Gotham Awards

A Complete Guide To 2012-13 Awards Season

Peter Knegt — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:11:00 GMT

Award season is in full swing, with basically three straight months of announcements from critic groups, guilds, boards, and yes, academies, underway.

To help everyone keep up, Indiewire has this comprehensive summary of all the announced awards and will continue to update through February 2013's grand Oscar finale.

READ MORE: 2013 Oscar Predictions

Below are links to all of the announcements, as well as a compilation of the winners in various categories, listed in order of how many kudos each have received. Ben Affleck's "Argo" currently lead all films in best picture prizes, while Daniel Day-Lewis ("Lincoln") and Anne Hathaway ("Les Miserables") are well ahead in the actor and supporting actress tallies. Best actress, however, is a tight race between Jennifer Lawrence ("Silver Linings") and Jessica Chastain ("Zero Dark Thirty"), while best supporting actor is neck and neck between Phillip Seymour Hoffman ("The Master") and Tommy Lee Jones ("Lincoln").

Announced Awards:

Summary of Winners:
(to be expanded and updated)

Best Picture:
Argo: 11 wins (PGA, Critic Choice, Globes, Houston, San Diego, Florida, Southeastern, Online, St. Louis, Oklahoma, Nevada) 12 noms (Oscar, BAFTA, Chicago, Detroit, AFI, Phoenix, Satellites, DC, Dallas, London, Central Ohio, WFJ)
Zero Dark Thirty: 10 wins (NYFCC, NYFCO, NBR, BSFC, BOFC, Chicago, African-American, Austin, Black, Utah), 14 noms (Oscar, BAFTA, NSFC, PGA, Globes, Critics Choice, St. Louis, Detroit, AFI, San Diego, Satellites, Phoenix, Houston, Southeastern, Online, WFJ)
The Master: 3 wins (SF, Toronto, Kansas City), 9 noms (NSFC, Critics Choice, LAFCA, Chicago, San Diego, Gothams, Houston, London, Online)
Amour: 3 wins (LAFCA, NSFC, EFA), 3 noms (Oscar, London, BSFC)
Moonrise Kingdom: 2 wins (Central Ohio, Gothams), 11 noms (PGA, Globes, Spirits, Satellites, St. Louis, Critics Choice, AFI, BSFC, Phoenix, Houston, Online)
Silver Linings Playbook: 2 wins (Satellites, Detroit), 10 noms (Oscar, PGA, Globes, Critics Choice, AFI, San Diego, Phoenix, Spirits, DC, Houston)
Lincoln: 1 win (Dallas), 12 noms (Oscar, PGA, Globes, BAFTA, Critics Choice, Chicago, St. Louis, Pheonix, AFI, Satellites, DC, Houston)
Life of Pi: 1 win (Las Vegas), 10 noms (Oscar, PGA, Globes, BAFTA, London, Critics Choice, Phoenix, St. Louis, AFI, Satellites)
Broken: 1 win (BIFAs)
Safety Not Guaranteed: 1 win (Indiana)
Beasts of the Southern Wild: 11 noms (Oscar, PGA, Critics Choice, Chicago, Phoenix, Satellites, AFI, Spirits, Houston, Indiana, London)
Les Miserables: 10 noms (Oscar, PGA, Globes, BAFTA, Critics Choice, Phoenix, AFI, Satellites, DC, Houston)
Django Unchained: 9 noms (Oscar, PGA, Globes, Critics Choice, St. Louis, San Diego, AFI, Houston, Central Ohio)
Skyfall: 3 noms (PGA, Satellites, Phoenix)
Bernie: 2 noms (Gothams, Spirits)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: 2 noms (Globes, BIFAs)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: 1 nom (Globes)
The Avengers: 1 nom (Phoenix)
The Sessions: 1 nom (Satellites)
The Dark Knight Rises: 1 nom (AFI)
Middle of Nowhere: 1 nom (Gothams)
The Loneliest Planet: 1 nom (Gothams)
Keep The Lights On: 1 nom (Spirits)
Take This Waltz: 1 nom (Detroit)
The Impossible: 1 nom (Detroit)
Cloud Atlas: 1 nom (Houston)
Barbara: 1 nom (EFA)
Caesar Must Die: 1 nom (EFA)
The Hunt: 1 nom (EFA)
Shame: 1 nom (EFA)
The Intouchables: 1 nom (EFA)
Berbarian Sound Studio: 1 nom (BIFAs)
Sightseers: 1 nom (BIFAs)
The Imposter: 1 nom (BIFAs)
Holy Motors: 1 nom (Online)
Looper: 1 nom (Utah)

Continues on the next page with acting category tallies.

Best Actress:
Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty: 14 wins (Globes, Critics Choice, NBR, DC, BOFC, Chicago, Indiana, St. Louis, Dallas, Florida, Oklahoma, Utah, Black, Online), 11 noms (Oscar, NSFC, SAG, BAFTA, Detroit, Satellites, San Diego, Houston, Southeastern, London, WFJ)
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook: 13 wins (SAG, Globes, LAFCA, Las Vegas, Detroit, Kansas City, Austin, Southeastern, Satellites, Houston, Nevada, Central Ohio, Utah), 15 noms (Oscar, NSFC, Critics Choice, BAFTA, St. Louis, Chicago, Satellites, Spirits, DC, San Diego, Indiana, Dallas, London, WFJ, Online)
Emmanuelle Riva, Amour: 6 wins (NSFC, BSFC, EFA, LAFCA, NYFCO, San Francisco), 9 noms (Oscar, Critics Choice, BAFTA, Chicago, Satellites, DC, Houston, London, WFJ, Online)
Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea: 2 wins (NYFCC, Toronto); 2 noms (Globes, Online)
Helen Hunt, The Sessions: 1 win (Nevada), 3 noms (Chicago, San Diego, London)
Michelle Williams, Take This Waltz: 1 win (San Diego; 1 nom (Detroit)
Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere: 1 win (African-American), 1 nom (Spirits)
Andrea Riseborough, Shadow Dancer: 1 win (BIFAs)
Naomi Watts, The Impossible: 9 noms (Oscar, Globes, SAG, Critics Choice, Chicago, Detroit, Central Ohio, San Diego, Houston)
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild: 8 noms (Oscar, Critics Choice, Chicago, Phoenix, St. Louis, Spirits, Houston, Online)
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone: 6 noms (Globes, SAG, BAFTA, Critics Choice, DC, London)
Helen Mirren, Hitchcock: 5 noms (Globes, BAFTA, DC, St. Louis, SAG)
Emilie Dequenne, Our Children: 2 noms (EFA, Satellites)
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed: 2 noms (Spirits, Phoenix)
Judi Dench, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: 2 nom (Globes, BIFAs)
Meryl Streep, Hope Springs: 1 nom (Globes)
Maggie Smith, Quartet: 1 nom (Globes)
Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: 1 nom (Globes)
Deanie Yip, A Simple Life: 1 nom (BSFC)
Linda Cardellini, Return: 1 nom (Spirits)
Aubrey Plaza, Safety Not Guaranteed: 1 nom (St. Louis)
Greta Gerwig, Damsels in Distress: 1 nom (Detroit)
Keira Knightley, Anna Karenina: 1 nom (Satellites)
Laura Linney, Hyde Park on Hudson: 1 nom (Satellites)
Laura Birn, Purge: 1 nom (Satellites)
Elle Fanning, Ginger and Rosa: 1 nom (BIFAs)
Alice Lowe, Sightseers: 1 nom (BIFAs)
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady: 1 nom (BIFAs)
Kate Winslet, Carnage: 1 nom (EFA)
Nina Hoss, Barbara: 1 nom (EFA)
Margarethe Tiesel, Paradise: Love (EFA)

Continue to the next page for best actor...

Best Actor:
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln: 23 wins (SAG, Globes, Critics Choice, NSFC, BSFC, BOFCA, NYFCC, NYFCO, DC, Las Vegas, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Online, Indiana, Kansas City, Central Ohio, Southeastern, St. Louis, Dallas, Florida, Oklahoma, Black), 10 noms (Oscar, BAFTA, Satellites, Phoenix, London, Utah, WFJ)
Joaquin Phoenix, The Master: 4 wins (LAFCA, SF, Austin, Utah), 17 noms (Oscar, Globes, Critics Choice, NSFC, BAFTA, Chicago, Phoenix, Detroit, St. Louis, San Diego, DC, Satellites, Houston, Southeastern, London, Dallas, WFJ, Online)
Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook: 3 wins (NBR, Indiana, Satellites), 10 noms (Oscar, Globes, SAG, Critics Choice, BAFTA, Detroit, St. Louis, Spirits, San Diego, Houston)
John Hawkes, The Sessions: 1 win (Nevada), 16 noms (Globes, SAG, Chicago, Phoenix, Critics Choice, Detroit, St. Louis, Spirits, San Diego, DC, Satellites, Houston, Utah, WFJ, Central Ohio, Online)
Denzel Washington, Flight: 1 win (African-American), 9 noms (Oscar, Globes, Critics Choice, Chicago, SAG, St. Louis, DC, Satellites, Online)
Denis Lavant, Holy Motors: 1 win (Toronto), 5 noms (NSFC, BSFC, LAFCA, Chicago, Online)
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour: 1 win (EFA), 1 nom (London)
Toby Jones, Berbarian Sound Studio: 1 win (BIFAs)
Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables: 10 noms (Oscar, Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA, SAG, Phoenix, San Diego, DC, Satellites, London)
Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson: 3 noms (Globes, Houston, Detroit)
Omar Sy, The Intouchables: 2 noms (EFA, Satellites)
Jack Black, Bernie: 2 nom (Globes, Spirits)
Mads Mikkelson, The Hunt: 2 noms (EFA, London)
Ben Affleck, Argo: 1 nom (BAFTA)
Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing: 1 nom (Globes)
Anthony Hopkins, Hitchcock: 1 nom (Phoenix)
Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe: 1 nom (Spirits)
Wendell Pierce, Four: 1 nom (Spirits)
Thure Lindhardt, Keep The Lights On: 1 nom (Spirits)
Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained: 1 nom (St. Louis)
Riz Ahmed, Ill Manors: 1 nom (BIFAs)
Steve Oram, Sightseers: 1 nom (BIFAs)
Terence Stamp, Song for Marion: 1 nom (BIFAs)
Tim Roth, Broken: 1 nom (BIFAs)
Francois Cluzet, The Intouchables
Michael Fassbender, Shame: 1 nom (EFA)
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy: 1 nom (EFA)

Continue to the next page for supporting acting categories...

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables: 20 wins (SAG, Globes, Critics Choice, BOFCA, NYFCO, DC, Detroit, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Austin, Indiana, Houston, Southeastern, Online, Satellites, Florida, Oklahoma, Black, Central Ohio, Utah); 12 noms (Oscar, BAFTA, NSFC, Chicago, Phoenix, LAFCA, San Diego, St. Louis, Dallas, London, WFJ)
Sally Field, Lincoln: 5 wins (NYFCC, BSFC, African-American, Dallas, Nevada); 14 noms (Oscar, Globes, Critics Choice, Chicago, BAFTA, SAG, NSFC, Phoenix, Detroit, Southeastern, Houston, St. Louis, DC, London, WFJ, Online)
Amy Adams, The Master: 3 wins (LAFCA, NSFC, Chicago), 13 noms (Oscar, Globes, Critics Choice, Detroit, BAFTA, San Diego, Satellites, Houston, St Louis, DC, London, WFJ, Online)
Helen Hunt, The Sessions: 2 wins (San Francisco, St. Louis), 12 noms (Oscar, SAG, Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA, Central Ohio, Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, Spirits, DC, Indiana, Online)
Ann Dowd, Compliance: 2 wins (NBR, St. Louis), 6 noms (Critics Choice, Detroit, Central Ohio, Spirits, Utah, Online)
Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower: 1 win (San Diego), 3 noms (BSFC, Phoenix, St. Louis)
Gina Gershon, Killer Joe: 1 win (Toronto)
Judi Dench, Skyfall: 7 noms (Phoenix, Houston, BAFTA, Critics Choice, Chicago, London, Satellites)
Samantha Barks, Les Miserables: 3 noms (San Diego, Satellites, DC))
Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy: 2 noms (Globes, SAG)
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook: 1 nom (Spirits)
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: 1 nom (SAG)
Emily Blunt, Looper: 1 nom (Chicago)
Rosemarie DeWitt, Your Sister's Sister: 1 nom (Spirits)
Brit Marling, Sound of My Voice: 1 nom (Spirits)
Lorraine Toussaint, Middle of Nowhere: 1 nom (Spirits)
Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect: 1 nom (San Diego)
Helene Florent, Cafe De Flore: 1 nom (Satellites)
Isabelle Huppert, Amour: 1 nom (London)

Best Supporting Actor
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master: 9 wins (Critics Choice, Chicago, Toronto, DC, Southeastern, Kansas City, Florida, Online, Oklahoma); 15 noms (Oscar, Globes, BAFTA, NSFC, Houston, Detroit, San Diego, Satellites, SAG, Phoenix, Dallas, London, Utah, WFJ)
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln: 9 wins (SAG, BOFCA, NYFCO, Las Vegas, Houston, SF, Indiana, Dallas, Nevada); 15 noms (Oscar, Globes, NSFC, Critics Choice, Chicago, Detroit, BAFTA, Satellites, St. Louis, DC, Phoenix, Southeastern, London, WFJ, Online).
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained: 6 wins (Globes, St. Louis, Austin, Central Ohio, San Diego, Black), 7 noms (Oscar, BAFTA, BSFC, LAFCA, Indiana, WFJ, Online)
Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike: 2 wins (NSFC, NYFCC), 4 noms (Critics Choice, Houston, Detroit, Spirits)
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild: 2 wins (LAFCA, Utah), 2 noms (Chicago, Online)
Javier Bardem, Skyfall: 1 win (Satellites), 6 noms (Critics Choice, BAFTA, London, Houston, SAG, DC)
Robert DeNiro, Silver Linings Playbook: 1 win (Detroit), 5 noms (Oscar, Critics Choice, SAG, Phoenix, Satellites)
Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained: 1 win (NBR); 4 noms (Globes, Central Ohio, Chicago, DC)
Ezra Miller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower: 1 win (BSFC), 2 noms (Phoenix, Detroit)
Nate Parker, Arbitrage: 1 win (African-American)
Alan Arkin, Argo: 12 noms (Oscar, Globes, Critics Choice, SAG, BAFTA, London, Houston, San Diego, St. Louis, DC, WFJ, Online)
Bruce Willis, Moonrise Kingdom: 2 noms (Spirits, St. Louis)
Jason Clarke, Zero Dark Thirty: 1 nom (Chicago)
Eddie Redmayne, Les Miserables: 1 nom (Satellites)
John Goodman, Flight: 1 nom (Satellites)
David Oyelowo, Middle of Nowhere: 1 nom (Spirits)
Michael Fassbender, Prometheus: 1 nom (London)
Michael Pena, End of Watch: 1 nom (Spirits)
Sam Rockwell, Seven Psychopaths: 1 nom (Spirits)
Christopher Walken, Seven Psychopaths : 1 nom (San Diego)
Matthew McConaughey, Killer Joe: 1 nom (San Diego)
John Goodman, Argo: 1 nom (St. Louis)
William H. Macy, The Sessions: 1 nom (St. Louis)
Ewan McGregor, The Impossible: 1 nom (Detroit)

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Save The Dates: Here's the 2012-13 Awards Season Calendar

Indiewire — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 23:37:00 GMT

The 2012-13 awards season is fast approaching. Beginning in October with the Gotham Award nominations, over four months of ballot mailing, nomination announcements and award ceremonies are coming our way, culminating in the the 85th Annual Academy Awards on February 24, 2013. Indiewire is keeping a running tally of all the officially announced dates so all you awards geeks out there can make sure you don't miss a step.

