Spirit Awards

Which Categories Were Cut From the Spirit Awards' Broadcast?

Alison Willmore — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:03:12 GMT

The Spirit Awards haven't been broadcast live for several years now. This past weekend's ceremony was, like the last two, taped and aired in a more viewer-friendly evening slot rather than in the afternoon, when it takes place.

Wrangling over when best to have and when best to air the Spirit Awards led the network and Film Independent to move the awards show to Downtown Los Angeles to a Friday evening slot in 2010; the experiment wasn't repeated. But with the broadcast delay comes the fact that the show gets condensed into a preassigned amount of time -- and that meant that certain categories didn't make it to air on Saturday.

What got cut from this year's Spirit Award broadcast? Best Documentary (winner: "The Invisible War"), Best Cinematography (Ben Richardson for "Beasts of the Southern Wild") and the ensemble-celebrating Robert Altman Award ("Starlet"). The Piaget Producers Award, which was presented live at the ceremony to Mynette Louie ("California Solo"), was in the broadcast replaced by a 20-second prerecorded thank you.

When asked about the excisions, IFC declined to comment. These are all categories sans celebrities, which might explain from a consumer-facing TV network's perspective why they ended up on the chopping block.

Videos for the snipped categories are below. Also trimmed, probably for the best? Much of Best First Screenplay winner Derek Connolly's ("Safety Not Guaranteed") rambling, booze-fueled acceptance speech, which was replaced with a card that said "5 MINUTES LATER," at which point Bryan Cranston poured Connolly a whiskey and presenter Kerry Washington gently nudged him off the stage. That, should you choose, you can find in its entirety here.

[In the interests of full disclosure, Indiewire notes that the writer of this piece is a former employee of IFC.]

Watch: Andy Samberg's Opening Sketch & Monologue From Independent Spirit Awards 2013

Kevin Jagernauth — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:33:00 GMT

If somehow you still watched The Independent Spirit Awards late last night, despite the winners being announced hours earlier, then this is old news. But if you're like most of us and didn't, well here's a little bit of catch-up before the Oscars roll out in just a few hours.

The opening sketch and monologue by host Andy Samberg has made its way online, and while it's not his greatest hour, there are some good laughs to be had. Things start off with a sketch, a trailer for the indie "Bottle Cap" with appearances from Marisa Tomei and JK Simmons among others. As for Samberg's intro to the show, it's a hit and miss affair, and his biggest laugh is for a joke about one of last year's nominees, "Shame." But hey, it's still worth a spin if you're impatiently waiting for tonight's festivities, so give it a spin below.

The Independent Spirit Awards Are Losing the Indie Quotient. Can They Win It Back?

Eric Kohn — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 18:54:12 GMT

"Fuck Hollywood," said host Andy Samberg at Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards, a tongue-in-cheek act of defiance that was met with a mixed reaction. The irony, of course, was that this Santa Monica beach gathering brought much of Hollywood together for a ceremony that constantly sends a message antithetical to its name. In the space of the two-and-a-half hour show, independent spirit declares war with Hollywood in a couple of categories where the little guys shine. But at the end of the day, Hollywood usually wins.

While many people reasonably adore "Silver Linings Playbook," David O. Russell's Oscar-nominated romantic comedy, but its domineering presence at the Spirit Awards this year once again sent a confusing message. Attendees watched while Russell ventured to the stage on three occasions, as the movie won Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and finally Best Film. Jennifer Lawrence's acceptance speech for Best Actress played like a rehearsal for her Oscar one. While not without its charms, in this context "Silver Linings Playbook" became something of a spoil sport: Here was a movie full of stars from an established Hollywood filmmaker who won his first Spirit award 20 years ago.

Its triumph may indicate a slight improvement on the process following last year's embarrassing series of wins for "The Artist," a French movie that cleaned up at an event supposedly designed to honor American independent film. But "Silver Linings Playbook" nevertheless steamrolled competition that deserved better. The Best Film category included audacious contenders like Richard Linklater's "Bernie," in which both star Jack Black and Linklater himself took on tonally risky material and delivered a peculiarly charming black comedy. The category also singled out Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," his best-received movie in years and an affirmation of his stylistic ingenuity. Ira Sachs' powerfully intimate relationship drama "Keep the Lights On" was made on the smallest of budgets among the nominees yet managed to maintain visibility on the raw power of its performances and quietly affecting mood. And then there was "Beasts of the Southern Wild," the underdog story of last year and a seeming shoo-in for Independent Spirit Awards attention that wound up winning only for its cinematography. Elsewhere, "Silver Linings Playbook" continually blocked the way.

As the ceremony came to a close, the director of one of the losing nominees was milling about when a friend put an arm around him and asked, "Are you disappointed?" He shrugged, sighed and nodded. This was an inevitable situation that even Samberg noticed, at one point joking about how the "Keep the Lights On" table was located in the way back of the room.

Once again, the irony cut deep: While those seated far from the front had to watch the proceedings on a large monitor, at a tableful of sponsors located directly beneath the stage, a marketer from a prominent company eagerly snapped photos of Salma Hayek at the table next to him. He couldn't stop staring: On one side of Hayek and her husband was Daniel Radcliffe (Harry-freaking-Potter!) and Bryan Cranston (Walter-freaking-White!); on the other, Jeremy Renner. Seated to his right, wearing a dazzling red suit, sat John Waters, but this particular sponsor had never heard of the guy. "I don't know this world," he said.

This was the epitome of the Independent Spirit Problem, which we will call ISP. Over the years, the Film Independent-sponsored event has been constantly assailed by figures in the indie sector perturbed by its tendency to allow big movies and names to take over the event -- not only its guest list but among the list of winners as well.

