AWARDS: LA Critics send shockwaves, name “WALL-E” Best Picture

From the LAFCA Website:

LOS ANGELES, DECEMBER 9, 2008 "Wall-E" was voted Best Picture of the Year, it was announced today by Lael Loewenstein, President of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA).  The runner up was "The Dark Knight."

LAFCA's 34th annual achievement awards ceremony will be held Monday, January 12 at the InterContinental Los Angeles.  The 34th annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association awards are dedicated to Manoel de Oliveira for his extraordinary contribution to the cinema as he enters his 100th year.

The complete list of winners and runners-up:

BEST PICTURE: "WALL-E"
Runner-Up – "The Dark Knight"

DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Runner-up: Christopher Nolan, "The Dark Knight”

ACTRESS: Sally Hawkins, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Runner-up: Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”

ACTOR: Sean Penn, “Milk”
Runner-up: Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

SCREENPLAY: Mike Leigh, "Happy-Go-Lucky"
Runner-up: Charlie Kaufman, "Synecdoche, New York"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and "Elegy"
Runner-up: Viola Davis, "Doubt"

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger, "The Dark Knight"
Runner-up: Eddie Marsan, "Happy-Go-Lucky"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: "Still Life“ directed by Jia Zhangke
Runner-up: "The Class" directed by Laurent Cantet

DOCUMENTARY/NON-FICTION FILM: "Man on Wire" directed by James Marsh
Runner-up: "Waltz with Bashir" directed by Ari Folman

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Mark Friedberg, "Synecdoche, New York"
Runner-up: Nathan Crowley, "The Dark Knight"

ANIMATION: “Waltz with Bashir"

MUSIC/SCORE: A.R. Rahman, "Slumdog Millionaire"
Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Yu Lik Wai, "Still Life"
Runner-up: Anthony Dod Mantle, "Slumdog Millionaire"

NEW GENERATION: Steve McQueen, “Hunger”

CAREER ACHIEVEMENT:  John Calley (previously announced)

DOUGLAS E. EDWARDS INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL FILM/VIDEO: James Benning, “RR”
and “Casting a Glance”