Many dates have yet to have been set, so check back with this article as the awards calendar continues to take shape. And if you notice any errors or exclusions of announced dates, please feel free to note in the comments and we will amend the article.

October 2012
18 - Gotham Award nominations announced

November 2012
5 - British Independent Film Award nominations
7 - Britannia Awards (BAFTA LA)
21 - Screen Actors Guild Award nomination ballots mailed
26 - Gotham Awards
27 - Independent Spirit Award nominations announced

December 2012
3 - Producers Guild Award voting opens
3 - New York Film Critics Circle vote and announce winners
3 - Satellite Award nominations announced
4 - Directors Guild Award voting opens
5 - National Board of Review vote and announce winners
9- Los Angeles Film Critics vote and announce winners
9 - British Independent Film Awards
10 - AFI Awards announced
11 - Critics Choice Award nominations announced
12 - Screen Actors Guild Award nominations announced
13 - Golden Globe Award nominations announced
16 - Satellite Awards
17 - Academy Award nomination voting opens

January 2013
2 - Screen Actors Guild Award final ballots mailed
3 - Academy Award nomination voting ends.
3 - Producers Guild Award nominations announced
3 - Writers Guild Award nominations announced
8 - National Board of Review Awards Gala
10 - Academy Award nominations announced
10 - Critics Choice Awards
13 - Golden Globe Awards
26 - Producers Guild Awards
27 - Screen Actors Guild Awards

February 2013
2 - Directors Guild Awards
8 - Final Academy Award voting begins
19 - Final Academy Award voting ends
23 - Independent Spirit Awards
24 - Academy Awards

Gotham Gets It Right: Award Winners include 'Moonrise Kingdom,' 'Beasts of the Southern Wild,' 'Your Sister's Sister' [UPDATED]

Charles Lyons — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:15:00 GMT

On the sprawling floor of the restaurant Cipriani, on Wall Street, four lanky women wearing stilettos and Shopska hats stood smiling with trays of Russian Standard Gotham Yule, a vodka mix that included Ginger Beer and lime juice. A thinly mustached manager suddenly appeared and asked the ladies not to cluster together, but to circulate the filling room.

Set squarely in Hurricane Zone A, where a few weeks ago Sandy flooded streets and caused power outrages, the twenty-second edition of the Independent Filmmaker Project’s annual Gotham Awards was nonetheless in high spirits Monday night. Kudos to show producers for selecting Jimmy Kimmel to introduce show host Mike Berbiglia, who made a stellar debut, and for paying tribute to Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, David O. Russell and Participant's Jeff Skoll. (Full list of winners on the jump.)

Kimmel kicked things off zestfully, saying that “Most of all, we are here today because if we don’t give ourselves these awards, who will?” Berbiglia, noting that there was no budget to hire writers on the show, read jokes he said he had received from his Twitter followers.

As guests arrived, some familiar looking, some totally not, I found myself next to Andrew Hurwitz, a lean, top independent film attorney with Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. “The future of independent film is television,” he told me. A few feet away, Cinetic Media’s John Sloss declared, “The future is here and it’s bright,” elaborating that the future for independent films means taking a multiplatform approach to distribution.

Sipping a glass of red wine, soft-spoken Academy Award-winning director Robert Benton said he was encouraged by the fact that people can now make movies for under one million dollars. “It allows more movies to get made,” he said. “If it’s a good movie, people will go and see it.” He added that he especially enjoyed such 2012 releases as “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Argo,” “Amour,” and the documentary “Waiting for Sugar Man.”

Later in the evening, as he received his tribute award, Damon recalled attending the Gotham’s fifteen years ago for “Good Will Hunting,” wearing a borrowed suit from Calvin Klein that was worth more than all his clothing combined. “That was the first moment,” he said, “when my life got surreal.”

By night’s end, it became clear that independent film as it was known in the 1990s and prior may not be changing as quickly as some people predict: the future may also include smart, socially significant, well-funded films that get old-fashioned, meaningful theatrical distribution with actors as talented and genuine as Damon and Cotillard.

Samuel Goldwyn is said to have told a producer on his MGM lot, “If you want to send a message, use Western Union.” Well, a gentleman who cares about our planet and evidently the future of independent film, believes now is NOT the time to shy from sending messages via films, and from following those messages up with robust social medial campaigns. His name is Jeff Skoll and he’s quietly becoming as significant as Goldwyn was in his day. Since 2004, the articulate founder and CEO of Participant Media has brought to life a heartening array of films--forty-one to be exact. Skoll has been vital at precisely the time when filmmakers have been forced to reinvent paradigms to bring small films to wider audiences. “Independent films define the spirit of the industry,” he told the welcoming New York crowd, following a video tribute with clips from such Participant films as “Good Night and Good Luck,” “The Help,” and “The Inconvenient Truth.”

Skoll’s slate this year includes “Promised Land,” “Middle of Nowhere,” and “Lincoln,” films that are among the thrilling bang of smart, risk-taking fare reaching screens before year’s end. Focus Features CEO, James Schamus, wearing his signature bow-tie, told me his company did a study that looked at the number of screens and the number of new movies coming out on them.

“There has never been a more crowded year in the history of our industry,” he said. Noting the glut of possible Best Picture candidates among already released or soon-to-be released films, including his company’s “Anna Karenina,” “Promised Land,” “Hyde Park on Hudson” and “Moonrise Kingdom,” he lamented that more Oscar-worthy films aren’t coming out earlier in the year. “Oscar movies can and should be released any time of year,” he added.

If the Gotham’s are any indication, the last of these may already be on track for a long award-season run: “Moonrise” took home the night’s Best Feature award, while Fox Searchlight’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” the resonant film set in a post-Katrina-like Bayou, won two Gothams--Breakthrough Director for Benh Zeitlin and the First Annual Bingham Ray Award—as well as a lot of love from a region that just survived its own Katrina.

Winners are below, and here's Indiewire's backstage coverage.

Best Feature: "Moonrise Kingdom," directed by Wes Anderson

Audience Award: “Artifact,” directed by Jared Leto using the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins

Breakthrough Director: Benh Zeitlin, “Beasts of the Southern Wild”

Breakthrough Actor: Emayatzy Corinealdi for “Middle of Nowhere,” directed by Ava DuVernay

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You: “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty” directed by Terence Nance

First Annual Bingham Ray Award: “Beasts of the Southern Wild," directed by Benh Zeitlin.

The award included $10,000 and $60,000 in equipment from Panavision

Best Ensemble Performance: “Your Sister’s Sister” for Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass

Euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant: Stacie Passon, director “Concussion”

Award included $25,000 cash for an alumna of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs

Best Documentary: “How to Survive a Plague,” directed by David France

Awards: Even With Matt Damon and Mike Birbiglia, Will the Gothams Ever Make For Good TV?

Alison Willmore — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 15:23:10 GMT

The 22nd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards took place Monday night at Cipriani, in a Financial District still in recovery from Hurricane Sandy. Presented by IFP, the event has always marked a kickoff to awards season. As indies and the Oscars have overlapped more and more, the Gothams provide an early look at some of the films and acceptance speeches we'll be seeing again at the Spirits and Academy Awards in the new year, starting with Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," which nabbed the win for Best Feature.

There were stars in attendance -- Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon were among those receiving tributes, while Jack Black, John Krasinski, Amy Adams, Willem Dafoe and others presented awards. And anyone not able to be there in person could watch the show online -- except when they couldn't, as the problem-plagued live feed hosted by YouTube lagged or went down for 20 minutes because of what the Gothams' Twitter feed described as "spotty" local Internet access.

The Gothams currently occupy a slightly awkward place between an event for and by the indie-film community and one intended to entertain outside viewers. As comedian and "Sleepwalk With Me" filmmaker and star Mike Birbiglia joked in an opening monologue that did not seem to go over well, "we're here because the rich guy who financed your film likes to meet celebrities." That's the unspoken subtext of many gala events for nonprofits, which are meant to celebrate the less-glamorous actual work that goes on throughout the year while also drawing the attention of donors and outsiders by way of famous faces. As Jimmy Kimmel pointed out in his remote intro, while Damon has a career that's spanned both indies and studio films (Kimmel took the first of the evening's two jabs at "The Legend of Bagger Vance"), it's his work in blockbusters like the "Ocean's Eleven" and "Bourne" franchises that cemented his place as a household name.

Like the Spirit Awards, which air annually on IFC (full disclosure, I was once an employee) in what started as a live broadcast but has become a live-to-tape affair, the Gothams try to balance being an event designed to serve an indie-film industry that isn't given broader recognition and one that a wider audience will want to watch because it's filled with celebrities and funny bits. Do we watch the Gothams because we want to see if our friends and the small films we care about win, or because we like to discuss what Famke Janssen is wearing and hope to see Billy Crudup say something goofy after having one too many at the open bar?

There's no reason one event can't offer both, but evidence of how seldom the two line up could be seen in the presentation of the first category, the Audience Award, powered by online voters. Actor and 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared Leto, who directed the music industry documentary "Artifact" (which premiered at Toronto in September), was clearly aware, in accepting the prize, that his considerable fan following had powered him past festival favorites such as "Beasts of the Southern Wild." He ended his speech by pleading, "Don't hate me because I won." Fully half the comments on the live stream are from those early minutes of the event, as members of Leto's fanbase, which calls itself the Echelon, wrote things such as "WE WOOOOON HATEEEEERS" and "ok :D now I can go to sleep :D."

The back-and-forth between mainstream acceptance and artistic credibility is an ever-present force in the indie-film community, but it's a more central one to an awards show, during which you displease community and industry insiders by pandering too much to an outside audience but lose those same outsiders by focusing closely on films or people they don't recognize or haven't had the chance to see. In 2004, the Gothams were broadcast live for the first time on IFC, and they made a deal wtih NYC-TV for a subsequent live airing in 2007, but they couldn't make a permanent leap to a steady national broadcast platform.

Dan Talbot, of New Yorker Films and the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, was presented with an Industry Lifetime Achievement Award and gave a lengthy speech (one that can be read here) that included tales from his many years in distribution. It was an outlandish, amusing and wise performance, but it was antithetical to television, stopping the ceremony dead for unhurried musings on topics that were surely bewildering to most civilians that tuned in as the TelePrompter flashed, "Please wrap it up."

This year's host, Birbiglia, appeared cowed after that rough opening, admitting, "This is the hardest crowd I have ever played in front of in my life." He is emblematic of an undercurrent running throughout the Gothams -- an uneasy mix of professionalism and an aw-shucks acknowledgement that professionalism feels funny and formal and we're all just people here. But professionalism is what you need if you want people who are not there in the room with you to invest in watching. Both Birbiglia and Krasinski turned to the Internet to crowdsource their jokes, a shtick that worked better for the latter, who pulled from IMDb comments, than the former, who solicited gags (that weren't bad!) from Twitter. But the underlying thought was the same: a breaking-down of the barriers between those on stage and those in the larger Internet audience, even the ones that had no idea their words were being read aloud in front of a crowd.

It's an act that's become more than trendy these days -- with cable news channels regularly turning to social media to provide commentary -- but at the Gothams it also provided a reminder that indie film is still a relatively intimate world. Krasinski's jokes rested on how removed the speculative IMDb comments were from his pal Damon as a person, while Birbiglia's depended on how fundamentally insidery jokes about "The Master" and being a struggling artist can be.

The Gothams may never be great TV, and maybe that's not so important (though it would be nice if they had a smoother live stream from which the audio didn't sporadically drop out). In a world in which the Web can give everyone access to everything, trying to cater to everyone, including crowds who were never going to stick around to see who won the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award anyway, is unnecessary.

Broader platforms are helpful for publicity and for attracting sponsorship, but the fact that the Gothams remain a little inside-baseball is a welcome thing. As Birbiglia said, "We are here tonight because if we don't give ourselves these awards, who will?" For films such as "The Master" and people like David O. Russell probably plenty of people. It's the chance to see others coming up to the podium that sets the Gothams apart.