The organization isn't blind to the ISP and certainly has a reason to work around it. The Spirits form its biggest fundraising event of the year and in order to draw lucrative sponsorships, they need the glamour that name talent can bring. Still, it struggles to walk the line between bottom-line goals and integrity, alienating the exact facet of the community it's supposed to celebrate. The ISP frustrates many people each year, but it has many potential solutions. Over the course of a post-Spirits evening at various informal gatherings where ISP grousing percolated widely, I heard a lot of ideas. Here's a few ways the Spirits might be able to remove the paint keeping them in the corner.

Shrink the voting body. In one of his opening gags, Samberg noted that while he has few indie credits to his name, the box office grosses for his studio projects roughly equal those of movies in limited release. In fact, among Saturday's winners, there were only three categories in which the highest grossing box office contender didn't win. A massive voting body chooses the Spirit winners, but while all IFP member and Film Independent members get to vote, they don't all get the chance to see every nominee. Not everybody has access to special screenings or private screeners. With smaller voting and nominations committees, the Spirits could veto movies that may have already transitioned into a commercial realm unworthy of the event or those that otherwise don't fit the indie spirit moniker.

Lower the budget limit -- and keep it there. Over the years, Film Independent has maintained a variety of budgetary limitations for movies that qualify for the awards. The bar is currently set at $20 million -- but "Silver Linings Playbook," made for around $21 million, managed to apply for an exception and (perhaps due to some strong-arming on the part of distributor Harvey Weinstein) got it. If Film Independent had prevented "Silver Linings Playbook" from bending the rules, the results would have been very different this time.

Define the categories better. Stephen Chbosky won Best First Feature for "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," adapted from his book of the same name, even though he actually made his directorial debut 18 years ago with the little-seen "The Four Corners of Nowhere" (because it was barely released in theaters, Chbosky supposedly qualified this time). Already successful and well-known, Chbosky defeated more reasonable contenders whose recent debuts made them into true discoveries, like "Gimme the Loot" director Adam Leon and "Sound of My Voice" director Zal Batmanglij. As with the "Silver Linings" situation, if "Perks" didn't make the cut, the resulting category would have more accurately represented some of the emerging talent of American independent cinema worth singling out.

Create a "Spirit of Indie" category for the bigger movies. Given the constant threat that the most popular and commercial title could take over the ceremony, the Spirits might consider grouping together those films made for larger sums and honoring them for maintaining originality against difficult odds. This would allow for the presence of the Hollywood content needed to please sponsors without endangering the prospects for other nominees.

Foreground the awards that deserve more attention. While the main set of winners are revealed at the ceremony, a number of Fimmaker Grants are announced ahead of the event, but only receive passing recognition during the ceremony itself. Leon won the Someone to Watch award for "Gimme the Loot" but delivered his acceptance speech in a pre-recorded video. In one of the few occasions when a figure exclusively associated with the indie sector took the stage, Mynette Louie took the Piaget Producers Award and delivered a brief scripted speech. Sean Baker's "Starlet" won the Robert Altman Award, another occasion when a genuine indie managed to briefly savor the spotlight. But these moments played like side dishes to the glitzier occasion at hand and were all but forgotten by its climax. Even so, the Independent Spirit Awards continue to represent a certain idea about the persistence of movies outside the studio-driven mainstream standards. But it routinely fails to advertise the movies that truly need it.

'Silver Linings Playbook' Sweeps Indie Spirit Awards

Peter Knegt — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 22:10:00 GMT

Irking many within the tent in Santa Monica housing the 28th Independent Spirit Awards, David O. Russell's $100 million grossing "Silver Linings Playbook" swept the Film Independent Spirit Awards, topping the favored likes of "Beasts of the Southern Wild."

"Silver Linings" -- which had a budget of $21 million ($1 million over the limit for the Spirits, but they nominated it anyway) -- won best feature, best actress (Jennifer Lawrence) and two awards for David O. Russell, best director and best screenplay. Both Russell and the film's producers acknowledged "Beasts" on stage, with the latter admitting they thought it was going to win.

One award it didn't win was best actor, which Bradley Cooper lost to John Hawkes of "The Sessions." That film also won best supporting actress for Helen Hunt.

Other winners included Matthew McConaughey for best supporting actor ("Magic Mike"), "Amour" for best international film and "The Invisible War" for best documentary.

Full list of winners:

BEST FEATURE:
"Silver Linings Playbook"

BEST DIRECTOR
David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"

BEST SCREENPLAY
"Silver Linings Playbook"

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
"Safety Not Guaranteed"

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.
"Middle of Nowhere"

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"

BEST MALE LEAD
John Hawkes, "The Sessions"

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Matthew McConaughey, "Magic Mike"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Beasts of the Southern Wild"

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
"The Invisible War"

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
"Amour"

16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 16th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Mynette Louie

19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 19th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Adam Leon, "Gimme the Loot"

STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 18th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Peter Nicks, "The Waiting Room"

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

2013 Spirit Awards Live: The Complete Event, Minute By Minute

Nigel M Smith — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 21:24:17 GMT

The 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards are currently going down here in Santa Monica. Indiewire is on the scene to offer minute by minute coverage of everything Spirits.

The Winners | The Predictions | The Nominees | The Indiewire Poll | Twitter

3:32pm: Collective sigh from the press in the press tent as the touted "Silver Linings" team show themselves, sans Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper or David O. Russell. Who does show? The film's trio of producers.

3:30pm: The event's officially wrapped but the "Silver Linings" team is still set to make an appearance backstage, so stay with us!

3:27pm: Best Actor winner John Hawkes asked backstage if his win makes him any less nervous about tomorrow's Oscar ceremony, where... he isn't nominated.

3:22pm: "Silver Linings Playbook" producers pay mention to "Beasts of the Southern Wild" when accepting the Best Film Award, acknowledging that they thought the indie would net the award and that it's a "fantastic film."

3:02pm: "Benn Zeitlin is a young man, so Benh Zeitlin will be back": David O. Russell accepting the Best Director award. First upset of the show.

