It’s all about the “Silver Lining” at the Independent Spirit Awards

While some might argue that it’s not really an independent film (with that $21 million budget), Silver Linings Playbook still wowed the Independent Spirit Award voters taking home 4 awards today including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and Actress (Jennifer Lawrence who has been having one heck of a year). It beat out a true indie, the fascinating and inventive Beasts of the Southern Wild which had to settle for a Cinematography award. Another true indie, The Sessions took home two awards for Best Actor (John Hawkes, who sooo should’ve got an Oscar nom) and Supporting Actress for Helen Hunt. Winning Supporting Actor was Matthew McConaughey for Magic Mike…. My favorite award of the day went to the brilliant Perks of Being A Wallflower for Best First Feature… For more on all the awards and the Indpendent Spirit organization, head here. Then check out all the winners below… And it’s only 1 day to Oscar Sunday!

2013 Independent Spirit Award Winners:

Best Feature: “Silver Linings Playbook”
Best Director: David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Best Screenplay: David O. Russell, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Best First Feature: “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Best First Screenplay: Derek Connolly, “Safety Not Guaranteed”
John Cassavetes Award (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000): “Middle of Nowhere”
Best Female Lead: Jennifer Lawrence, “Silver Linings Playbook”
Best Male Lead: John Hawkes, “The Sessions”
Best Supporting Female: Helen Hunt, “The Sessions”
Best Supporting Male: Matthew McConaughey, “Magic Mike”
Best Cinematography: Ben Richardson, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”
Best Documentary: “The Invisible War”
Best International Film: “Amour,” Michael Haneke
Robert Altman Award (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast):
“Starlet”
Director: Sean Baker
Casting Director: Julia Kim
Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

Piaget Producers Award: “Stones in the Sun,” Mynette Louie
Someone to Watch Award: “Gimme the Loot,” Adam Leon
Stella Artois Truer Than Fiction Award: “The Waiting Room,” Peter Nicks
Jameson Find Your Audience Award: “Breakfast With Curtis,” Laura Colella

“Beasts of the Southern Wild”, “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Silver Linings Playbook” Lead the Independent Spirit Award Nominations

As expected the wonderful and inventive film Beasts of the Southern Wild led this morning’s Independent Spirit Award nominations with four nods including Picture, Director and Actress for 9-year-old Quevanzhane Wallis. These nods will certainly help the films Oscar hopes, especially in Wallis’s case…. Also, grabbing several nominations were Moonrise Kingdom with five, the fascinating gay indie Keep the Lights On with three, Silver Linings Playbook with four, and Middle of Nowhere with four. Interestingly, Matthew McConaughey grabbed two nominations for Lead Actor (Killer Joe) and Supporting Actor (Magic Mike which, yes was made independently for only $7 million, but was distributed by Warner Brothers)… A special shout out to nominations for three of my favorite films this year: Gayby, How to Survive a Plague and The Perks of Being a Wallflower each with one nomination… A quick gripe though: several films and performers were ignored including the brilliant film Any Day Now and its star Alan Cumming plus where were the actors from Wallflower Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller and no Melanie Lynskey for Hello I Must Be Going…. So, who did make the list? Check out the nominees below and head to the Indie Spirit website here for more info on the show.

2012 Independent Spirit Award Nominees~

BEST FEATURE
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
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.
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
Yoni Brook, Valley of Saints
Lol Crawley, Here
Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov, End of Watch
Robert Yeoman, Moonrise Kingdom

BEST DOCUMENTARY
How to Survive a Plague
Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present
The Central Park Five
The Invisible War
The Waiting Room

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Amour, Michael Haneke
Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust And Bone, Jacques Audiard
Sister, Ursula Meier
War Witch, Kim Nguyen

16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
(includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget)
Nobody Walks, Alicia Van Couvering
Prince Avalanche, Derrick Tseng
Stones in the Sun, Mynette Louie

19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
(includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant)
Pincus, David Fenster
Gimme the Loot, Adam Leon
Electrick Children, Rebecca Thomas

STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
(includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant)
Leviathan, Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
The Waiting Room, Peter Nicks
Only the Young, Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Starlet
Director: Sean Baker
Casting Director: Julia Kim
Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

The Artist and Michelle Williams have the Independent Spirit

Oscar front-runner The Artist continued to dominate this awards season as it picked up four awards at today’s Independent Spirit Awards honoring the best in independent cinema. The films all had to be made and financed in the U.S. with a budget under $20 million to be eligible (hence, Hugo, War Horse and The Help, etc were not in contention… nor was British funded The Iron Lady). Along with Best Feature, The Artist took home Best Director, Cinematography and Best Actor for Jean Dujardin (who I think will nab tomorrow’s Oscar). In the other acting fields, Michelle Williams followed up her Golden Globe win for My Week with Marilyn in the Lead Actress category while Christopher Plummer won Supporting Actor for Beginners as he has done pretty much everywhere this season. Oscar snubbed Shailene Woodley won Supporting Actress for The Descendants which also took home the screenplay prize. For more on all the winners, head to the Indie Spirit site here and check out all the winners below.