'Moonrise Kingdom' & 'Beasts Of The Southern Wild' Take Top Prizes At Gotham Awards

Oliver Lyttelton — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 13:27:02 GMT

After months and months of a sort of awards season cold war, this week sees people actually start to be nominated and win things. The first major nods of the year are announced on Thursday with the Independent Spirits, and last night saw the first proper ceremony of the year, with "Sleepwalk With Me" director/star Mike Birbiglia hosting the 22nd Annual Gotham Awards in NYC.

The Gotham Awards is traditionally the first serious event of the season, even if their impact on the awards race at large tends to be minimal with a remit that tends to exclude many of the major Oscar contenders, especially in a studio-heavy year like this one. Still, the last few winners included "The Tree Of Life" and "Winter's Bone," which ended up among Best Picture nominees, so Focus Features must be feeling pleased that their "Moonrise Kingdom" beat out "The Master," "Bernie," "The Loneliest Planet" and "Middle Of Nowhere" for the Best Feature prize. "Moonrise Kingdom" has been generally deemed to be on the cusp of getting an Oscar nomination, and the more help it gets from precursor awards, the better its chances of actually scoring a nod from the Academy.

Another film that's in the Academy hunt, "Beasts of the Southern Wild," also did well, with helmer Benh Zeitlin taking the Breakthrough Director award, and the film itself taking the first annual Bingham Ray award, named in honor of the independent film legend who passed away at Sundance in January. Elsewhere, Emayatzy Corinealdi, star of the acclaimed "Middle of Nowhere," won the Breakthrough Acting award, while Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass and Emily Blunt took Best Ensemble Performance for Lynn Shelton's "Your Sister's Sister." Neither are likely to pick up steam with the Academy, but look for them to figure in the Independent Spirit nominations on Thursday.

Finally, "How To Survive A Plague" took Best Documentary, SXSW favorite "An Oversimplification Of Her Beauty" won Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You, and Jared Leto's self-portrait "Artifact" won the Audience Award. Stacie Passion, helmer of "Concussion," won the grant for female filmmakers, and Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, David O. Russell and Jeff Skoll were all given tribute awards. Read the full list of winners and nominees below. [Indiewire]

Best Feature
Bernie
The Loneliest Planet
The Master
Middle Of Nowhere
Moonrise Kingdom

Best Ensemble Performance
Bernie
Moonrise Kingdom
Safety Not Guaranteed
Silver Linings Playbook
Your Sister's Sister

Best Breakthrough Actor/Actress
Mike Birbiglia - Sleepwalk With Me
Emayatzy Corinealdi - Middle Of nowhere
Thure Lindhart - Keep The Lights On
Melanie Lynskey - Hello, I Must Be Going
Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Best Breakthrough Director
Zal Batmanglij - Sound Of My Voice
Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky - Francine
Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin - Now, Forager
Antonio Mendez Esparza - Aqui y Alla
Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Documentary
Detropia
How To Survive A Plague
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present
Room 237
The Waiting Room

Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You
Kid-Thing
An Oversimplification Of Her Beauty
Red Flag
Sun Don't Shine
Tiger Tail In Blue

Audience Award
Artifact
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Burn
Once In A Lullaby: PS-22 Chorus Story
The Invisible War

Tribute Awards
Marion Cotillard
Matt Damon
David O Russell
Jeff Skoll

Bingham Ray Award
"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"

Euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight On Women Filmmakers 'Live The Dream' Grant
Stacie Passon

'Moonrise Kingdom,' 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Lead Gotham Award Winners

Peter Knegt and Nigel M. Smith — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 01:05:02 GMT

The 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were handed out tonight in New York, and Indiewire has a complete list of winners. The ceremony was hosted by "Sleepwalk With Me" director and star Mike Birbiglia (whose opening monologue didn't exactly win over the crowd at the ceremony).

The first award of the night went to "Artifact" -- Jared Leto's doc on his band 30 Second To Mars. The film won the audience award, and Leto accepted the award, stating first that he felt it was strange his film won over something as special as "Beasts of the Southern Wild."

"Don't hate me because I won, I love that other film too," Leto said.

Lucky for Leto, "Beasts" took home the award for Breakthrough Director immediately following the singer-actor's win, for its helmer Benh Zeitlin.

"Beasts" did lose out on the next award, though. Many expected its young star Quvenzhané Wallis to take the breakthrough actor award, but she was beat out by another actress from a Sundance Film Festival hit, Emayatzy Corinealdi from "Middle of Nowhere."

"Our journey from Sundance to the Gothams has been nothing but a fairy tale for me," Corinealdi said onstage, quite emotionally.

"Your Sister's Sister" also surprised later in the ceremony, beating out the likes of "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Silver Linings Playbook" for best ensemble performance thanks to its trio of actors in Rosemarie DeWitt, Mark Duplass and Emily Blunt.

Following a tribute to "Rust and Bone" star Marion Cotillard, Sundance fave "How to Survive a Plague" won one of the year's first awards in the documentary race, beating out "Detropia" and the much buzzed-about doc "Room 237."

Finally, Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" won the night's biggest honor, best feature. The film beat out "The Master" and "Middle of Nowhere" and followed in the footsteps of recent winners like "The Tree of Life," "Beginners" (which tied last year), and "Winter's Bone."

A complete list of winners on the next page.

Best Feature: "Moonrise Kingdom"

Best Documentary: "How To Survive a Plague"

Best Ensemble Performance: "Your Sister's Sister" (Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass)

Breakthrough Director: Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Breakthrough Actor: Emayatzy Corinealdi, "Middle of Nowhere"

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You: "An Oversimplification of Her Beauty"

Audience Choice Award: "Artifact"

Watch The Gotham Awards Live Here

Indiewire — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 01:03:58 GMT

The 22nd Annual Gotham Awards are going down tonight in New York City and you can watch the whole show live below. Also check out a complete list of winners here.

Preview: Who Will and Should Win at Tonight's Gotham Awards

Peter Knegt — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 14:26:06 GMT

The 22nd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards go down tonight at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, the first competitive awards show of the season. Indiewire will be on the scene offering minute-by-minute (ish) coverage, but in the meantime we figured why not offer a preview of how things might play out.

Note first that the Gothams can be incredibly unpredictable. Last year, "Beginners" and "The Tree of Life" tied for best feature, beating out arguable favorite "The Descendants." In 2010, Ronald Bronstein won best breakthrough actor (for "Daddy Longlegs") over eventual Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (for "Winter's Bone"). The same thing happened the year before, when Catalina Saavedra's performance in "The Maid" won over Jeremy Renner for "The Hurt Locker" in the same category. So despite what's suggested below, it's likely we'll be in for a few or more surprises.

READ MORE: Gotham Awards Announce 2012 Nominations

With that in mind, here's our take on 5 of the 6 juried categories (excluding "Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You" because I've only seen one of the five nominees... though check out this article by my colleague Eric Kohn for an extensive take on the films shortlisted there).

Best Feature
The nominees: "Bernie," "The Loneliest Planet," "The Master," "Middle of Nowhere" and "Moonrise Kingdom"
What will win: One would think it's a two way race between "The Master" and "Moonrise Kindgom," though given the Gothams' history, nothing's certain. And while its divisive reception might be a challenge, Paul Thomas Anderson's latest seems to have enough passionate fans to have the edge. This could give it a small but much-needed boost going into the rest of awards season, which has grown increasingly heated since "The Master" opened back in September. But who knows, maybe there'll be another tie.
What should win: "The Master." While each of the other nominees are great in their own ways, Anderson's film stands on a whole other level of greatness.

Best Ensemble Performance
The nominees: "Bernie," "Moonrise Kingdom," "Safety Not Guaranteed," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Your Sister's Sister"
What will win: If it loses best feature, a deserved consolation prize for "Moonrise Kingdom" could come in this category. Its impressive cast (including Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton and Bruce Willis) certainly makes up one of the year's best ensembles. But it might not stand a chance against the folks from "Silver Linings Playbook," who definitely have the most buzz going into tonight. That would also finally give Jennifer Lawrence the Gotham Award she lost out on two years back.
What should win: Either "Moonrise" or "Silver Linings" winning would be fine by me, but there's too much of a soft spot in my heart for the incredible trio from "Your Sister's Sister." Emily Blunt, Rosemarie DeWitt and Mark Duplass are remarkable in the largely improvised film, and given that they are unlikely to get too many nominations elsewhere in awards season, it'd be nice for the Gothams to give it up for them.

Best Breakthrough Actor/Actress
The nominees: Mike Birbiglia ("Sleepwalk With Me"), Emayatzy Corinealdi ("Middle of Nowhere"), Melanie Lynskey ("Hello I Must Be Going"), Thure Lindhardt ("Keep The Lights On") and Quvenzhane Wallis ("Beasts of the Southern Wild).
Who will win: Tough call, especially with the odd wrench of Melanie Lynskey (who really "broke through" as an actress two decades ago with "Heavenly Creatures") thrown in the mix. Pretty much any of the nominees are feasible winners, including the host of the ceremony himself, Mike Birbiglia. But one would think it would be too hard to resist the tour-de-force performance of Quvenzhane Wallis, even if the fact that she's only 8 years old might turn a few voters off. And it'll definitely make for a highlight of the ceremony if the adorable and charismatic young actress takes the stage.
Who should win: Quvenzhane Wallis. Everyone nominated in this category is excellent, but Wallis's work in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" is truly revelatory.

Best Breakthrough Director:
The nominees: Zal Batmanglij ("Sound of My Voice"), Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky ("Francine"), Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin ("Now, Forager"), Antonio Mendez Esparza ("Aqui y Alla") and Benh Zeitlin ("Beasts of the Southern Wild")
Who will win: They snubbed the film in the best feature category, but it seems highly unlikely the Gothams will not make up for it by giving the best breakthrough director award to Behn Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild."
Who should win: Beyond Zeitlin, this is a category full of directors from vastly underseen films. Other than "Beasts," I've seen only "Sound of My Voice" and "Francine," both of which are incredibly interesting films from cinematic voices you should watch out for. I'd be happy with any of the three winning, and the exposure might be more important for the likes of Batmanglij and Cassidy and Shatzky than Zeitlin.

Best Documentary
The nominees: "Detropia," "How To Survive a Plague," "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present," "Room 237" and "The Waiting Room"
What will win: Last year Kelly Duane and Katie Galloway's "Better This World" surprised over more high profile nominees like "The Interrupters" and "Hell and Back Again," so perhaps were in for a similar surprise again this year. And while truly any nominee would make a worthy winner, it seems like the New York-centric and extraordinarily powerful AIDS actvism doc "How To Survive a Plague" makes the most sense to take this prize. Though watch out for "Detropia" and "Room 237."
What should win: Having not seen "The Waiting Room" its not an entirely fair decision, but "How To Survive a Plague" has resonated with me strongly some ten months after I saw it at Sundance.

Surveying the Gotham Nominees For 'Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You,' Screening at MoMA Through Monday

Eric Kohn — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 23:01:57 GMT

While the Gothams are the first major film awards ceremony in the Oscar season, there are a lot more movies that qualify for consideration at the IFP-hosted ceremony. This is particularly clear with "Best Film Not Playing a Theater Near You," a category selected by the editors of Filmmaker magazine. This year's nominees are an especially diverse bunch. While none have landed distribution, the winner will receive a one-week theatrical run next year, and all are screening at New York's Museum of Modern Art in a series that starts today and runs through Monday.

Given the Gothams category singling them out, it's no surprise that these aren't films made for commercial reasons. Visions of sad, lonely people trapped by conundrums only they can fully understand, they maintain an unflattering intimacy with their subjects -- which, in two cases, are blatant autobiographical creations. The films either twist genre conventions to reach more audacious thematic heights or defy any easy categorization altogether. Here's an overview of the contenders.

"An Oversimplification of Her Beauty"

Terrence Nance's innovative romantic drama, a partly animated film-within-a-film experiment about the director's relationship woes, initially screened in Sundance's New Frontiers section. That's an apt home for Nance's narrative approach, which drifts between first-person observation, ironic voiceover and delicately crafted animated digressions. Nance's structure begins by sampling his short film "How Would You Feel?" before dovetailing into his recollection of a failed opportunity and then zooming out to observe his inspiration behind the project. A poetic diary that gives the impression of emerging directly from its protagonist's consciousness, it has the magical capacity to clarify Nance's emotional turmoil without forcing it into formula. Criticwire grade: B+

"Kid Thing"

Austin-based filmmakers the Zellner brothers are masters of eccentric comedy both visually audacious and hypnotically strange. Their last feature, "Goliath," culminated in slapstick mayhem, but "Kid-Thing" takes the Zellner brand in a more surreal direction. Angst-riddled 10-year-old Annie (newcomer Sidney Aguirre) spends her days hanging around the outskirts of Austin, wasting her days away with her goat-farmer dad (Nathan Zellner) and his goofball friend (David Zellner). Annie finds an outlet in random acts of social rebellion, chucking flotsam at passing cars, wielding a paint gun at the food mart and hurtling through the forest with aimless energy. And then she happens upon a mysterious hole in the ground near her home, where she hears an old woman's voice (Susan Tyrell) calling for help down below. What happens next is simultaneously creepy and engrossing for the dreamlike mystery surrounding each scene. While the young star's performance dominates, the Zellners are the true stars here, assembling a narrative that's as curiously whimsical as its protagonist. Criticwire grade: B

"Red Flag"

If you don't know him as the director of "Woodpecker" or the recent thriller "Rubberneck," maybe you saw him in recent festival hits like "Supporting Characters" and "Gayby." Then again, you're more likely to have seen him as the perceptive Ray on HBO's "Girls," a role he landed after co-starring in Lena Dunham's "Tiny Furniture." That's the thing about Karpovsky: He's everywhere. How does the guy do it? "Red Flag," his brilliantly unnerving road trip comedy, goes great lengths to show how the filmmaker's investment in his quasi-professional life has the power to consume him. Shot while touring the country for screenings of "Woodpecker," the neurotic story features a fictionalized version of Karpovsky traveling around in a vain attempt to get over an inevitable breakup. Chaos ensues at every stop along the way and never dissipates -- just when it seems like he can't sink any deeper, Karpovsky keeps digging. "Red Flag" veers toward a climactic schoolyard brawl and subsequent finale that creates an odd feeling of uplift without truly resolving anything. While "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is the obvious antecedent for this type of uneasy comedy, Karpovsky's quirks as a struggling filmmaker coping with vanity and ego echo the kind of messy antiheroes typically found in the films of Korean director Hong Sang-soo. Mainly, though, Karpovsky excels at turning his flaws into a grand joke. Criticwire grade: A-