2:40pm: Helen Hunt backstage after winning the Best Supporting Actress award says she doesn't expect to win the Oscar tomorrow. When asked what she was wearing she shot back, "I don't know -- I own it. Next question?"

2:22pm: Best International Film winner Michael Haneke: "I must be the oldest man in this room." No kidding.

2:11pm: Fun fact from backstage: McConaughey saw only two films before he turned 18, "Orca" and "King Kong."

2:10pm: "I had to drop my pants to get an award": Matthew McConaughey accepeting his Best Supporting Actor award for his role as a stripper in "Magic Mike."

2:05pm: Rumor is Connolly was seen getting escorted from the event by security.

1:59pm: Connolly seen back in his seat in the tent. Guess his publicist thought better and wisely advised him NOT to go backstage to talk to the press following his win.

1:54pm: After five minutes of rambling, Bryan Cranston got on stage to pour Connolly some (more?) whiskey, prompting the award's presenter, Kerry Washington, to escort Connolly off the stage. Wow.

1:52pm: Is Connolly drunk? And why are they not cutting him off?!

1:49pm: From Sundance's Waldo Screenwriting Award to netting the Best First Screenplay award at the Spirits, "Safety Not Guaranteed" writer Derek Connolly appears humbled and moved on stage, praising all those involved with the film.

1:47pm: Samberg pleads with the crowd to scream "Hollywood fuck you!" Cue the silence.

1:43pm: "I haven't experienced such an honest and raw take on gay love since summer camp" Samberg on" Keep the Ligts On."

1:41pm: Samberg awkwardly points out that the "Keep the Lights On" table is "as far from the stage as New York is from the Spirits," despite it being nominated for Best Film.

1:38pm: Samberg makes another Michael Fassbender penis joke and reasons it's still revelant because "Michael Fassbender's penis is so long it extended itself into 2013." Huge laughs.

1:35pm: Andy Samberg looks dandy on stage as the host of the event in a green tux and big black bow tie cracking jokes to a game audience. Big laughs for telling Anne Hathaway to "dial it back" in her acceptance speeches.

Spirit Awards Poll: Who Will Win and Who Should Win According To 80 Critics and Bloggers

Peter Knegt — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 13:41:00 GMT

Indiewire conducted a poll of its writers and 80 of its Criticwire participants, asking two simple questions about this year's Film Independent Spirit Awards: Who will win, and who should win? In thirteen categories, insiders suggested who might take home an award at the ceremony tomorrow afternoon in Santa Monica, California.

Check out all the results below. Links to individual ballots are forthcoming.

Best Feature
Who Will Win: "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (54%) narrowly topped "Silver Linings Playbook" (45%) in what's clearly a very tight race. "Moonrise Kingdom" got a lone vote.

Who Should Win: "Beasts" fared well here too, with 35% saying it deserved the prize. But that couldn't top the 39% that said "Moonrise Kingdom" should win. "Silver Linings" was third with 15%.

Best Director
Who Will Win: "Beasts" for the win here too, with Benh Zeitlin taking 58% of predictions. David O. Russell was second with 35%, while Wes Anderson took 6%.

Who Should Win: Benh Zeitlin won 31% of the support, which was just under the 33% that said Wes Anderson should win this. David O. Russell was third with 16%, closely followed by Julia Kotev with 14%.

Best Female Lead
Who Will Win and Who Should Win: Just like in our Oscar poll, folks suggesting this is Jennifer Lawrence's to lose, with the "Silver Linings Playbook" actress winning 70% of the votes. Quvenzhané Wallis was the possible spoiler, with 28% saying she'd win. Lawrence also was the pollsters' winner of choice, though only 37% said so. Wallis was a closer second here, with 24%. Mary Elizabeth Winstead (16%), Emayatzy Corinealdi (13%) and Linda Cardellini (11%) all found supporters as well.

Best Male Lead
Who Will Win: He might have been snubbed at the Oscars, but our poll suggested John Hawkes would win at the Spirits, with 51% saying so. Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper was second with 32%.

Who Should Win: John Hawkes had a lot of support (30%), but narrowly lost the overall vote to "Bernie" himself, Jack Black (32%). Matthew McConaughey was next for his "Killer Joe" role, taking 21%. Cooper (8%) and Thure Lindhardt (9%) got a few votes as well.

Best Supporting Female
Who Will Win: Another win for "The Sessions," says our poll. Helen Hunt took 47% of the predictions, with Ann Dowd close behind 43%.

Who Should Win: Ann Dowd was by far the winner here, taking 43% over Rosemarie DeWitt (22%), Helen Hunt (20%), Brit Marling (8%) and Lorraine Toussaint (7%).

Best Supporting Male
Who Will Win and Who Should Win: It's all about Matthew McConaughey, who took 75% of the "will win" and 54% of the "should win" vote for "Magic Mike." Michael Pena was second in the "will" poll (with 8%) and Bruce Willis was second for "who should" (16%).

Best Screenplay
Who Will Win: Separated by just one vote, our poll said David O. Russell would win this for "Silver Linings Playbook" over "Moonrise Kingdom" scribes Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola by a 1% margin. Together, they took up 97% of the vote, with the screenplays "Ruby Sparks" and "Keep The Lights On" making up the remainder of the vote.

Who Should Win: "Moonrise Kingdom" was the favorite here by a much wider margin, taking 50% of the vote. "Silver Linings" (20%) and "Ruby Sparks" (15%) were next.

Best First Feature
Who Will Win and Who Should Win: Stephen Chbosky and his "Perks of Being a Wallflower" topped both the will and the should, with 64% saying the former and 38% saying the latter. "Safety Not Guaranteed" took 19% of the vote in both instances, while 12% said "Sound of My Voice" will win and 19% said it should. "Fill The Void" and "Gimme The Loot" got a handful of votes on both occasions.

