1. Mos Def (16 Blocks). Mos plays a big part of the film, but he is really the device used for Willis' character's discovery of himself. I loved the childlike innocence and the mannerisms Def injected him with.
2. Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada). Tucci has played some fine supporting characters over the past few years, and this is one of them. He plays an employee of Runway magazine, sacrificing his life for his job.
3. Hector Jiminez (Nacho Libre). It may not be the most wide ranging character, but try to laugh at his love for corn, or his scrawny wrestling physique.

1. Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada). It could be argued that she is a lead in the film, but ultimately it is not her story, though she is a big part of the story's thrust. She is delightfully dismissive, and coolly evil.
2. Samantha Morton (The Libertine). Playing opposite Johnny Depp never hurts, but Morton does a fine job of creating a strong character to deal with the lech that Depp plays.
3. Vera Farmiga (Running Scared). Besides Walker's arc, Vera Farmiga has a strong subplot and character of her own. She is more than the stay-at-home wife, having an intriguing adventure of her own to contend with.

1. Alejandro Agresti (The Lake House). Agresti did a wonderful job of making you care about this couple. The story moves in such a fluid way that you don't care about the ludicrous plot device.
2. Wayne Kramer (Running Scared). A roller coaster of a film that Kramer somehow manages to keep on its tracks while getting more and more insane. I can't believe that he was able to keep this thing together.
3. Christophe Gans (Silent Hill). One of the more stylish films of the year. Gans successfully brings a creepy, atmospheric horror to the screen. The script may be lacking, but the style is completely successful.

Top Three Writers

1. Rian Johnson (Brick). His transporting of hardboiled '40s era detective dialog into the modern high school is ingenius. The combination of genres works perfectly, creating one of the most unique films of the year.
2. Garrison Keillor (A Prairie Home Companion). When I watched this in the theater, I felt disconnected. Upon further reflection, it is a wonderfully layered script that gives a look into the lives of a number of characters. It is a very good script.
3. David Auburn (The Lake House) based on Eun-Jeong Kim and Ji-na Yeo's Il Mare. Much like the direction, the script draws you into these two characters, and you quickly forget the mailbox and become invested in their potential relationship.