"Sun Don't Shine"

Amy Seimetz's directorial debut is a vivid, suspenseful noir set against a sweltering backdrop of a barebones Florida crime saga. "Two-Lane Blacktop" by way of "Bonnie and Clyde," Seimetz's pulpy tale follows lovers Crystal and Leo (perennial character actress Kate Lyn Sheil and microbudget filmmaker Kentucker Audley) on the lam for mysterious reasons only vaguely made clear near the end of the first act, but even then much of the drama remains deeply ambiguous. Sheil's performance, all scowls and muffled shrieks, provides the ideal counterpoint to Audley's muted delivery. From the shock of its opening shot to the tension of its closing moments, "Sun Don't Shine" conveys mood so eloquently that it's easy to get lost in the proceedings without realizing that so little has happened. It's one of the most impressive debut features to come along in years. Criticwire grade: A-

"Tiger Tail in Blue"

Even more than his excessively prolific colleague Joe Swanberg, director Frank V. Ross is a true American independent: His chatty, meandering films are blatantly low-cost affairs with a precise style that reflects the filmmaker's control. While essentially character studies, Ross draws you into the flow of behavior with an observational technique that recalls Robert Altman; the narrative emerges from watching people go about their often-frantic lives. "Tiger Tail in Blue," which until its MoMA screening has only been viewed online (it premiered on the website No Budget), presents the finest qualities of Ross' perceptive approach to familiar dramas. Ross stars as Christopher, a struggling writer whose nights are consumed by a deadbeat waiter gig, preventing him from spending anything but a few hours with his high school teacher wife (Rebecca Spence). As a result, he latches onto the flirtatious advances of his co-worker (Megan Mercier). Alternating between these settings, "Tiger Tail in Blue" benefits greatly from John Medeski and Chris Speed's expressive soundtrack, which ekes out emotions that Ross' characters never fully verbalize. The movie is delicately scripted to give the perception of building up to some kind of climax, to the point where even when it arrives at an obvious twist, the subtlety of reactions infuse the material with surprising depth. While Christopher constantly attempts to joke his way out of difficult situations, Ross keenly shows the limitation of humor to mask deep-seated insecurities. Criticwire grade: A

"Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You" begins today at MoMA and continues through November 19. For screening times and other information, go here.

MoMA To Screen Gotham Awards' 5 Nominees for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You

Beth Hanna — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:14:01 GMT

MoMA's Department of Film, in collaboration with Independent Film Project and Filmmaker Magazine, will screen the five nominees competing for the Gotham Awards' Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You title. This year's screenings, running November 16-19, include David Zellner's "Kid Thing," Terence Nance's "An Oversimplification of Her Beauty," Alex Karpovsky's "Red Flag," Amy Seimetz' "Sun Don't Shine" and Frank V. Ross' "Tiger Tail in Blue."

The nominees were selected by Filmmaker's editorial staff and MoMA associate film curator Joshua Siegel. The films represent a sampling of the best currently undistributed works from the American festival circuit. The winner gets the sweet deal of a $15K grant, ad support in the New York Times and a one-week run of his or her film at Cinema Village.

Descriptions of the five nominated films:

Kid-Thing

Director: David Zellner

The Zellner Brothers have been making loopy yet emotionally piercing independent films for years, but the bizarre and haunting Kid-Thing contains a new level of gravity. Ten-year-old Annie is left by absent parents to her own devices in rural Texas, filling her days with random moments of solitary vandalism. One afternoon, from a hole in the ground, she hears the voice of an old woman trapped in an underground well. Unsure of whether she’s the devil or just someone who might like a PB&J—to say nothing of a ladder—Annie finds herself thrust into an unexpected metaphysical crisis.

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty

Director: Terence Nance

Nance’s inventive and charming An Oversimplification of her Beauty defies easy categorization. Using documentary footage, animation, and Nance’s own hypnotic score, it playfully ponders, reenacts, and explodes the director’s own unrequited love affair, even drafting in Nance’s would-be paramour as co-star. Formally audacious, utterly sincere, and impossibly cool, Oversimplification yokes themes of romantic indecision and interpersonal communication in the digital age to larger dialogues about the nature of memory and the meaning of life.

Red Flag

Director: Alex Karpovsky

The version of himself that Karpovsky plays in his laugh-out-loud comedy Red Flag is an even more hilarious reinvention of the filmmaker-actor's inimitable on-screen persona—familiar from his comic turns in Lena Dunham’s Girls and Tiny Furniture, and in Madeleine Olnek’s Co-Dependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (a Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You nominee in 2011). Newly single thanks to his aversion to marriage, Karpovsky embarks on a road trip throughout the American south to screen his second feature Woodpecker at college campuses and indie cinemas. He conscripts his reluctant friend Henry to go along for the ride (Onur Tukel, all shaggy-dog warmth). Inevitably, they get mixed up in series of madcap misadventures, including Karpovsky’s one-night stand with a congenial stalker. Gleefully indulging the myriad indignities of a life in microbudget cinema, Karpovsky's self-deprecating star turn and docu-fictional style transcend the very limitations the movie spends much of its time sending up. 84 min.

Sun Don’t Shine

Director: Amy Seimetz

Combine Bonnie and Clyde, Wanda, Badlands, Panic in Needle Park and True Romance, then throw them all into the steamy backwoods of the Florida Everglades, and you'll have a taste of what's going on in Sun Don't Shine, Seimetz's plaintive ballad of doomed lovers veering off the blacktop. Leo and Crystal are drifters in a desperate embrace, running from something awful, with something even worse hidden in the trunk of their car. Inspired by 1970s American cinema, Seimetz relishes the overwrought pleasures of genre filmmaking while capturing something authentic and romantic along the way.

Tiger Tail in Blue

Director: Frank V. Ross

A subtle and affecting naturalistic drama, this sixth feature by Chicago-based mumblecore writer-director Ross focuses on a recently married couple—Chris (played by Ross himself), an aspiring writer who waits tables at night, and Melody (Rebecca Spence), a high school teacher—whose conflicting work schedules keep them apart. Chris finds a more palpable kinship, and glimmering sexual tension, with Brandy (Mercier), a sassy restaurant colleague. Shot by Mike Gibisser (the director of the excellent but little seen Finally, Lillian and Dan), this is a beautifully calibrated piece of observational cinema that is emotionally compelling without ever imposing itself upon the viewer.

The Spoils: Could Oscar Award the Pig Tricks and Swamp-Rat Magic of 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'?

Jay A. Fernandez — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:42:11 GMT

Ever since its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” has been a recurring theme in indie-film fans’ excited chatter about their favorite moviegoing experiences this year. As a result, the film has been charging toward awards season like an Auroch over the mud-hardened Southern steppes. And justifiably so.

Regardless of qualitative judgment (and the film has also seen some vehemently negative reactions), Zeitlin’s work is undoubtedly original — its look at Southern Louisiana bayou survivors combating poverty, personal loss and potential calamity shows audiences a world they truly have never seen before. “Beasts” has long been part of best feature discussions. Zeitlin has been mentioned for best director honors, and also for the screenplay he wrote with Lucy Alibar.

And young Quvenzhané Wallis, the non-actor who plays the film’s six-year-old protagonist Hushpuppy, has been kicked around as a potential acting nominee for her startlingly raw and fierce performance. She, like the film itself, shows unexpected force for having such a diminutive presence — “Beasts” is that rare example of the fantastical and the drearily real blended effectively on a tiny scale.

For all its virtues, this is never truer than with “Beasts’” artful use of visual effects, a topic not often associated with independent films. Usually reserved for the Middle Earth-“Avatar” realm, visual effects have increasingly been employed by young filmmakers who have learned how to harness the cheaper technology to feed intimate, character-driven storytelling. Most filmmakers, regardless of the scale of the film, will tell you that all that gadgetry and gimmickry is most shrewdly used as a tool to help tell the best version of the story.

That the “Beasts” crew had peanuts to work with — the VFX budget was less than $100,000 of the total production budget, which landed between $1.5 and $1.8 million — was only part of the reason Zetilin and special effects unit director Ray Tintori angled for a cheap, old-school approach to the Auroch effects. Zeitlin says that from the beginning the mythical creatures, which thaw from the melting ice cap and steadily stampede their way toward Hushpuppy and her sick father’s lone shack in the bayou, were meant to look like the mental creation of a child.

"It’s not as important what these things do as much as how they’re created and the fact that they emerge from the organic world of Hushpuppy,” Zeitlin says of the Aurochs, which he admits were originally written on a larger scale. “They’re not created with technology and CGI, so they feel like the creatures are being created the way that Hushpuppy would create them if she was making a movie. That was always the key principle, and then that basically took precedence over everything else.”

So while Zeitlin and his actors shot live-action footage at the edge of the water in Southern Louisiana (a region named the Bathtub in the film), Tintori was holed up for five months in an old firehouse in the New Orleans neighborhood of Marigny improvising with a special-unit crew, some $5 swamp-rat furs, a stolen piece of the “Green Hornet” set and a bunch of pigs.

“Every shot was this massive puzzle,” says Tintori, whose first film job was on “Aeon Flux” for his former babysitter, director Karyn Kusama. “I don’t think anyone was desperate enough to work with animals in costumes before.”

That’s right: None of the shots of the humongous aurochs are digital. They all were shot with live pigs wearing costumes and tusks to resemble something like bison. That kind of low-rent trickery was essential to both staying under budget and attaining the look of dark childhood wonder evoked by films such as “Willow,” “Ghostbusters” and “The NeverEnding Story.” Tintori and his team spent months poring over old issues of the special-effects magazine Cinefex, experimenting with the pigs, dumpster diving and building models to prepare for the nine days they actually had to do the filming once Zeitlin was finished with the actors’ live-action work.

“Every single shot, you’d start having no idea how you were going to do it, and you’d come up with all these neat tricks,” says Tintori. What they also learned was that pigs were more trainable than they had expected, able to hit marks and eye lines, even kneel. “We had a remarkable amount of control over the animals,” Tintori says. So while the small budget limited the scope of what they could do with the animals, their intelligence led to additional scenes then written into the script.

“Each scene in the movie that’s in there is basically one pig trick,” says Zeitlin with a laugh. “Each pig trick is a defining set piece in the film.”

Eventually, visual effects supervisors Brendan Bollomo and Catherine Tate took over on the digital side, while additional post-production effects were farmed out to students at the School of Animation and Visual Effects at San Francisco’s Academy of Art University. This “extremely articulate handheld design,” as Zeitlin describes it, included compositing the pigs into shots with the human actors, erasing straps from the costumes and adding a hand-held camera effect so that the beasts’ footfalls made the frame shake from the impact. Even as the VFX work became more sophisticated in a “District 9”-“Children of Men” can’t-see-the-seams way, the dual mandate remained keeping things inexpensive and making them fit the overall aesthetic of a child fantasy in a realistic context.

The end result has been strangely effecting for audiences. The majestic presence of the aurochs is key to representing both Hushpuppy’s wonder at her tiny place in a gigantic universe and her resilience in the face of forces she can’t control.

What the film is unlikely to affect — despite its quiet power — is any kind of awards recognition for its use of visual effects. The Academy inevitably nominates a handful of the biggest blockbusters, and the Spirits don’t include the category at all. But in recent years, any number of lower-budget features that have been in contention for other Spirit awards have also made strategic use of visual effects — from “Black Swan” and “The Last Exorcism” to “Another Earth,” “Take Shelter,” “Melancholia” and “Monsters.”

While no one actually wants to see any awards ceremony get longer, if the goal of the Spirits and the Gothams is to reward filmmakers and crew for creating art with few resources, then visual effects is as worthy an aspect as best supporting male or best cinematography. The board of Film Independent, which runs the Spirits, annually reviews its categories but has no plans to add any this year.

Maybe it’s time to change that. “Let’s start that movement,” says Tintori, who suggests calling a new VFX award for indie films the “Broke-Ass Special Effects Award.”

Even if the VFX in something like “Beasts” don’t hit you on the Wow level of giant robots street fighting or entire cities folding in on themselves, they are perfectly capable of provoking a different, but equally powerful, emotional response. Just look at Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone," in which Marion Cotillard becomes legless for much of the movie. And when done with nickels and dimes — and not tens of millions of dollars — it seems to invite a different kind of praise.

“I never like to think that there are two worlds,” says Zeitlin. “You always want everybody to be playing major-league baseball. You don’t want to be a minor league team. I do feel the way that technical awards get credited is purely technical, and that’s not the way you would evaluate cinematography or acting. Cinematography has a personality, it has a tangible artistry to it. I would love for there to be more talk about the visual effects of this movie, because I think they’re incredibly beautiful. They’re real works of art that were a collaboration between a practical team and a visual effects team. We were very focused on, 'What is the personality of this visual effect? Does it have the personality of our characters? Does it emerge with the same texture as our story?' A lot of times that element gets ignored. When a visual effect comes into a film and it doesn’t have the right personality, that’s when the effect is bad. It doesn’t matter how well it’s composited in if it doesn’t ring the same way that the story does.”

Gotham Awards Announce Audience Award Nominees

Peter Knegt — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:12:49 GMT

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) has announced the five nominees for the 3rd Annual Gotham Independent Film Audience Award. Voted on by film fans online, the Gotham Independent Film Audience Award is the only award at the annual Gothams for which the public has a vote.

