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Beasts of the Southern Wild Leads Independent Spirit Award Nominations
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not awarded)
- Beasts of the Southern Wild
- Bernie
- Keep the Lights On
- Moonrise Kingdom
- Silver Linings Playbook
BEST DIRECTOR
- Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
- Julia Loktev – The Loneliest Planet
- David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
- Ira Sachs – Keep the Lights On
- Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
- Zoe Kazan – Ruby Sparks
- Martin McDonagh – Seven Psychopaths
- David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
- Ira Sachs – Keep the Lights On
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
- Fill the Void
- Gimme the Loot
- Safety Not Guaranteed
- Sound of My Voice
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
- Rama Burshtein – Fill the Void
- Derek Connolly – Safety Not Guaranteed
- Christopher Ford – Robot & Frank
- Rashida Jones & Will McCormack – Celeste and Jesse Forever
- Jonathan Lisecki – Gayby
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
- Breakfast with Curtis
- Middle of Nowhere
- Mosquita y Mari
- Starlet
- The Color Wheel
BEST FEMALE LEAD
- Linda Cardellini – Return
- Emayatzy Corinealdi – Middle of Nowhere
- Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
- Quvenzhané Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead – Smashed
BEST MALE LEAD
- Jack Black – Bernie
- Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
- John Hawkes – The Sessions
- Thure Lindhardt – Keep the Lights On
- Matthew McConaughey – Killer Joe
- Wendell Pierce – Four
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
- Rosemarie DeWitt – Your Sister’s Sister
- Ann Dowd – Compliance
- Helen Hunt – The Sessions
- Brit Marling – Sound of My Voice
- Lorraine Toussaint – Middle of Nowhere
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
- Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike
- David Oyelowo – Middle of Nowhere
- Michael Péna – End of Watch
- Sam Rockwell – Seven Psychopaths
- Bruce Willis – Moonrise Kingdom
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Valley of Saints
- Here
- Beasts of the Southern Wild
- End of Watch
- Moonrise Kingdom
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
- How to Survive a Plague
- Marina Abramoviæ: The Artist is Present
- The Central Park Five
- The Invisible War
- The Waiting Room
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
- Amour
- Once Upon A Time in Anatolia
- Rust And Bone
- Sister
- War Witch
16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD (honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.)
- Nobody Walks
- Prince Avalanche
- Stones in the Sun
19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD (recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.)
- Pincus
- Gimme the Loot
- Electrick Children
STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD (presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.)
- Leviathan
- The Waiting Room
- Only the Young
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
- Starlet
“The Artist” Sweeps Independent Spirit Awards
Best Feature
“50/50″
“Beginners”
“Drive”
“Take Shelter”
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
Best Director:
Mike Mills (Beginners)
Nicholas Winding Refn (Drive)
Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Alexander Payne (The Descendants)
Best First Feature:
“Another Earth”
“In The Family”
“Margin Call”
“Martha Marcy May Marlene”
“Natural Selection”
Best Male Lead:
Demian Bichir (A Better Life)
Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Ryan Gosling (Drive)
Woody Harrelson (Rampart)
Michael Shannon (Take Shelter)
Best Female Lead:
Lauren Ambrose (Think of Me)
Rachel Harris (Natural Selection)
Adepero Oduye (Pariah)
Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)
Best Supporting Male:
Albert Brooks (Drive)
John Hawkes (Martha Marcy May Marlene)
Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
John C. Reilly (Cedar Rapids)
Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris)
Best Supporting Female:
Jessica Chastain (Take Shelter)
Angelica Huston (50/50)
Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs)
Harmony Santana (Gun Hll Road)
Shaileen Woodley (The Descendants)
Robert Altman Award:
“Margin Call”
John Cassavetes Award (films made for under $500,000):
“Bellflower”
“Circumstance”
“Hello Lonesome”
“Pariah”
“The Dynamiter”
Best Documentary:
“An African Selection”
“Bill Cunningham New York”
“The Interrupters”
“The Redemption of General Butt Naked”
“We Were Here”
Best International Film:
“A Separation”
“Melancholia”
“Shame”
“The Kid With a Bike”
“Tyrranasaur”
Best Cinematography:
Joel Hodge (Bellflower)
Benjamin Kuh-Sulk (The Off Hours)
Darius Kond-Jee (Midnight in Paris)
Guillaume Schiffman (The Artist)
Jeffrey Waldron (The Dynamiter)
Best First Screenplay:
Mike Cahill & Brit Marling (Another Earth)
J.C. Chandor (Margin Call)
Patrick DeWitt (Terri)
Phil Johnston (Cedar Rapids)
Will Reiser (50/50)
Best Screenplay:
Joseph Cedar (FootNotes)
Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Tom McCarthy (Win Win)
Mike Mills (Beginners)
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash (The Descendants)
Truer Than Fiction Award:
Heather Courtney
Danfung Dennis
Alma Har’El
Piaget Producers Award:
Chad Burris
Sophia Lin
Josh Mond
Someone to Watch Award:
Simon Arthur
Mark Jackson
Nicholas Ozeki
The Artist Leads The Independent Spirit Awards Nominations
For once I’ve actually seen most of these films before the nominees were announced. And can we talk about how perfect the Best Supporting Actor category is?! I’m supposed to see The Artist this weekend, so that’s exciting. The silent film leads with five nominations, followed by Drive, Take Shelter and The Descendants with four each.