2012 Independent Spirit Award Winners:

Best Feature Film: The Artist
Best Director: Michael Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Best Actor: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
Best Actress: Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn)
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)
Best Screenplay: The Descendants
Best Cinematography: The Artist
Best International Film: A Separation
Best Documentary: The Interrupters
Best First Feature: Margin Call
Best First Screenplay: 50/50
John Cassavetes Award for Best Feature (under $500,000 budget): Pariah
Robert Altman Award (given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast): Margin Call

The Artist and Take Shelter face off at the Independent Spirit Awards

The award races are coming fast and furious today as the Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced this morning (after last night’s Gotham Awards and this afternoon’s NYC Critic’s Choice winners announcement). Leading the way are the big Oscar contender The Artist and the little dramatic film Take Shelter with 5 nominations apiece. Just behind with 4 bids are Drive, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Beginners and The Descendants. Interestingly, the star of The Descendants and supposed Oscar front-runner George Clooney was snubbed as were other likely contenders Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs) and Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris). Take a look at all the nominees below and head to the Indie Spirit website here for more info on the show which honors the best in independent cinema (and films made in America for less than $20 million~ hence The Tree of Life was not eligible). Watch for the trophies to be handed out in early February the day before the Oscars.

2012 Independent Spirit Award Nominees:

Best Feature
The Artist
Beginners
The Descendants
Drive
50/50
Take Shelter

Best Female Lead
Lauren Ambrose, Think of Me
Rachael Harris, Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye, Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Male Lead
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Ryan Gosling, Drive
Woody Harrelson, Rampart
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

Best Supporting Female
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Anjelica Huston, 50/50
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

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 Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist 
Mike Mills, Beginners
Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive

Best Screenplay
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Mike Mills, Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, The Descendants
Joseph Cedar, Footnote
Tom McCarthy, Win Win

Best First Screenplay
Mike Cahill & Brit Marling, Another Earth
Phil Johnston, Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser, 50/50
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Patrick deWitt, Terri

Best First Feature
Another Earth
In the Family
Margin Call
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Natural Selection

John Cassavetes Award (for features under $500,000)
Bellflower
Circumstance
The Dynamiter
Hello Lonesome
Pariah

Best Documentary
An African Election
Bill Cunningham New York
The Interrupters
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
We Were Here

Best Cinematography
The Artist
Bellflower
The Dynamiter
Midnight in Paris
The Off Hours

Best International Film
The Kid With A Bike
Melancholia
A Separation
Shame
Tyrannosaur

Robert Altman Award (for ensemble cast): Margin Call

Piaget Producers Award
Chad Burris, Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin, Take Shelter
Josh Mond, Martha Marcy May Marlene

~And now a list of the big names that were snubbed by today’s nominees….

Indie Spirit Snubs~
Best Actor race: George Clooney (The Descendants), Joseph Gordon Levitt (50/50)
Best Actress: Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Felicity Jones (Like Crazy)… the last two films may have been inelligible~ I’ll have to check
Supporting Actor: Kenneth Branaugh (My Week with Marilyn)
Supporting Actress: Bernice Bejo (The Artist), Kim Wayans (Pariah), Robin Wright (Rampart)
Screenplay: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
Director: Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
Picture: Midnight in Paris

The Swan Soars at the Indie Spirt Awards

Black Swan flew high over the Independent Spirit Awards taking home 4 awards including Best Picture, Director (Darren Aronofsky), Actress (Natalie Portman~ who now seems almost unstoppable at tomorrow’s Oscars) and Cinematography. James Franco picked up the award for Best Actor for his wonderful and harrowing work in 127 Hours while Dale Dickey and John Hawkes won in the supporting categories for their fantastic work in Winter’s Bone. Take a look at all the winner’s below for the kudosfest which honors the best in low-budget (under $20 million) independently produced films.

2011 INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD WINNERS

Best Feature: Black Swan

Best Director: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan

Best Screenplay: Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right

Best Male Lead: James Franco, 127 Hours

Best Supporting Male: John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone

Best Female Lead: Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Best Supporting Female: Dale Dickey, Winter’s Bone

Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, Black Swan

Robert Altman Award: Please Give (given to director Nicole Holofcener, casting director Jeanne McCarthy and the ensemble cast)

Best First Screenplay: Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture

Best First Feature: Get Low (award given to the director, Aaron Schneider, and producers David Gundlach and Dean Zanuck)

Best Documentary: Exit Through The Gift Shop (the award goes to the director, but reclusive street artist Banksy reportedly sent “Mr. Brainwash” to accept the honor in his stead)

Best Foreign Film: The King’s Speech (award given to the director, Tom Hooper)

John Cassavetes Award (best feature made for under $500,000): Daddy Longlegs (written and directed by Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie and produced by Casey Neistat and Tom Scott)

Piaget Producers Award: Anish Savjani, Meek’s Cutoff

Someone To Watch Award: Mike Ott, Littlerock

Truer Than Fiction Award: Jeff Maimberg, Marwencol