“For the third year, we are thrilled to continue IFP’s Gotham Independent Film Audience Award powered by Festival Genius,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of the IFP. “For the IFP, it is the perfect opportunity to offer five publicly lauded films, which have been spotlighted on the festival circuit by the viewing public, yet another platform to garner audience support. We are very proud to be able to offer an award that reflects the voice of collective film-goers as part of the Gotham Independent Film Awards.”

The first round voting took place from October 18th-31st, during which 31 audience award-winning films from the top 50 US and Canadian film festivals were narrowed through online voting to the five films with the highest number of votes. Round two of voting on these five films begins on November 5th and will end November 18th at 11:59 pm EST, with the winner revealed at the Gotham Awards ceremony in New York on November 26th. Filmgoers can vote online for their favorite film here.

The nominees:

ARTIFACT
Director: Bartholomew Cubbins
Producers: Jared Leto, Emma Ludbrook

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Director: Benh Zeitlin
Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey, Josh Penn

BURN: ONE YEAR ON THE FRONT LINES OF THE BATTLE TO SAVE DETROIT
Directors: Brenna Sanchez, Tom Putnam
Producers: Brenna Sanchez, Tom Putnam

THE INVISIBLE WAR
Director: Kirby Dick
Producers: Amy Ziering, Tanner King Barklow

ONCE IN A LULLABY: THE PS 22 CHORUS STORY
Director: Jonathan Kalafer
Producers: Steve Kalafer, Jonathan Kalafer, Bao Nguyen

Read the Gotham Award Nominating Committees' Reviews of Their Favorite Movies

Matt Singer — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:05:29 GMT

The Gotham Awards, whose 2012 nominees were announced this morning, are an interesting awards season anomaly. They're handed out very early in the year -- and their nominees are chosen not by members of an enormous and anonymous academy, but by small groups of film critics and programmers. If you're curious why some films get nominated and others get snubbed, it can be informative to cycle back to the nominating critics' reviews. If, for example, you were surprised that "Beasts of the Southern Wild" didn't pick up a Best Feature nod, it could be worth noting that juror Karina Longworth of the LA Weekly didn't particularly care for the film ("The film is never less than a wonder to look at; it's also rarely anything more," she wrote from Sundance).

With that in mind, I rounded up all the jurors' reviews of each of the movies they selected (excluding the Best Documentary category, which was largely chosen by festival programmers). Clicking on each movie's title below also takes you to their newly redesigned Criticwire pages, where you'll find lots more reviews and grades from dozens of other film critics.

The winners of the 2012 Gotham Awards will be announced on Monday, November 26th.

2012 Gotham Awards Nominees and Nominating Jurors' Reviews

Best Feature:
(Jury: Scott Foundas, Ann Hornaday, Glenn Kenny, Karina Longworth, and Wesley Morris)

"Bernie" - Hornaday, Longworth
"The Loneliest Planet" - Kenny, Longworth
"The Master" - Foundas, Hornaday, Kenny, Longworth, Morris
"Middle of Nowhere" - Hornaday, Longworth
"Moonrise Kingdom" -Hornaday, Kenny, Longworth, Morris

Best Ensemble Performance
(Jury: Peter Debruge, Ed Gonzalez, Eric Kohn, Leah Rozen, Elizabeth Weitzman)

"Bernie"- Kohn
"Moonrise Kingdom" - Debruge, Kohn, Weitzman
"Safety Not Guaranteed" - Kohn, Rozen, Weitzman
"Silver Linings Playbook" - Kohn
"Your Sister's Sister" - Kohn, Weitzman

Breakthrough Director
(Jury: Scott Foundas, Ann Hornaday, Glenn Kenny, Karina Longworth, and Wesley Morris)

Zal Batmanglij for "Sound of My Voice" - Foundas, Longworth, Morris
Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky for "Francine" - No reviews
Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin for "Now, Forager" - No reviews
Antonio Méndez Esparza for "Aquí y Allá" - No reviews
Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild" - Foundas, Hornaday, Kenny, Longworth

Breakthrough Actor
(Jury: Peter Debruge, Ed Gonzalez, Eric Kohn, Leah Rozen, Elizabeth Weitzman)

Mike Birbiglia in "Sleepwalk with Me" - Debruge, Kohn, Rozen, Weitzman
Emayatzy Corinealdi in "Middle of Nowhere" - Weitzman
Thure Lindhardt in "Keep the Lights On" - Gonzalez, Kohn, Weitzman
Melanie Lynskey in "Hello, I Must Be Going" - Debruge, Rozen
Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" - Debruge, Gonzalez, Kohn

Gotham Awards Announce 2012 Nominations

Peter Knegt — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:58:25 GMT

"Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Bernie," "Middle of Nowhere," and "Moonrise Kingdom" led the 22nd Gotham Independent Film Award nominations with two apiece, it was announced this morning.

It was -- as always -- a rather surprising and occasionally wacky batch of nominations, with perhaps the biggest snub coming with "Beasts" missing out on the best feature category in favor of unsuspected nominee Julia Loktev's "The Loneliest Planet."

"Planet" was joined in that category by Richard Linklater's "Bernie," Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," Ava DuVernay's "Middle of Nowhere" and Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom." Indiewire's predictions earlier this week had suggested "The Master" and "Moonrise" would be joined by "Beasts," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "The Sessions."

READ MORE: Ava DuVernay and 10 More Trail-Blazing Black Female Directors

"Silver Linings" managed to score a nom in the best ensemble category (and its director David O. Russell was already announced as a Career Tribute honoree, along with Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard and Jeff Skoll), but "The Sessions" was snubbed completely. Other films that didn't make the cut in any category: "Arbitrage," "Compliance," "End of Watch," "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and "Smashed."

In the documentary category, four Sundance premieres -- Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's "Detropia," David France's "How To Survive a Plague," Matthew Akers's "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present" and Rodney Ascher's "Room 237" -- will go up against Peter Nick's "The Waiting Room," which premiered at Full Frame. Snubbed docs included "The Central Park Five," "The House I Live In," "The Invisible War," "The Queen of Versailles" and "West of Memphis."

One of the weirdest nominations came in the breakthrough actor category, where Melanie Lynskey was nominated for "Hello, I Must Be Going." While there are clearly a few ways to define "breakthrough," by most standards Lynskey's came in 1994's "Heavenly Creatures," and she's enjoyed a consistent career ever since. She'll be up against genuine newcomers Emayatzy Corinealdi ("Middle of Nowhere"), Thure Lindhardt ("Keep The Lights On"), Quvenzhané Wallis ("Beasts of the Southern Wild"), and Gotham Awards host Mike Birbiglia ("Sleepwalk With Me").

The nominations were decided by various small committees listed below, including Indiewire's own Eric Kohn (and they give clues as to a few snubs... Karina Longworth, for example, negatively reviewed "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and was 20% of the best feature vote).

Nominating Committee for Best Feature and Breakthrough Director:
Scott Foundas, Associate Program Director, Film Society of Lincoln Center; Contributing Editor, Film Comment
Ann Hornaday, Film Critic, The Washington Post
Glenn Kenny, Chief Film Critic, MSN Movies
Karina Longworth, Film Writer, LA Weekly & Village Voice
Wesley Morris, Film Critic, The Boston Globe

Nominating Committee for Best Ensemble Performance and Breakthrough Actor:
Peter Debruge, Senior Film Critic/Associate Features Editor, Variety
Ed Gonzalez, Film Editor and Co-Founder, Slant Magazine
Eric Kohn, Lead Film Critic, Indiewire
Leah Rozen, Movie Critic, The Wrap.com and freelance writer
Elizabeth Weitzman, Film Critic, New York Daily News

Nominating Committee for Best Documentary:
Cynthia Fuchs, Film-TV Editor, PopMatters
Tom Hall, Artistic Director, Sarasota Film Festival
Rachel Rosen, Artistic Director, San Francisco Film Society
Ronnie Scheib, Film Critic, Variety
Sky Sitney, Festival Director, AFI-Discovery Channel Silverdocs Festival

Nominating Committee for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You:
Joshua Siegel, Associate Curator, Department of Film, Museum of Modern Art; and members of the editorial staff of Filmmaker Magazine: Scott Macaulay (Editor-in-Chief), Nick Dawson, Brandon Harris, Ray Pride, Alicia Van Couvering

The Gotham Awards ceremony will be held on Monday, November 26th at Cipriani Wall Street. Full list of nominations on the next page (and click on each film title for their Criticwire pages).

Best Feature

Bernie
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Ginger Sledge, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, producers (Millennium Entertainment)

The Loneliest Planet
Julia Loktev, director; Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Helge Albers, Marie Therese Guirgis, producers (Sundance Selects)

The Master
Paul Thomas Anderson, director; Joanne Sellar, Daniel Lupi, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, producers (The Weinstein Company)

Middle of Nowhere
Ava DuVernay, director; Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes, producers (AFFRM and Participant Media)

Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson, director; Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, producers (Focus Features)

Best Documentary

Detropia
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, directors; Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Craig Atkinson, producers (Loki Films)

How to Survive a Plague
David France, director; Howard Gertler, David France, producers (Sundance Selects)

Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present
Matthew Akers, director; Jeff Dupre, Maro Chermayeff, producers (HBO Documentary Films and Music Box Films)

Room 237
Rodney Ascher, director; Tim Kirk, producer (IFC Midnight)

The Waiting Room
Peter Nicks, director; Peter Nicks, Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch, producers (International Film Circuit)

Best Ensemble Performance

Bernie
Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey (Millennium Entertainment)

Moonrise Kingdom
Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban (Focus Features)

Safety Not Guaranteed
Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Film District)

Silver Linings Playbook
Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher (The Weinstein Company)

Your Sister’s Sister
Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass (IFC Films)

Breakthrough Director

Zal Batmanglij for Sound of My Voice (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky for Francine (Factory 25 and The Film Sales Company)

Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin for Now, Forager (Argot Pictures)

Antonio Méndez Esparza for Aquí y Allá (Here and There) (Torch Films)

Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Breakthrough Actor

Mike Birbiglia in Sleepwalk with Me (IFC Films)

Emayatzy Corinealdi in Middle of Nowhere (AFFRM and Participant Media)

Thure Lindhardt in Keep the Lights On (Music Box Films)

Melanie Lynskey in Hello, I Must Be Going (Oscilloscope Laboratories)

Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You

Kid-Thing
David Zellner, director; Nathan Zellner, Producer

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty
Terence Nance, director; Terence Nance, Andrew Corkin, James Bartlett, producers

Red Flag
Alex Karpovsky, director; Alex Karpovsky, Michael Bowes, producers

Sun Don’t Shine
Amy Seimetz, director; Kim Sherman, Amy Seimetz, producers

Tiger Tail in Blue
Frank V. Ross, director; Adam Donaghey, Drew Durepos, producers

Also, for the second consecutive year, IFP is proud present the euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant, a $25,000 cash award for an alumna of IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs. This grant aims to further the careers of emerging women directors by supporting the completion, distribution and audience engagement strategies of their first feature film.

The nominees are:

Leah Meyerhoff, director, I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS

Stacie Passon, director, CONCUSSION

Visra Vichit Vadakan, KARAOKE GIRL

Previewing the Gotham Award Nominations: Which Films Will Make The Cut Thursday?

Peter Knegt — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:31:55 GMT

On Thursday, the nominations for the 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards will act as the first major moment of the 2012-13 awards season, with nominations being announced for seven competitive categories.

What should we expect? Well, the nominations could give us some insight into what lies ahead -- but don't expect to see excessive Oscar crossover. On average, a couple of films that are nominated for Gotham's top prize -- best feature -- also end up getting a best picture nomination. Last year, it was both "The Descendants" and "The Tree of Life," while the year before a record three crossed over: "Black Swan," "The Kids Are All Right" and "Winter's Bone." Mind you, back in 2007 and 2008, no films overlapped.

Keep in mind that the nominations are produced by a handful of small committees, a process that encourages quirky and unexpected additions and makes predicting the nominations next to impossible. Ditto Gotham's rather vague submission criteria, which notes the following:

-Filmmaking with a point of view.
Each Gotham Independent Film Award™ will be given to individual films or performers in films where the vision of an individual director, producer, writer or writer/director is abundantly evident, and where the film cannot be classically defined as a “work for hire.”

-Feature-length (defined as over 70 minutes).

-Films made with an economy of means.

-Films must be American.
The film must be directed and/or produced by a US born or based filmmaker.

-Screening availability by the Nominating Committee.
The film must be submitted on DVD by the deadline or made available for screening by nominating committee. (Not applicable to the Festival Genius Audience Award)

-Independent Distribution.
Films must be scheduled for a theatrical or digital platform or Pay TV release during calendar year 2012 (Midnight January 1 – 11:59 pm December 31). See special criteria for cable and digital platforms below.

-Theatrical release.
The release can be through a specialty division of a studio, an independent distributor, or via self-distribution. The film must be screened for paid admission in a commercial motion picture theatre in New York City and/or Los Angeles County. It must run for at least seven consecutive days. The film must be advertised and marketed during the New York and/or Los Angeles County run in a manner considered normal and customary to the industry. The film must be publicly exhibited by means of 16mm, 35mm or 70mm film, or in a digital format, delivered to the screen by an image and sound file format suitable for exhibition in existing commercial cinema sites.

Now place these rules against "Silver Linings Playbook" (too expensive at $26 million? Though, mind you, last year the $32 million budgeted "Tree of Life" made the cut), "The Master" (even more expensive at $35 million, though again, see "Tree of Life"), "The Sessions" (American co-produced and set, it's directed by Aussie Ben Lewin) and "Promised Land" (an indie to be sure, but will the maybe-not-done film submit screeners in time? The fact that the film's star and screenwriter Matt Damon is getting honored at the ceremony suggests it is a possibility.)

Do they even qualify? Maybe. Though some, like British production "Anna Karenina," Spanish production "The Impossible," and studio releases like "Argo" and "Looper," we can probably count out for sure.