John Cassavetes Award
Who Will Win: Ava DuVernay's "Middle of Nowhere" seems like a shoo-in here, with 66% saying so. "The Color Wheel" (23%) and "Starlet" (11%) got the underdog vote.

Who Should Win: "The Color Wheel" topped "Middle of Nowhere" here, taking 44% of the vote compared to 35% for "Nowhere." "Starlet" also managed a respectable 18%.

Best First Screenplay
Who Will Win and Who Should Win: Derek Connolly's script for "Safety Not Guaranteed" won in both polls, with 67% saying it will win and 44% saying it should. Rashida Jones and Will McCormack's script for "Celeste and Jesse Forever" was second in the "will" poll with 11%, while Rama Bernstein's "Fill The Void" script was runner-up in the "should" with 18%.

Best Documentary
Who Will Win and Who Should Win: Another double consensus pick was "How To Survive a Plague" here, with 70% saying it will win best documentary and another 55% saying it should. "The Invisible War" had 19% of the "will win" vote, while "Central Park Five" was the runner-up in "should" with 24% of the vote.

Best Foreign Film
Who Will Win and Who Should Win: Unsurprisingly, "Amour" took 95% of the vote in the "will win" poll and 56% in the "should." "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" had a respectable 25% of the vote in the latter, while "Sister" and "Rust and Bone" both had many supporters as well.

Best Cinematography
Who Will Win and Who Should Win: Here lies another Spirit Award for "Beasts of the Southern Wild," said 82% of the poll, with 47% saying it deserved it. "Moonrise Kingdom" was a very close second in the "should" poll, taking 46% of the vote.

2013 Spirit Award Predictions: Will It Be the 'Silver Linings' or the 'Southern Wild' Show?

Peter Knegt — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Everyone's talking about who will and should win the Oscars in five days, but there's another award show this weekend too: The Spirit Awards, which go down Saturday afternoon in Santa Monica and honor the best in independent filmmaking. And it's looking like a showdown between two films.

It came as something of a surprise when David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" led the Spirit Award nominations last November. Not because people didn't think it wasn't good enough, but because most assumed it was ineligible due to having a budget over the Spirit Awards' $20 million cut off. But it turns out there was a loophole where films above the limit (in this case, just $1 million over, which is admittedly very close) could make the cut "at the sole discretion of the nominating committees and Film Independent."

Nearly three months later, that eligibility poses a big question heading into Saturday afternoon's award ceremony: Is what was once assumed to be a big night for "Beasts of the Southern Wild" about to become the "Silver Linings" show"? The former has four nominations, while the latter has five. But both square off in three categories where they also have Oscar nods: Best picture, best director and best actress (oddly "Beasts" didn't get a screenplay nom here, despite getting one at the Oscars).

Indiewire's predictions -- and further commentary -- in all categories are below. Spoiler: We suggest that while "Silver Linings" will win both lead acting prizes and a screenplay trophy for David O. Russell, overall voters will make it "Beasts" of the Spirit Awards.

Best Feature:
Despite the mission made clear in their name, the Spirits tend to pick the most Oscar-favored possibility in their top category (see: "The Artist," "Black Swan," "Precious," "Little Miss Sunshine," etc). But "Beasts" ended up doing much better at the Oscars than anyone could have imagined. This gives both films near-equal momentum going into the ceremony. One would hope that Spirit voters would be up for rewarding the much more sincerely "indie" spirit of "Beasts," but I thought going into the year when "Winter's Bone" lost to "Black Swan" that the same would occur. It didn't. Still, we're gonna bet this year is an exception to the rule. The external narrative behind "Beasts" is just so extraordinarily rare, and its beloved in a way that "Winter's Bone" just quite wasn't. But we could easily be wrong.

Who Will Win: "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Who Could Win: "Silver Linings Playbook"
Who Should Win: "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Who Shoulda Been Here: "Your Sister's Sister"

Best Director: David O. Russell won Spirit Awards for both Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay in 1994 for his very indie debut, "Spanking The Monkey." 19 years later, will he get his second for a film that despite its merits is much, much less indie? Or will they opt to reward newcomer Benh Zeitlin, who was nominated here instead of in the Best First Feature category (where he would have 100% won). Given the recent surge in support for "Beasts," and Zeitlin's shocking nomination for a best director Oscar, we're going with him. Especially since there's another category where the Spirits can reward Russell (he's nominated for screenplay too, though his noted history suggests he can pull off both wins). But it's a very close call.

Who Will Win: Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Who Could Win: David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Who Should Win: Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Who Shoulda Been Here: Richard Linklater, "Bernie"
Best Female Lead: Jennifer Lawrence lost in this category to Natalie Portman back in 2010 (where in an extraordinarily rare feat all five Spirit Award nominees were also Oscar nominees). Here she's one of two Oscar nominees, the other being Quvenzhane Wallis of "Beasts." But it's hard to imagine Wallis toppling Lawrence, despite the disappointment in thinking that had "Silver Linings" not been eligible, this would have been Wallis' one chance to make a surely adorable acceptance speech. This is probably the surest bet "Silver Linings" has at the Spirit Awards.

Who Will Win: Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Who Could Win: Quvenzhane Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Who Should Win: Quvenzhane Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Who Shoulda Been Here: Melanie Lynskey, "Hello I Must Be Going"

Best Male Lead: Will John Hawkes' unexpected snub at the Oscars for his incredible work in "The Sessions" help him gain sympathy votes or hurt him here? Probably the latter, especially since he won a Spirit Award two years ago for "Winter's Bone." Bradley Cooper will likely win instead, giving "Silver Linings" another trophy and Cooper his only major award of the season.

