvenient Truth directed by Davis Guggenheim
Runner-up: Darwin’s Nightmare directed by Hubert Sauper

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Eugenio Caballero, Pan’s Labyrinth
Runner-up: Jim Clay, Veronica Falzon & Geoffrey Kirkland, Children of Men

ANIMATION: Happy Feet (George Miller)
Runner-up: Cars (John Lasseter, Joe Ranft)

MUSIC: Alexandre Desplat, The Painted Veil and The Queen
Runner-up: Thomas Newman, The Good German and Little Children

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Emmanuel Lubezki, Children of Men
Runner-up: Tom Stern, Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima

NEW GENERATION:
Michael Arndt (screenwriter), Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (co-directors) – Little Miss Sunshine

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Robert Mulligan (previously announced)

INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL:
Old Joy directed by Kelly Reichardt & In Between Days directed by So Yong Kim

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