And then there's the "breakthrough" categories (actor and filmmaker), which has been confusing in the past: Greta Gerwig was considered a "breakthrough performance" for "Greenberg," despite being well known in the independent film world. Ben Foster was named for "The Messenger" in 2009, even though he'd had many notable previous roles.

That said, there's no shortage of possibilities this year in any category. Roughly, it seems like the best feature race could boil down to any of the following 20 films, baring any of them don't end up qualifying:

• Nicolas Jarecki's "Arbitrage" (FILM PAGE)
• Benh Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (FILM PAGE)
• Richard Linklater's "Bernie" (FILM PAGE)
• Craig Zobel's "Compliance" (FILM PAGE)
• Whit Stilman's "Damsels in Distress" (FILM PAGE)
• Ira Sachs' "Keep The Lights On" (FILM PAGE)
• Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" (FILM PAGE)
• Ava DuVernay's "Middle of Nowhere" (FILM PAGE)
• Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" (FILM PAGE)
• David Chase's "Not Fade Away" (FILM PAGE)
• Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (FILM PAGE)
• Gus Van Sant's "Promised Land" (FILM PAGE)
• Jake Schreier's "Robot and Frank" (FILM PAGE)
• Colin Trevorrow's "Safety Not Guaranteed" (FILM PAGE)
• Ben Lewin's "The Sessions" (FILM PAGE)
• Mike Birbiglia's "Sleepwalk With Me" (FILM PAGE)
• James Ponsoldt's "Smashed" (FILM PAGE)
• Zal Batmanglij's "Sound of My Voice" (FILM PAGE)
• Lynn Shelton's "Your Sister's Sister" (FILM PAGE)

Also, remember these films come Independent Spirit Award time, as they should also make up the bulk of nominees there (save "The Master" and "Silver Linings" which definitely have budgets that exceed Spirit Award rules).

It's been a fantastic year for American independent film -- and perhaps a fairly Oscar friendly one as well.

Of the 20 noted, a few have significant chances at a best picture nomination come Oscar time ("Beasts of the Southern Wild," "The Master," "Silver Linings," and perhaps "Hitchcock," "Promised Land," though we haven't seen them yet). Sundance favorites like "Compliance," "Middle of Nowhere," and "Sleepwalk With Me might prove a little too independently minded for Academy tastes (especially given the multitude of heavyweight studio options not being mentioned here), but that is why awards like the Gothams and Spirits are important.

Just for fun, Indiewire took a stab at predicting tomorrow's nominations (though we didn't attempt the "best film not playing at a theater near you" category, if only because that one's ten times as impossible to figure out as the rest). You can find those predictions on the next page. Check back with us Thursday morning for the actual nominees.

Best Feature:
Predicted five:
Beasts of the Southern Wild (FILM PAGE)
The Master (FILM PAGE)
Moonrise Kingdom (FILM PAGE)
The Sessions (FILM PAGE)
Silver Linings Playbook (FILM PAGE)

But watch out for:
Bernie (FILM PAGE)
Compliance (FILM PAGE)
Damsels in Distress (FILM PAGE)
Hitchcock (FILM PAGE)
Sleepwalk With Me (FILM PAGE)

Best Documentary:
Predicted five:
The Central Park Five (FILM PAGE)
Detropia (FILM PAGE)
The House I Live In (FILM PAGE)
How To Survive a Plague (FILM PAGE)
The Invisible War (FILM PAGE)

But watch out for:
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (FILM PAGE)
Bully (FILM PAGE)
The Queen of Versailles (FILM PAGE)
Tchoupitoulas (FILM PAGE)
West of Memphis (FILM PAGE)

Best Cast Ensemble:
The predicted five:
Bernie
Hitchcock
Moonrise Kingdom
Smashed (FILM PAGE)
Silver Linings Playbook

But watch out for:
Damsels in Distress
The Master
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (FILM PAGE)
The Sessions
Your Sister's Sister (FILM PAGE)

Best Breakthrough Director:
The predicted five:
Mike Birbigilia, Sleepwalk With Me
Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Ana DuVernay, Middle of Nowhere (FILM PAGE)
Ben Lewin, The Sessions
Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

But watch out for:
David Chase, Not Fade Away (his first film, but hardly a breakthrough) (FILM PAGE)
Sacha Gervasi, Hitchcock (his first narrative feature, but has done docs)
Nicolas Jarecki, Arbitrage (his first narrative feature, but has done docs) (FILM PAGE)
Jake Schreier, Robot and Frank (FILM PAGE)
Colin Trevorrow, Safety Not Guaranteed (FILM PAGE)

Best Breakthrough Performance:
The predicted five:
Emayatzy Corinealdi, Middle of Nowhere
John Magaro, Not Fade Away
Nate Parker, Arbitrage
Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Smashed

But watch out for:
Jared Gilman, Moonrise Kingdom
Kara Hayward, Moonrise Kingdom
Dwight Henry, Beasts of the Southern Wild
Thure Lindhardt, Keep The Lights On (FILM PAGE)
Dreama Walker, Compliance

Peter Knegt is Indiewire's Senior Editor and awards analyst. Follow him on Twitter and on his blog.

Marion Cotillard to be Honored at the 22nd Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards

Justin Krajeski — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 13:00:00 GMT

Marion Cotillard will receive a career tribute at the Independent Filmmaker Project's 22nd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards ceremony Monday, Nov. 26, at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

"Marion Cotillard is not only a delight to watch, she is one of the most talented women working in cinema around the world today," said IFP executive director Joana Vincente. "We are so honored to present this tribute to a woman of her magnitude."

Previously announced Gotham tributees include Matt Damon, David O. Russell and Participant Media founder Jeff Skoll.

Cotillard's extensive credits include Luc Besson's "Taxi" film series, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's "A Very Long Engagement," Rob Marshall's "Nine," Christopher Nolan's "Inception," Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," Steven Soderbergh's "Contagion" and Christopher Nolan’s "The Dark Knight Rises." In 2008, she won the best actress Oscar for starring in "La vie en rose." She will next be seen starring in Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone," which Sony Pictures Classics will release in November.

Matt Damon, David O. Russell and Jeff Skoll to Receive IFP Career Tributes at Gotham Awards

Jay A. Fernandez — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 14:05:45 GMT

Matt Damon, David O. Russell and Jeff Skoll have been chosen by the Independent Filmmaker Project to receive career tributes at the 2012 Gotham Independent Film Awards on November 26.

“It is with pride and great pleasure that we give tribute to these three luminaries, each of whom plays an amazing role in expanding the language of film, breaking boundaries along the way,” said IFP executive director Joana Vicente. “Each has a unique voice and clearly defined vision of cinema for today’s generation, bringing perspective and relevance to the film world today.”

The honors will be presented along with seven competitive awards at the organization’s 22nd annual event, which will take place at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

Damon, Russell and Skoll, the philanthropist and social entrepreneur who founded Participant Media, were chosen because of their independent film roots and support for independent visions. Damon has the socially conscious drama “Promised Land,” which was produced by Participant, hitting theaters in January through Focus Features, while Russell’s latest, “Silver Linings Playbook,” opens in November through the Weinstein Co.

IFP Schedules Gotham Awards for Nov. 26

Jay A. Fernandez — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:01:04 GMT

IFP will hold the 22nd annual Gotham Independent Film Awards ceremony November 26 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. Five competitive categories, including best feature, best documentary, breakthrough actor, breakthrough director and best ensemble performance, are now open for submissions through September 14. Nominations will be announced October 18.

IFP also will partner again with MoMA to present the Best Film Not Playing At a Theatre Near You public screening series in November. This sixth competitive category awards the winning filmmaker a grant through Royal Bank of Canada’s Emerging Artists Project.

“We are always proud to present the Gotham Awards as a showcase of the year's best in independent film," said IFP executive director Joana Vicente. “As the true home of indie film, it is our goal to shine a light on these projects and all the hard work behind each film. And the Gothams are always an exciting opportunity to get a glimpse of the nominees to come throughout award season."

The Gothams are typically the first industry awards given as the kudos season begins late in the year.

"Young Adult" Isn't as Awkward As Jason Reitman Thinks

Eric Kohn — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:27:13 GMT

Charlize Theron might not be her own worst critic, but she's certainly the most honest. Accepting a tribute at the Gotham Awards last week, she singled out Jason Reitman, director of "Young Adult." She didn't mince words: "Jason," she said, "thank you for letting me play such a bitch."

Reitman wasn't crazy about the assessment. During a public conversation before a screening of the film at the 92Y, he said that the actress must have been joking, but that her denouement nonetheless "cheapens the character." That's a curious stab at political correctness for a director married to the idea of politically incorrect filmmaking, an avowed libertarian whose ideology lingers in each of his four features. But let's assume he's just covering himself and take Theron at her word -- or whatever word is preferable to the unseemly one she chose.

"Young Adult" certainly emphasizes its protagonist's underwhelming qualities. There are glimmers of dark brilliance in this rough assessment of a woman out of synch with the world around her; indeed, the movie falls short only by not following its disgruntled heroine far enough off the deep end.

Reitman and his "Juno" screenwriter, Diablo Cody, introduce Mavis Gary as a Minneapolis-based ghostwriter and lonely divorcée who often starts her days after a hard night, removing the previous evening's falsies and chugging soda from the bottle. The story chronicles her attempt to break this cycle; of course, she makes things worse.

Much of the movie revolves around Mavis' return to her drab suburban hometown, Mercury, in a misguided attempt to win back her now-married and settled high school sweetheart (a bland Patrick Wilson). It's a lost cause from the outset, destined to implode at any moment. While she finds counsel with the irascible Matt Freehauf (Patton Oswalt, perfectly cast), the portly classmate Mavis forgot that she used to bully in high school, she ignores his advice to move on.

With self destruction as destiny, Reitman has made the equivalent of a Roland Emmerich disaster movie writ small, an apocalyptic scenario internalized by a single person. He intends the movie, as he has stated in interviews, to place viewers in a state of incredible uneasiness by inhabiting Mavis' screwy perspective in all its unflattering glory.

However, the movie amounts to a restrained, unadventurous experience. The nervous comedy has nothing on numerous other recent projects and characters designed with comparable intentions: The mumbling door-to-door salesman of Ronald Bronstein's "Frownland," Bobcat Goldthwait's dog-fellating protagonist in "Sleeping Dogs Lie," Alex Ross Perry's still-unreleased sibling-rivalry-roadtrip "The Color Wheel," the sexually misguided stars of the Danish TV series (and hilarious feature-length adaptation) "Klown" or your average episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." By comparison, "Young Adult" makes discomfort seem glamorous.

Although Mavis is in every scene of "Young Adult," its filmmakers don't relate to her. In fact, not unlike Ryan Bingham in Reitman's "Up in the Air," society punishes Mavis for evading domesticity. I mean that literally: In the final confrontation, her Mercury, Minn. peers stare her down and reject her disgruntled ways in a scene that recalls the climax of "The Wicker Man."

When Mavis doesn't face punishment, her fury infuses "Young Adult" with a naughty energy. The strongest scenes involve her unlikely chemistry with the portly Matt, an equally dissatisfied -- and rejected -- thirtysomething still crippled from his time as a high school outcast.

But in this regard, "Young Adult" is little more than a watered-down version of "The Color Wheel," a black-and-white odyssey in which director Perry and his co-star Carlen Altman play an obnoxious, borderline loathsome brother-and-sister pair only truly capable of relating to each other. Alman's character has much in common with Mavis, although she brings more transparency to her passive-aggressiveness and her brother makes things worse. Despite their constant squabbling, they find a bizarre kind of solace in each other. Perry takes them to a beautifully subversive happy ending.

By contrast, "Young Adult" only toys with the possibility of a twisted resolution to Mavis' plight; it's a cautionary tale for bitter people. This is Reitman's tamest work and his most controlled, with a cringe factor that only scrapes the surface. Awkward comedy makes us recoil in terror because it bears a strong resemblance to feelings we experience in real life, providing a new context that endows it with humor. (You know how terrible mistakes become funny years down the line? Movies can speed up that process to milliseconds.)

But Cody and Reitman don't much like Mavis, or at least fail to make her sympathetic enough for her miscalculations to feel like anything more than a rascally bachelorette receiving her comeuppance. There's surely a better word for Mavis than "bitch," but Theron had the right idea.

criticWIRE grade: B

HOW WILL IT PLAY? Paramount has been slowly building buzz around the movie with "secret screenings" around the country, the promise of a Cody-Reitman team-up along with interest in Theron's performance should put the movie on people's radars for opening weekend. But mixed word-of-mouth and an unlikable protagonist will likely prevent it from doing much business beyond that, and may hamper its awards season prospects as well.

iPOP | Felicity Jones at the Gothams and Other Pics From the Week

Nigel M Smith — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:55:17 GMT

It's been a big week for "Like Crazy" star Felicity Jones. On Monday, the British beauty beat out some fierce competition (including "Martha Marcy May Marlene"'s Elizabeth Olsen) to snag Best Breakthrough Performance. And on Thursday, the National Board of Review awarded her with their Breakthrough Performance award (she tied with "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"'s Rooney Mara).

IW chatted backstage with Jones shortly following her win at the Gothams, where she seemed genuinely surprised by her coup. We asked her how the experience of winning her first Gotham compared to her time at Sundance earier this year where she won Best Actress.

"Well I wasn't there (Sundance)!," she said. "This is the only awards ceremony which I was present, which is just awesome. I was praying that I wouldn't win because I didn't have anything prepared to say. But it's really exciting. I said something awful and disastrous and now I have to recover from the embarrassment."

Lucky for her, she has a long time to prep for her speech at the National Board of Review Awards. They take place on Jan. 10.

Below find more pictures taken at the Gothams and other photos from this week on the scene.

The Amazing Race: 'Hugo' Gets A Boost In First Official Week Of The Awards Season, Can It Go All The Way?

Oliver Lyttelton — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:20:09 GMT

Considering we've been writing about most weeks since August, it's odd to think that the awards season really only got underway this week. Everything up to now has been foreplay, but with the Gotham Awards on Sunday night, the Spirit Awards nominations and New York Film Critics' Circle Awards on Tuesday, and the National Board of Review yesterday, we're entering the underwear-removal phase of the season. To extend the metaphor. Probably too far.