Who Will Win: Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"
Who Could Win: John Hawkes, "The Sessions"
Who Should Win: John Hawkes, "The Sessions"
Who Shoulda Been Here: Logan Lerman, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Best Supporting Female: Helen Hunt will very likely take the one and only Spirit Award for "The Sessions" here, though she faces some competition from Ann Dowd, who came so close to an Oscar nomination after a personally financed campaign that got a bit of attention. But the Oscar nominee almost always wins (almost -- last year they gave Oscar snubbed Shailene Woodley this award over nominee Janet McTeer), so we're going with Hunt (oddly, her fellow Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver didn't make the cut here).

Who Will Win: Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"
Who Could Win: Ann Dowd, "Compliance"
Who Should Win: Rosemarie DeWitt, "Your Sister's Sister"
Who Shoulda Been Here: Gina Gershon, "Killer Joe"

Best Supporting Male: Like the aforementioned Weaver, Robert DeNiro was another bizarre "Silver Linings" snub and would have easily won this had he been nominated. The same probably goes for Dwight Henry, who was another odd omission for his work in "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Instead we got the only category without an Oscar nominee, with Michael Pena ("End of Watch"), David Oyelowo ("Middle of Nowhere"), Bruce Willis ("Moonrise Kingdom"), Sam Rockwell ("Seven Psychopaths") and Matthew McConaughey ("Magic MIke") rounding it out. Willis could definitely take this, but the money's probably more on McConaughey, who had a banner year but was snubbed at the Oscars. And while a $100 million hit released by a studio once again doesn't quite scream "indie spirit," it did only have a $7 million budget, and McConaughey most definitely deserves this.

Who Will Win: Matthew McConaughey, "Magic Mike"
Who Could Win: Bruce Willis, "Moonrise Kingdom"
Who Should Win: Matthew McConaughey, "Magic Mike"
Who Shoulda Been Here: Dwight Henry, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best First Feature: Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" managed a sole nomination for best first feature, which would be wholly deserved if "Perks" was actually Chbosky's first feature. He directed "The Four Corners of Nowhere" back in 1995, a film that played in competition at Sundance. While 17 years is a long time between films, it doesn't quite re-virginize Chboksy's status as a first-time filmmaker. It seems like it could likely win anyway, which we'd be all for if it was a fair designation. And it seems almost like a slap in the face to Chbosky to give him an award that suggests his first film doesn't exist.

Who Will Win: "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"
Who Could Win: "Safety Not Guaranteed"
Who Should Win: If it actually was a first feature, I'd say "Perks," but since it's not: "Gimme The Loot"
Who Shoulda Been Here: "Sleepwalk With Me"

John Cassavetes Award: Ava DuVernay's "Middle of Nowhere" is an absolute shoo-in for this award, given to a film made for under $500,000. It will also interestingly make her the second consecutive black female filmmaker to take this award (after Dee Rees' "Pariah" last year), a hopeful feat given the disturbingly low number of women of color filmmakers to manage nominations here (or anywhere) in the past.

What Will Win: "Middle of Nowhere"
What Could Win: "Starlet"
What Should Win: "The Color Wheel"

Best Screenplay: This could feasibly be the sole bone thrown to Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," though it seems likely this will be David O. Russell's prize for "Silver Linings." Whether it joins a prize for best director is -- as aforementioned -- a bigger question.

What Will Win: "Silver Linings Playbook"
What Could Win: "Moonrise Kingdom"
What Should Win: "Moonrise Kingdom"
What Shoulda Been Here: "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"

Best First Screenplay: Four of the past six winners here have gone on to win an Oscar the next night (and another to create "Girls"), but there's no Oscar nominees here (despite Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar's Oscar-nominated script for "Beasts" being their first). Which leaves Derek Connolly of "Safety Not Guaranteed" likely duking it out with Rashida Jones and Will McCormack for "Celeste and Jesse Forever."

What Will Win: "Safety Not Guaranteed"
What Could Win: "Celeste and Jesse Forever"
What Should Win: "Gayby"
What Shoulda Been Here: "Magic Mike"

Best Cinematography: "Moonrise Kingdom" could rally, but this is probably the most assured prize for "Beasts of the Southern Wild" at the Spirits.

What Will Win: "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
What Could Win: "Moonrise Kingdom"
What Should Win: "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
What Shoulda Been Here: "The Loneliest Planet"

Best Documentary: With "Searching For Sugar Man" nowhere to be found, we can finally get a refreshing winner here, likely either "How To Survive a Plague" or "The Invisible War," both Oscar nominees too. We'll bet the former, but it could truly go either way (or another -- these docs are all worthy).

What Will Win: "How To Survive a Plague"
What Could Win: "The Invisible War"
What Should Win: They are all excellent.
What Shoulda Been Here: "The Queen of Versailles"

Best Foreign Film: Surest thing of the night: Michael Haneke's "Amour" is winning this award. Like "A Separation" last year, it will do so a day before doing it again at the Oscars (though oddly in the 25 years before that, no film ever won both).

What Will Win: "Amour"
What Could Win: N/A
What Should Win: "Amour"
What Shoulda Been Here: "Holy Motors"

Indiewire will be on the scene at the Spirit Awards this Saturday afternoon, and will be offering full updates as they come in.

EXCLUSIVE: Spirit Nominee Alex Ross Perry Discusses New HBO Project 'The Traditions,' His Next Feature and Life After 'The Color Wheel'

Eric Kohn — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 13:21:58 GMT

Alex Ross Perry isn't your average overnight sensation. His debut feature, 2009's innovative quasi-adaptation of "Gravity's Rainbow" "IMPOLEX," garnered some support at regional festivals, while his hilarious follow-up "The Color Wheel" followed a similar path, steadily developing appeal through word of mouth. Critical support for "The Color Wheel" in 2011 culminated with the movie topping Indiewire's annual critics poll for the Best Undistributed Film; last year, it finally made its way into theaters, opening the door for more audiences to discover Perry's mixture of wry comedy and perceptive characters. The squabbling brother and sister at the center of the black-and-white "The Color Wheel" comprised one of the more memorable onscreen duos among last year's releases, illustrating the filmmaker's unique ability to make viewers simultaneously laugh and cringe. The movie was eventually nominated for the John Cassavetes prize from the Spirit Awards, which take place in Los Angeles this Saturday.