Black Swan Sweeps Independent Spirit Awards
BEST FEATURE
- 127 Hours
- Black Swan
- Greenberg
- The Kids Are All Right
- Winter’s Bone
BEST DIRECTOR
- Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan
- Danny Boyle – 127 Hours
- Lisa Cholodenko – The Kids Are All Right
- Debra Granik – Winter’s Bone
- John Cameron Mitchell – Rabbit Hole
BEST FEMALE LEAD
- Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right
- Greta Gerwig – Greenberg
- Nicole Kidman – Rabbit Hole
- Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
- Natalie Portman – Black Swan
- Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine
BEST MALE LEAD
- Ronald Bronstein – Daddy Longlegs
- Aaron Eckhart – Rabbit Hole
- James Franco – 127 Hours
- John C. Reilly – Cyrus
- Ben Stiller – Greenberg
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
- Ashley Bell – The Last Exorcism
- Dale Dickey – Winter’s Bone
- Allison Janney – Life During Wartime
- Daphne Rubin-Vega – Jack Goes Boating
- Naomi Watts – Mother and Child
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
- John Hawkes – Winter’s Bone
- Samuel L. Jackson – Mother and Child
- Bill Murray – Get Low
- John Ortiz – Jack Goes Boating
- Mark Ruffalo – The Kids Are All Right
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Stuart Blumberg & Lisa Cholondenko – The Kids Are All Right
- Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini – Winter’s Bone
- Nicole Holofcener – Please Give
- David Lindsay-Abaire – Rabbit Hole
- Todd Solondz – Life During Wartime
BEST FOREIGN FILM
- Kisses (Ireland)
- Mademoiselle Chambon (France)
- Of Gods and Men (Morocco)
- The King’s Speech (United Kingdom)
- Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand)
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- Exit Through The Gift Shop
- Marwencol
- Restrepo
- Sweetgrass
- Thunder Soul
BEST FIRST FEATURE
- Everything Strange and New
- Get Low
- The Night Catches Us
- The Last Exorcism
- Tiny Furniture
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
- Diane Bell – Obselidia
- Lena Dunham – Tiny Furniture
- Nik Fackler – Lovely, Still
- Bob Glaudini – Jack Goes Boating
- Dana Adam Shapiro & Evan M. Wiener – Monogamy
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
- Daddy Longlegs
- Lbs.
- Lovers of Hate
- Obselidia
- The Exploding Girl
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Adam Kimmel – Never Let Me Go
- Matthew Libatique – Black Swan
- Jody Lee Lipes – Tiny Furniture
- Michael McDonough – Winter’s Bone
- Harris Savides – Greenberg
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its
ensemble cast)
- Please Give – Nicole Holofcener (director), Jeanne McCarthy (casting director), Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith and Sarah Steele
Piaget Producers Award
- In-Ah Lee – Au Revoir Taipei
- Adele Romanski – The Myth of the American Sleepover
- Anish Savjani – Meek’s Cutoff
Acura Someone to Watch Award
- Mike Ott – Littlerock
- Laurel Nakadate – The Wolf Knife
- Hossein Keshavarz – Dog Sweat
AVEENO Truer than Fiction Award
- Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor – Sweetgrass
- Jeff Malmberg – Marwencol
- Lynn True, Nelson Walker – Summer Pasture
“Winter’s Bone” Leads Independent Spirit Awards Nominees
The nominees in the first three categories actually look like pretty clear precursors for what we’ll expect to see at the Oscars next year. Several of the films and performances nominated are big enough to carry over to the Oscars, especially if they get some love from either the National Board of Review or the Golden Globes.
BEST FEATURE
- 127 Hours
- Black Swan
- Greenberg
- The Kids Are All Right
- Winter’s Bone
The rest of the nominees after the cut.
(500) Days of Summer and 9 Other Great Films the Academy Completely Ignored This Decade
I was really shocked that (500) Days of Summer was completely ignored by the Academy this year. It was on several critic’s top ten lists. It had won several critic awards for its screenplay. I really thought, at the very least, it would get nods for Original Screenplay and Editing (hello, that Expectations vs. Reality scene was fucking awesome). I even had it on my predictions for Best Picture.
Alas, this was not the case and was probably, for me, the biggest disappoint of Tuesday’s announcements. However, this is not the first time an amazing piece of cinema has gone completely un-lauded by the Academy. I’ve picked one film from each year of this past decade that also has zero Oscar nominations to its name.
the diary of a film history fanatic 