As such, the ups and downs are coming a little faster, and a little more tangible, so we wanted to take a week to dig back into the big prizes, and how the recent awards and nominations have affected those in contention for them. And the big winner of the past week has to be Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," a film that, mea culpa, we seem to have been underestimating the awards potential of. We'd assumed that it might be a little commercial for serious consideration, that the film's mammoth cost would make it a flop regardless of box office, and that the fairly lukewarm reaction out of its NYFF work-in-progress screening would be the critical consensus.

But as it turned out, the reviews were adoring, the box-office relatively healthy, considering its relatively limited release, and most importantly, it surprised most by winning both Best Picture and Best Director at the National Board of Review yesterday. Now, that group may not be the most reputable -- their love of Clint Eastwood knowing no bounds, he's received five nominations in the last four years, including nods for "Changeling," "Invictus" and "Hereafter" -- but it does show a real love out there for the movie, and almost certainly guarantees a nomination. Every winner of the Best Film prize at the NBR in the last eleven years has managed a Best Picture nod from the Academy ("Quills," in 2000, was the last to miss out). However, it also doesn't make a win any more likely, necessarily; of those eleven, only "No Country for Old Men" and "Slumdog Millionaire" came away with the big prize.

"The Artist" was the other film to get a big boost this week, winning the Picture/Director double-bill at the NYFCC, and picking up five nods at the Spirits, despite being a more crowd-pleasing kind of picture than the latter group generally goes for. But as we wrote on Monday, we wonder if this'll start to become an issue; the two films are similar thematically, and we do think there's a possibility that they could end up splitting the vote of a certain, older demographic. The worst thing that could have happened to the Weinstein's campaign for "The Artist" was "Hugo" becoming a serious contender.

Otherwise, it was a good week for "The Descendants," with the acting nods at the NBR, and multiple Spirit nominations. George Clooney lost out to Brad Pitt for Best Actor in New York, and was a surprise omission at the Spirits, suggesting it's not going to be a total-cake walk, but he's still the presumptive front-runner. Speaking of Pitt and "Moneyball," the film was the biggest omission from the National Board of Review's top ten, and while that's not a major blow ("Black Swan" missed out last year), it still suggests that, with a fluid number of nominees, it's not locked in at the Oscars just yet.

Otherwise, of the other major contenders, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" perhaps took the biggest hit, not mentioned in a single ceremony this week (although it's likely ineligible for Spirits and Gothams). As one of the least warm and comfortable films in the running, both the film and Gary Oldman's lead performance needs the support of critic's groups and top ten lists to stay in the conversation. If it continues to be ignored at awards ceremonies, its Oscar chances fade super-fast. "Midnight in Paris" isn't looking great, either, but we've maintained for months that the likelihood of it lasting through til February have always been minimal. "The Help", never destined to be a critical favorite, managed a supporting actress nod for Jessica Chastain at the NYFF (shared between three films), and a Best Ensemble win at the National Board of Review, which wasn't a bad result, although again, it's not a certainty for an Oscar nomination at this point.

Having said that, Viola Davis will need to start picking up a few Best Actress awards, or risk being overshadowed by competition Meryl Streep. In that category, "We Need To Talk About Kevin" star Tilda Swinton got a much-needed boost from the National Board of Review, which is exactly what she needed to get into the race. With Davis, Streep and Michelle Williams all looking locked into the category, and Rooney Mara and Charlize Theron (although Theron's film also fared poorly this week), it's a tough race, but her chance of beating them, and Glenn Close, to an extra slot have never been better.

Speaking of Best Actress, Felicity Jones is orbiting on the outer regions, and two Breakthrough Performance Awards, from the National Board of Review and the Gothams, suggest she's certainly leapt ahead of major competition Elisabeth Olsen, although she'll still have to lap Rooney Mara for that ingenue slot, but with word fairly quiet on that performance, and Glenn Close looking less and less likely, it's well within the realms of possibility now.

But "Like Crazy" wasn't the only small film to do well this week. "Beginners" tied "Tree of Life" for Best Film at the Gothams, picked up multiple nods at the Spirits, as well as Supporting Actor for Christopher Plummer, who's arguably the safest bet for a win in any acting category at this point. The film's clearly well-liked, and spans both younger and older audiences; could it be in with an outside chance of a nomination? We think it's unlikely as the film feels a little intimate and small-scale for the main prize. But don't bet against a screenplay nod at this point. The real surprise of the season has been "Margin Call," an ensemble drama that picked up respectful notices at Sundance, but has become a sleeper hit in theaters and on VOD. The film managed to win three awards this week: Best First Feature at the NYFCC, Best Debut Director at the NBR, and the Robert Altman Prize (for ensemble, director and casting) at the Spirits, as well as picking up two other nods. It doesn't feel like it's going to do a "Crash" or anything, but a Best Screenplay nod is feasible, and it could even make it in to Best Ensemble at the SAGs.

Ultimately, nothing this week is a game-changer in terms of the Oscar race (particularly with both the NBR and the NYFCC not waiting for "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," which we expect to be a major player). It's still too early to rule anything in or out completely, but it's clear that winds are blowing in certain directions. For more, check out our chart below. And next week, we'll be taking a look at the Academy Awards' drunken cousins, The Golden Globes.

1. "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (4)
Yeah, the one film not even seen by those who awarded prizes this week. But from what we've heard from test screenings, it's got the right stuff, and is a slightly different picture from the feel-good nostalgia of "The Artist" and "Hugo." But they'll have to show it to someone soon...
2. "The Artist" (1)
As we said, "Hugo"'s resurgence is something of a blow for the Weinsteins, if not for the nomination, then for the chance of winning. But we'll see; the NYFCC show that the film's still got a lot of love.
3. "Hugo" (15)
A massive comeback for Scorsese's film, but box office is still the potential stumbling block here. An 'A' cinemascore suggests it'll hold up ok, but it still needs a healthy haul to avoid being seen as a major failure.
4. "The Descendants" (3)
A strong showing in the early awards, and could come across as the more thoughtful choice ahead of "Hugo" or "The Artist." But we still wonder, as we have all along, as to how many people will go for it as their first choice.
5. "War Horse" (2)
Fairly strong reaction to last weekend's sneak screenings, and could sweep in if "The Artist" and "Hugo" split the vote, although it's in the same vague wheelhouse, even if it might feel more substantial to some.
6. "Moneyball" (7)
NBR snub is a chink in the armor, to be sure, but the NYFCC wins shows that it's still got substantial support. The first film on this list not to be a 100% lock, but very likely to be there.
7. "Shame" (8)
We realize we're the only pundits in town to be pushing this as a serious contender (for the reasons outlined on Monday), and there is a reason for that. But Michael Fassbender's seen as an increasingly likely nominee, and we can't imagine someone watching the film, seeing him as worthy, but rejecting the film. A relative long-shot, but we will be insufferably smug if it comes to pass.
8. "The Help" (9)
The populist choice (and probably the biggest grosser, depending on the potency of "War Horse") of the plausible nominees, but the acting trio of Davis, Spencer and Chastain need to stay strong for this to get locked in.
9. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" (5)
Taking a real dip of late, we're seriously doubting its chances for the first time. But things should pick up closer to its release next week, and with "The Iron Lady" vanquished, it'll be the biggest beneficiary of the large British contingent.
10. "The Tree Of Life" (18)
Coming back into the conversation at long last, but has to win something from a major critics group soon, or it'll start to slip again.
11. "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" (9)
While embargoed, the word we've heard out of screenings so far is that it's strong, but principally commercial stuff. But with so little dark material in there, it could be nice counter-programming for those looking for something a little stronger.
12. "Midnight In Paris" (10)
Looking like the biggest casualty so far, but could regain some momentum with a healthy Golden Globes haul in a few weeks.
13. "The Ides Of March" (=)
Continuing to drop out of sight, but the NBR nod gives it the trace of a heartbeat, at least. But the days of Harvey Weinstein calling it his biggest threat are long gone.
14. "Young Adult" (11)
Opening next week, it'll likely get a bump. But our feeling is that it'll have to settle for Theron, Oswalt and screenplay nods, rather than the big prize.
15. "Margin Call" (-)
The little financial drama that could, it's been getting unavoidable attention from the awards. But at present, it's grossed less than a third than "The Hurt Locker," so it still seems like a real long shot, even if the narrative is behind it at present.
16. "Beginners" (-)
Another film that's having something of a boost of late, it's again unlikely to be in competition for the big prize, but it does have a wide appeal, and a lot of love behind it.
17. "In The Land of Blood & Honey" (12)
Pretty much absent from the conversation of late, and could have used something from the NBR to get it in there again. But don't rule it out of the Golden Globes, who could nominate it just to get Angelina Jolie to turn up.
18. "Drive" (-)
We've always assumed it would be too pulpy and dark for serious attention, but this week has shown that it's well liked. Does it have even a slight chance of getting that crucial 5% of votes?
19. "Take Shelter" (-)
Something else we've undervalued of late, but it's a timely and powerful film, and did well at the Spirits in particular. Extremely unlikely to happen, but more likely than, say, "Martha Marcy May Marlene," which seems to turn off as many as it turns on.
20. "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2" (-)
The NBR lined up to commemorate the end of the franchise, and Warners will keep campaigning for it, but we maintain, as we always did, that splitting the film in two ruined any serious chance of it happening. And that goes doubly for you, "Breaking Dawn Pt. 2"!....

Mike Mills Says Winning Best Feature For 'Beginners' At Gotham Awards "Trippy, Weird Icing On The Cake"

Jen Vineyard — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:03:01 GMT

And Reactions From Gotham Winners Felicity Jones, Christopher Plummer, 'Tree Of Life' Producer Bill Pohlad & More

As the first awards show of the season, the Gotham Independent Film Awards usually acts as a gauge of things to come -- what wins at Gotham is nominated (and sometimes wins) at the Oscars, too, or so the story goes. If that predictive power is still in place, then Monday night's ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street was a clear message to make way for the dark horses. Not one, but two movies won for Best Feature, an unprecedented tie in the top category. "The Tree of Life" and "Beginners" shared the honor, against competition such as "The Descendants," "Take Shelter," and "Meek's Cutoff."

"I wish there was a five-way tie," "Beginners" director Mike Mills told The Playlist, after recovering from the shock of his film's shared win with "The Tree of Life." "Honestly, this is all a surprise. I was fucking lucky this film got made, I was fucking lucky that it got an actual release, and I've just been saying the 'It's great just to be nominated' mantra to everyone, because that's all I thought would happen, and this is just trippy, weird icing on the cake. I've watched Terrence Malick films forever, and he taught me so much, and I respect him so much, but maybe I'll be less nervous around him now."

Mills needn't have worried -- Malick didn't show, sending his "The Tree of Life" producers Sarah Green and Bill Pohlad to accept on his behalf instead. "It's hard for him to come to things like this," Pohland said, "because then everyone wants him to explain the film, explain what he meant by this or that, and he likes the work to stand on its own. He prefers to be low profile." Still, the two producers called Malick after the win and left him a quick message, "so he's probably dancing around the room," Pohlad said.

The underdog "Beginners" did more than tie with "The Tree of Life" for Best Feature, however -- it also snagged Best Ensemble Performance, for its cast of Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, and as Plummer liked to point out, a Jack Russell terrier named Cosmo. "That dog still hasn't been paid!" Plummer joked. "It's sad that nobody could cough up for the dog. Otherwise, it is a true ensemble, except Ewan McGregor, who couldn't be here [to accept the award]. Bastard. A true ensemble otherwise."

That was one of the other more surprising elements about this year's Gothams. Though it's not an exact science, usually you can predict the winners based on who actually shows up -- and the other ensemble cast nominees for films such as the frontrunner "The Descendants" and "Martha Marcy May Marlene" attended in full force, even if that required Elizabeth Olsen to skip a class at NYU. "We kind of got shut out tonight," said Sarah Paulson, who plays Olsen's sister in "Martha Marcy May Marlene." "The Gotham Awards are about a specific kind of thing, and maybe we're something else. But it is really nice that they do recognize the ensemble cast."

As for Breakthrough Actor, a category considered locked by Olsen, the surprise winner this year was Felicity Jones for "Like Crazy." (Past winners have included Ellen Page, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, and Maggie Gyllenhaal). Did Jones' more extensive acting experience in the U.K. give her an edge over fellow nominees such as Shailene Woodley and Jacob Wysocki? "I don't know!" Jones said. "I've been working in the U.K. for over ten years, so for me, it's just great to come to the States and have the opportunity to work with directors like Drake Doremus, and to work in that very naturalistic style. If you look at the list of nominations tonight, it hasn't been the most obvious films. So this is definitely a celebration of great, great moviemaking."

Whether her Gotham win will lead to even more award season accolades isn't something Jones is prepared to consider just yet. "Oscar is the most glamorous word I can ever think of saying!" she said. "It's completely abstract. It's pretty intimidating, even. So I'm just going to enjoy this one for right now. I'm just lucky I got this, so let's see what happens, and go with it."

Other winners included Dee Rees for Breakthrough Director for "Pariah" ("I'm not surprised, but I'm humbled," Rees said), "Better This World" for Best Documentary, "Scenes of a Crime" for Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You, and "Girlfriend" for the Audience Award.

"We're one of the only films here without a big distributor," "Girlfriend" director Justin Lerner said. "We had a very small release, but we have a very devoted and online following. Still, you don't expect this. You go to the party because you're excited you're invited and you have the chance to meet some of your heroes. I want to meet [career tribute honoree] Charlize Theron because I have a huge crush on her -- I'm not unique in that. And I want to meet Christopher Plummer, because his daughter Amanda was in the film. I still feel like I'm the little kid at the adult's table and I can't go up to these people, but maybe I can now."