The success of "The Color Wheel" has helped Perry set up a new project with the potential to bring him far more exposure. Indiewire has learned exclusively that Perry has been preparing a new series for HBO. The project, called "The Traditions," co-stars Perry and Kate Lyn Sheil as a young married couple relocating to the Midwest and attempting to orient themselves at a small liberal arts college. Perry recently wrapped production on several episodes and travels to Los Angeles this week for the Spirit Awards. He spoke to Indiewire about his intentions with the project and his other upcoming features.

What interested you about the possibility of working for HBO?

Them wanting to work with me. Of course it would be foolish to have dreamt of going straight from making "The Color Wheel" to creating content for what may be the most recognized name in quality filmed entertainment. It's pretty swell to finally not have to explain to members of my extended family or friends-of-friends at weddings what I do and why they should maybe care about it. HBO means you care when somebody is speaking to you and that's quite nice.

How did you end up getting in contact with the network?

They reached out due to some press that I guess crossed somebody's desk during the theatrical release of "The Color Wheel" and when I was in Los Angeles for the release my manager got me a meeting there. Thanks to Lena [Dunham], they are now making it a priority to find and develop content with as many "less experienced" people as they can fit into their business model. It is pretty amazing that anybody at that company saw "The Color Wheel," liked it enough to want to meet with me and immediately gave me the opportunity to do basically whatever I wanted with their full approval.

How has this experience differed from your experiences with other film shoots?

It was a personal adjustment challenge to go from working on "The Color Wheel" with a crew of four and no stakes and, honestly, nobody except me having any investment in the quality of the finished product, to something with an honest-to-god development process with outlines, character sketches, notes, feedback, and so on. But it was all really great and fun, as their reputation suggested it would be. The actual shooting was pretty much the same, thankfully, just with more money and thus more freedom to accomplish things that are not possible with a crew of four people who are getting paid nothing.

Where did you come up with this idea? How long did it take you to write it?

I was sitting in the HBO lobby reading this recently published book of interviews with David Foster Wallace wherein he talks about going to the University of Arizona after he had been at Amherst and written "The Broom of the System." He talked about it in really negative terms, like it was a great program and a great opportunity for somebody at that point in their life or career, but the personal changes to your actual day to day life seemed to affect him really negatively. So I started thinking about what that would be like for me, somebody in a stable long-term relationship, to have to pick up and move across the country at the age of 30, and suddenly have no friends and no comfort zone and no real idea how to get that stuff. This meeting was the first week of June and the first draft of the script was done around the end of July, just before I left for the Locarno International Film Festival [where Perry served on the 2012 jury].

How would you classify "The Traditions"?

The term they used when describing "The Color Wheel" is a "funny drama" and I like that. "The Traditions" is really not a comedy -- and it's not a sitcom, that's for sure. There are 10, 15 pages in a row of nothing but sadness and emotional breakdowns and fighting. But then also a bunch of great zingers peppered throughout.

Neither of your features were considered "commercial" in the traditional sense. The idea of you working for a network seems to imply that you're interested in telling more mainstream stories. How do you feel about this possibility?

I disagree that "Color Wheel" is not commercial. It is a comedy with relatable characters and familiar situations -- it's just filmed and ends in a way that is not commercial. "The Traditions" is still a story about two deeply sad people going through a rough time, but I guess it has enough hopefulness and production values to distinguish it from my features. This is exactly what I want to be doing right now and I don't think I would have had the confidence to embark on a new direction like this without the support of such a cool and important company behind me.

What else do you have in the pipeline?

I am trying to get my next feature together. It's called "Listen Up Philip" and is being produced by James Johnston, Toby Halbrooks and David Lowery, who all made "Ain't Them Bodies Saints," and also by Washington Square Films. It's a lengthy New York story, this whole thing about changing seasons and changing attitudes and people going up and coming down the chain of success and all the bumps and miseries that you hit on the way down and up. It's a comedy. I'm super excited about it and we are planning to shoot it this summer on super 16mm. Right now it's just casting dreams and stuff but we're hoping to get the sort of people that make you care about a movie before you see it. I am also using my pre-Spirit Award days out here in Los Angeles to try to get other stuff brewing -- including, hopefully, other ideas for television. I have also been also co-writing Bob Byington's new film with him which will also be shot sometime soon.

Watch: Paul Rudd Gropes Eva Mendes and Felicity Huffman Curses A Lot in the Spirit Awards' Most Outrageous Moments

Cameron Sinz — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 17:40:38 GMT

Every February, the Independent Spirit Awards act as a necessary counterpoint to the Academy Award's relatively clean and respectful broadcast, offering stars the opportunity to say or do anything they want during IFC's censor-free televised broadcast.

IFC has released a new ad for the 2013 installment of their awards, which highlights the most outrageous moments of the festivities, which have over the years included Ben Stiller's onstage porn star accompaniment, Mickey Rourke's plea for Eric Roberts to get a job, and a variety of celebrities cursing as much as humanely possible.

Tune in to this year's awards when they air on this Saturday, February 23 at 10:00pm ET/PT on IFC. Watch the full compilation video below.

5 Best Bets on TV This Week: Andy Samberg Hosts the Spirit Awards

Alison Willmore — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:25:08 GMT

Sure, Sunday tends to be overcrowded with high-end TV, including "Shameless," "Girls," Californication," "Enlightened" and, this coming weekend, the Academy Awards, but what to watch the rest of the time? Every Monday, we bring you five noteworthy highlights from the other six days of the week.

"Cult": Series Premiere
Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 8pm on The CW

"Farscape" and "Alien Nation" creator Rockne S. O'Bannon's latest venture is a drama about a TV series that's literally a cult favorite -- a ridiculous premise and an irresistible one in an age of intense fandom. Matthew Davis plays a blogger and Jessica Lucas a PA who team up to investigate the cult attached to "Cult," whose crimes seem to be mirroring those that take place on the show-within-a-show, with Robert Knepper playing its lead actor Roger Reeves.

"Frontline": "Raising Adam Lanza"
Tuesday, Feb. 19 at 10pm on PBS

As part of a week of Sandy Hook-centric programming on PBS, investigative series "Frontline" explores the life of shooter Adam Lanza in an episode made in conjunction with the Hartford Courant that looks into the background of the perpetrator of the second deadliest school shooting in United States history and his relationship with his mother Nancy Lanza, whom he also killed.

"Suits": Season Finale
Thursday, Feb. 21 at 10pm on USA

NYC law firm drama "Suits" is USA Network's strongest show at the moment, having managed to expand beyond its legal genius-who's-not-actually-a-lawyer premise to one about the battle for control of Pearson Hardman in its second season, with strong guest stars that included Jon Foster, Margo Martindale and David Costabile as antagonist Daniel Hardman. The season finale, "War," finds Harvey (Gabriel Macht) and Jessica (Gina Torres) at odds about what's next. "Suits" has already been renewed for a third season.

"Out There": Series Premiere
Friday, Feb. 22 at 10:30pm on IFC

Fred Armisen, John DiMaggio, Linda Cardellini, Kate Micucci, Pamela Adlon and Justin Roiland are among those voicing the characters for IFC's new animated series, which was created by former "South Park" animation director Ryan Quincy. "Out There" is a coming-of-age story set in a surreal small town in the middle of nowhere.

2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards
Saturday, Feb. 23 at 10pm on IFC

Andy Samberg hosts indie film's annual answer to the Oscars, with a pack of nominees led by "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Silver Linings Playbook," while "Breakfast With Curtis," "The Color Wheel," "Middle of Nowhere," "Mosquita y Mari" and "Starlet" are up for the always interesting John Cassavetes Award for movies made for under $500,000. The awards take place in the afternoon and are no longer broadcast live, so anyone looking to maintain suspense should steer clear of news feeds and social media until the evening.

Also worth a look: Civil rights doc "The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights," directed by Christine Khalafian and Taylor Hamilton, airs on "Independent Lens" on PBS on Monday, February 18th at 10pm; Luke Perry guest stars as the Ghost of Arbor Day Past, Present and Future on "Raising Hope" on Tuesday, February 19th at 8pm on Fox; "Little Britain" star Matt Lucas and Tricia Helfer of "Battlestar Galactica" guest on "Community" on Thursday, February 21st at 8pm on NBC.

Watch: Host Andy Samberg Has Bear Legs and a Doppelganger in Two Spirit Award Teasers

Mark Lukenbill — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:41:31 GMT

The Independent Spirit Awards are fast approaching, and while that means many of your more under-seen and modestly budgeted favorite films of last year may finally be getting their due, it also holds the promise of a more fun and freewheeling alternative to the drag that is the Oscars ceremony. This year Andy Samberg takes over the hosting mantle from folks like Seth Rogen and Joel McHale, and IFC has just released two trailers that showcase Samberg's surrealist sense of humor that will hopefully be on full display at the ceremony.

You can watch Samberg sprout bear legs and give himself a staredown below. The 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards air on Saturday, February 23rd at 10 PM ET on IFC with "Beasts of the Southern WIld," "Bernie," "Keep the Lights On," "Moonrise Kingdom," and "Silver Linings Playbook" fighting it out for Best Picture. Presenters include Anna Kendrick, Zoe Saldana, Common, Aubrey Plaza, Jake Johnson, Jason Bateman, Rashida Jones, Salma Hayek, Channing Tatum, Kerry Washington, Kyle MacLachlan and Zachary Booth.

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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Andy Samberg to Host the 2013 Spirit Awards

Justin Krajeski — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 20:23:40 GMT

Film Independent has announced that actor Andy Samberg will host the 28th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards. The 2013 Spirit Awards will be held February 23 in Santa Monica and broadcast later that day on IFC.

READ MORE: A Complete Guide To 2012-13 Awards Season

"Andy Samberg is an amazing comedian, just as offbeat as IFC," said Jennifer Caserta, IFC President and General Manager. She expressed enthusiasm for Samberg's chance to emcee the Spirits, calling it a "real treat" for their viewers.

Although he is best known for his numerous years on the cast of "Saturday Night Live," Samberg played opposite Rashida Jones in Lee Toland Krieger's "Celeste and Jesse Forever," which premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and earned one nomination at the Spirit Awards.

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

For Your Consideration: The 10 Biggest Surprises of the Spirit Award Nominations

Peter Knegt — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:45:32 GMT

There were considerable surprises among the nominations for the 28th Film Independent's Spirit Awards, which were announced yesterday in Los Angeles.

While the expected likes of "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Bernie," "Middle of Nowhere" and "Moonrise Kingdom," found many a nomination, they were joined (or not joined) by quite a few unexpected developments.

Check out 10 major surprises from the announcement below. A full list of nominations is available here.

1. "Silver Linings Playbook" was indeed eligible. And it dominated.
The Weinstein Company has done it again. A year after they managed to unexpectedly wiggle a largely French production into all the major Spirit Award races, they got a film many assumed was over the Spirit Awards' $20 million budget cut-off to get the most nominations of the announcement. With their two other major 2012 films ("The Master" and "Django Unchained") well over the budget cut-off, the Weinsteins pushed for the reportedly $21 million "Silver Linings," and succeeded. As it turns out, the jury has some discretion in qualifying films. Says the official Spirit Award rules:

Cost of completed film, including post, must be less than $20 million. Any variations are at the sole discretion of the nominating committees and Film Independent.