In addition to Theron, career tributes were also given to "A Dangerous Method" director David Cronenberg, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" star Gary Oldman and film executive Tom Rothman. "It's a great compliment," Theron said. "It's a celebration of my career so far, which is such an honor."

"I think after I made my first two movies, they had a retrospective for me, so I'm not scared of retrospectives or lifetime achievement awards because it doesn't mean I've stopped making movies," Cronenberg said. "I just take it in the spirit that it's given, an appreciation by my peers for what I've been doing."

And that -- like Mills' mantra -- seemed to be enough for most, even if they didn't walk away with an award in hand. "I've done so many bad movies," said "The Descendants" actor Matthew Lillard, "that to just be acknowledged in any way outside of a Razzie, I'm proud."

'The Tree Of Life' & 'Beginners' Tie For Best Feature At The 2011 Gotham Awards

Kevin Jagernauth — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:59:54 GMT

With the New York Film Critics Circle set to announce their award winners tomorrow morning over Twitter (guys, way to make it less meaningless, how about an actual webpage?) and the Gotham Independent Film Awards just wrapped, the fall awards season has officially kicked off. And already, we've got some surprises.

Despite facing stiff competition from the much more buzzworthy "The Descendants," Best Picture was split between Terrence Malick's "The Tree Of Life" and Mike Mills' "Beginners" -- both spring/summer movies that weren't seen as major challengers this fall that now have a considerable boost forward. In a shocking appearance, Malick arrived and a gave a half-hour acceptance speech and then moonwalked across the stage. (No, he didn't, but that would've been awesome). Meanwhile, in the documentary category, the win went to "Better This World," a film noticeably missing from the controversial Oscar shortlist that was recently revealed.

Heading over to the acting categories, another boost for Mills' "Beginners" as Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer and Melanie Laurent all shared in the Best Ensemble prize. Meanwhile, another hot contender went home empty handed as Felicity Jones snagged Breakthrough Actor for her turn in "Like Crazy" from the arguable frontrunner, Elizabeth Olsen, for her starmaking performance in "Martha Marcy May Marlene."

In the Breakthrough Director category, we're very pleased that Dee Rees snagged the award, because she deserves it for "Pariah." It's a nice boost for the small film that deserves some attention this fall and marks an exciting debut from a helmer we'll be keeping an eye on. Wrapping things up, the procedural style docuementary "Scenes From A Crime" earned Best Film Not Playing At A Theatre Near You while in a win that could only be given out at a New York centered awards ceremony, the tiny indie "Girlfriend" earned the Audience Award. Yeah, we had no idea about that movie before tonight either, but hey, now we do and we'll have to track it down.

While awards pundits generally like to dismiss the Gotham Awards as reliable Oscar-awards season augurs, one can argue the independent-minded awards have become more and more relevant in recent years. Last year's winner, "Winter's Bone" went on to score four Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence) and Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2009, the cognoscenti scoffed once again at the Gotham's and the bigger winner that year, "The Hurt Locker," which went on to best "Avatar," the highest grossing movie of all time, for the Best Picture Academy Award. So an early Oscar indicator or a champagne toast to the films whose awards season journey ends here? We'll see how things match up (or don't) when the NYFCC announce their honors tomorrow. Winners below.

Best Feature: TIE "The Tree Of Life" by Terrence Malick and "Beginners" by Mike Mills

Best Documentary: "Better This World" directed by Kelly Duane and Katie Galloway

Best Ensemble Performance: "Beginners"

Breakthrough Director Dee Rees for "Pariah"

Breakthrough Actor Felicity Jones in "Like Crazy"

Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You "Scenes From A Crime" directed by Blue Hadaegh and Grover Babcock

Audience Awards "Girlfriend" directed by Justin Lerner

Original nominees here.

"Beginners" and "The Tree of Life" Tie For Top Honors At The Gotham Awards

Peter Knegt — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 02:15:00 GMT

The 21st Gotham Independent Film Awards are currently underway in Lower Manhattan. Hosted by Edie Falco and Oliver Platt, the event acts as an official kick-off to the 2011-12 award season.

In general, the awards proved consistently unpredictable, right down to the tie for best feature between Mike Mills' "Beginners" and Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life."

"Beginners" was the night's big winner, taking honors for best feature and best ensemble performance. Shut out completely were "The Descendants" and "Martha Marcy May Marlene," which went into the night with the most nominations.

In addition to the competitive awards, Charlize Theron, Gary Oldman, David Cronenberg and Tom Rothman will each receive a career tribute.

A complete list of announced winners is below. Check back throughout the night for updates.

Best Feature: TIE: The Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick and Beginners, directed by Mike Mills

Best Documentary: Better This World, directed by Kelly Duane and Katie Galloway

Best Ensemble Performance: Beginners

Breakthrough Director: Dee Rees, Pariah

Breakthrough Actor: Felicity Jones, Like Crazy

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You: Scenes of a Crime, directed by Blue Hadaegh & Grover Babcock

Audience Choice Award: Girlfriend, directed by Justin Lerner

Gotham Awards 2011 Live

Indiewire — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:33:00 GMT

The 21st Gotham Independent Film Awards are underway in Lower Manhattan.

Indiewire is offering full coverage from the scene over the course of the night, with Nigel M. Smith, Brian Brooks and Eric Kohn all on the ground at the ceremony and Peter Knegt watching from home. Check out our minute by minute rundown below.

10:17 PM: And that's a wrap, folks.. Complete list of winners here.

10:16 PM: Just heard that the jury for Best Film apparently spoke for 2.5 hours before deciding to give the prize to two films. [EK]

10:15 PM: I don't recall this happening for this category... [BB]

10:13 PM: Malick's producer says the director, if he would there, would surely thank his wife. [EK]

10:11 PM: Is there a precedent for a tie like this? Bizarre! [EK]

10:09 PM: And its a tie!? "The Tree of Life" and "Beginners" TIE for best feature!

10:06 PM: Tilda Swinton adds a touch of class to the evening as she presents the award for best film...

10:03 PM: Gary Oldman: "I will cherish this award and this evening."

9:57 PM: He's presenting Gary Oldman with his tribute (the final tribute of the night!)

9:55 PM: Alec Baldwin takes the stage: "We have a lot of debris up here from everybody."

9:53 PM: All the winners going through the press room get a "golden hair dryer" and asked to sign a bottle of champagne that's raffled off. David Cronenberg said, "oh nice, I use a hair dryer too." [BB]

9:50 PM: And the winner is... Better This World? Are we set for not ONE expected winner? [PK]

9:47 PM: Bennett Miller and Chris Hegedus on stage to present best documentary. [PK]

9:46 PM: Mills on Plummer to us: He doesn't act like a legend. I learned a lot about storytelling through him. It's a character based on my dad. I'm so glad to have somebody so with it and with so much integrity playing him. [NMS]

9:45 PM: Mike Mills to Indiewire on competing against fellow filmmakers: It's a trip. It's really just an honor to be thought of. Competition is a weird thing. All those films were great, so it's a trippy thing to be involved in. [NMS]

9:42 PM: Christopher Plummer back stage: "He wrote it so well, we didn't have to improvise it..." [BB]

9:41 PM: David Cronenberg: "I'm here because I'm a failure. I failed to sell out."

9:40 PM: Corey Stoll takes the stage to introduce the tribute to David Cronenberg (not quite sure of the connection there?) [PK]

9:33 PM: I could not be more thrilled. There was one movie nominated for Best Ensemble that flat-out I didn't like. It wasn't this one. [EK]

9:32 PM: Man, Christopher Plummer has presence. [PK]

9:32 PM: Beginners!? Cough, cough. Didn't see that coming. [NMS]

9:30 PM: And the winner is... BEGINNERS! What a lovely surprise. Sorry Fox Searchlight, so far this ain't your night. [PK]

9:27 PM: Vera Farmiga and Peter Facinelli (really?) take the stage to present the ensemble award. [PK]

9:26 PM: Charlize in the cramped press room. We are not worthy! All eyes are on her. [NMS]

9:25 PM: Shailene Woodley takes the stage to give Lucy Mulloy the Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant.

9:21 PM: The Oswalt-Theron banter is by far the best thing to happen to the 2011 Gothams. [PK]

9:20 PM: Felicity Jones to Indiewire backstage: Hello Indiewire!

On winning both Sundance and Gotham: "Well I wasn't there (Sundance)! This is the only awards ceremony which I was present, which is just awesome. I was praying that I wouldn't win because I didn't have anything prepared to say. But it's really exciting. I said something awful and disastrous and now I have to recover from the embarrassment." [NMS]

9:19 PM: "Let's have aphrodite sit next to a bag of floor" - Oswalt when Theron tells him to stay on the stage with her.

9:15 PM: Man, Patton Oswalt's Charlize Theron intro is the highlight of the night. "I gained 40 pounds for 'Young Adult' 20 years before Diablo wrote the script." And then he made a Donkey Kong reference that, apparently, only Jason Reitman got. [EK]

9:14 PM: Who reminds Oswalt of Theron? Lee Marvin and Bill Murray. That's right.

9:12 PM: Oswalt: "I gained 40 pounds for 'Young Adult' 20 years before Diablo wrote the script. So don't tell me all this 'Monster' bullshit..."

9:11 PM: Patton Oswalt takes the stage to present Charlize Theron with her tribute award (and he appears to be extraordinarily unprepared). [PK]

9:09 PM: Jones: "Here's to very cheap films..."

9:05 PM: And the best breakthrough performance is... Felicity Jones! Poor Elizabeth Olsen... First at Sundance, now here.. The indie it girl bridesmaid. [PK]

9:01 PM: Leo is calling co-presenter Stanley Tucci "Stan." He looks scared. [PK]

8:59 PM: Oh no, Melissa Leo! And she appears as crazy as ever (presenting breakthrough performance). [PK]

8:57 PM: Tom Rothman in press room talking: "People don't care what a film costs they care about what they feel." [BB]

8:56 PM: And the winner is Scenes of a Crime. Though its not announced before the Canadian banker makes a "Wall Street 2" joke. [PK]

8:55 PM: And the winner is... Oh, the feed is interrupted by an ad for Scotiabank. [PK]

8:53 PM: Judy Greer and the CEO of the ROYAL BANK OF CANADA (!!?) on stage to present the best film not playing at a theater near you. We're taking over. [PK]

8:48 PM: "Someone seems to have edited 'Speed 2' off my reel tonight" - Tom Rothman

8:42 PM: Ang Lee introducing Tom Rothman for his special award: "Tom is a larger than life character, something very rare these days: A head of a studio who actually loves movies." [EK]

8:41 PM: From Dee Rees in press lounge exclusive to us: I'm just really excited for our actresses. They put everything on the screen. I'm eager for people to see them and fall in love with them. I just want a nice catalogue in ten years that I can look back on and be proud of. [NMS]

8:40 PM: Ang Lee is shockingly twenty times funnier than Falco and Platt combined. [PK]

8:38 PM: Ang Lee admits he was kind of scared of Tim Rothman and offers the story when he outbid Harvey Weinstein to buy his 'Wedding Banquet.' [PK]

8:36 PM: "I often like to bite the hand that doesn't feed me" - Jim Jarmusch

8:34 PM: Jim Jarmusch and Ang Lee take the stage to present a tribute award to honor Tim Rothman... [PK]

8:34 PM: Moscow Mule isn't bad. [BB]

8:33 PM: Oh no, Falco and Platt are back. And my stream keeps cutting out to commercials for Canadian banks, which seem to be sponsoring every independent film related event America has to offer. [PK]

8:32 PM: I'm seated at a table with the people who were on that jury, I know at least one of them was pulling for Bellflower. [Eric Kohn]

8:32 PM: Wow Dee beat Durkin!! [NMS]

8:31 PM: And the winner is... DEE REES for "Pariah"! Deserving shocker. Sean Durkin was definite frontrunner. [PK]

8:30 PM: Felicity seems very nervous. Sticking to script and seems very affected. [NMS]

8:29 PM: Thankfully no Platt and Falco as Alexander Payne and Felicity Jones take to stage for breakthrough director award.. [PK]

8:27 PM: Audience winner wished he was drunker. [NMS]

8:26 PM: And the winner is... "Girlfriend," directed by Justin Lerner. "The First Grader" and "Being Elmo" seemed like the frontrunners.

8:26 PM: Russian models are offering Moscow Mules backstage (hence the sponsor). Vodka is Russian Standard and some hot Russian models are serving in these cute coffee mugs. [BB]

8:26 PM: Meanwhile they're serving drinks in press lounge. Servers going around w booze! Some hot russians serving vodka. [NMS]

8:24 PM: Quinto seems weirdly into that blond lady from Martha. Like turned on. [NMS]

8:23 PM: Thank god they're gone and we have some presenters: Zachary Quinto and Sarah Paulson presenting the Audience Choice Award. [PK]

8:22 PM: Platt still yelling into the mike. 2012 joke about how next year if it happens, they'll re release it as a doc. [NMS]

8:20 PM: Oh how we all miss Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci. [PK]

8:20 PM: Oh jesus, they're singing. [NMS]

8:19 PM: Is anyone in the crowd laughing? The hosts sure are. [Nigel M. Smith]

8:18 PM: And now for horribly writen "The Tree of Life" jokes... [PK]

8:17 PM: Maybe it's time to ask the hosts to move beyond jokes about how nobody has money in independent film? It happens every year... Just sayin.' [BB]

8:15 PM: Hosts Oliver Platt and Edie Falco take the stage (is Showtime a sponsor?). They make a joke about thinking they're at the Tonys that doesn't exactly bring down the house... My regrets about not being there this year are quickly dwindling. [Peter Knegt]

8:14 PM: Two Russian models who are here with a sponsor are speaking really loudly and were sushed a bit in press room during Joanna Vicente's opening speech. [Brian Brooks]

8:12 PM: After a bit of a delay the show is finally underway...

You can watch the arrivals and full ceremony below. A complete list of announced winners will be updated here. In addition to the competitive awards, Charlize Theron, Gary Oldman, David Cronenberg and Tom Rothman will each receive a career tribute.