Every film with a budget of more than $15 million is required to submit the top sheet from its final budget report to determine eligibility, and it seems the "Silver Linings" top sheet worked out to the tune of best feature, best director, best screenplay, best actor and best actress nominations (but oddly nothing for Robert DeNiro in supporting actor). It's now the likely winner of most of those categories, as well.

2. "Your Sister's Sister" and "Compliance" each only manage one nomination (both for supporting actress).
Despite being two of the most acclaimed indies of the year, Lynn Shelton's "Your Sister's Sister" and Craig Zobel's "Compliance" were largely and unforunately shut out of the nominations. At least both did manage best supporting actress nods for Rosemarie DeWitt and Ann Dowd, which in this opinion were two of the best performances this year (and sadly both unlikely to nab Oscar noms). Its just too bad their co-stars Emily Blunt and Dreama Walker couldn't have joined them.

3. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" also only takes one nomination... In a category it shouldn't have even been eligible for.
Another film that was undeservedly short on Spirit noms was Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (where was Ezra Miller in supporting actor?). The film managed a sole nomination for best first feature, which would be wholly deserved if "Perks" was Chbosky's first feature. He directed "The Four Corners of Nowhere" back in 1995, a film that played in competition at Sundance. While 17 years is a long time between films, it doesn't quite re-virginize Chboksy's status as a first time filmmaker.

4. Music Box Films gets the second most nominations of any distributor.
Thanks in large part to the welcome surprise of Ira Sachs' "Keep The Lights On" managing a bunch of nominations in major categories (it took four overall, including best feature), Music Box Films was second only to Fox Searchlight in terms of distributors, beating out Sony Pictures Classics, Focus Features, IFC Films and The Weinstein Company. The relatively new company found 7 nominations overall, from "Lights" as well as "Starlet" and "Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present."

5. It was a pretty gay-friendly list of nominations.
Sachs' gay relationship drama led what was surprisingly LGBT-heavy list of films nominated at the Spirits. Rosemarie DeWitt's aforementioned performance in "Your Sister's Sister" was one of three nominated for depicting gay characters (Thure Lindhardt in "Lights" and Wendell Pierce in "Four" being the others). Beyond that, "Lights" got aforementioned best feature, best screenplay and best director nods, while Jonathan Lisecki's "Gayby" (first screenplay), Aurora Guerrero's "Mosquita y Mari" (John Cassavetes Award) and David France's "How To Survive a Plague" (documentary) all took nominations as well. Add them to the first feature nod for "Perks of Being a Wallflower," and it's a very gay-friendly list of nominations.

6. Linda Cardellini over Melanie Lynskey, Emily Blunt and Greta Gerwig
Last year Rachael Harris's performance in "Natural Selection" deservedly snuck in over expected nominees like Felicity Jones ("Like Crazy") in the lead actress category, and this year a similar situation occurred with another excellent performance (Linda Cardellini's in "Return") coming out of nowhere to manage a nomination. Not to say Cardellini is more or less worthy, but it definitely would have been more expected had, say, Melanie Lynskey ("Hello I Must Be Going"), Emily Blunt ("Your Sister's Sister") and Greta Gerwig ("Damsels in Distress," which was snubbed altogether) been nominated instead.

7. Thure Lindhardt and Wendell Pierce over Richard Gere and Jake Gyllenhaal
There was also some big surprises in lead actor category (which last year snubbed George Clooney's performance in "The Descendants"). Aforementioned performances by Thure Lindhardt ("Keep The Lights On") and Wendell Pierce ("Four") both took unexpected (though, again, deserved) nominations in the category (which offered six nominees instead of the usual five). But absent as a result were two actors widely predicted to pop up here: Richard Gere (for "Arbitrage") and Jake Gyllenhaal (for "End of Watch).

8. No English-language titles in the foreign film race.
The Spirit Awards' foreign film race, unlike the Oscars, is open to any film not produced in the United States and thus has the option of English-language films to be included. And included they have been. Last year three titles ("Melancholia," "Shame" and "Tyrannosaur") got nominated, and at least one English title has been included each of the past five Spirit Awards (three of them winning in "Once," "An Education" and "The King's Speech"). But this year, it was all foreign language thanks to "Amour," "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia," "Rust and Bone," "Sister" and "War Witch."

9. And no "Holy Motors" either!?
One of the snubs that seemed to find the most outrage on Twitter was the absence of Leos Carax's hugely acclaimed "Holy Motors" from the foreign category. Ineligible for the Oscar foreign category (France submitted "The Intouchables" instead, which thankfully also didn't make the cut), this would have been a nice place for the film to get some recognition...

10. Matthew McConaughey is a double nominee!
It wasn't clear whether "Magic Mike" would be eligible at the Spirits (while budgeted at just $7 million, it was released by a major studio), but it was indeed and Matthew McConaughey got an extremely warranted best supporting actor nomination as a result. But that wasn't the end of the McConaughey love. He also got a lead actor nomination for his equally deserving turn in "Killer Joe." Oddly, his nominations were the sole recognition each film received ("Magic Mike" at least should have got a screenplay nom), though another film he was in -- "Bernie" -- got nominations across the board, just not for McConaughey...

'Moonrise Kingdom,' 'Silver Linings,' 'Beasts' & 'Keep The Lights On' Top Spirit Awards Nominations

Oliver Lyttelton — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:41:56 GMT

We've barely had time to take a breath since the Gotham Awards were awarded last night, and already we're moving on, because their big cousin, the 28th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, revealed their nominations just a few minutes ago.

Among a strong slate, it's two potential Oscar contenders that came off the best, in the shape of David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook," and Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," which each picked up five nominations. There was some speculation in advance as to the eligibility of the former, but as usual, Harvey Weinstein worked his magic, giving the film an important pick-me-up after some mildly disappointing box office numbers. After picking up Best Feature at the Gothams yesterday, this is the second big boost in 24 hours for "Moonrise Kingdom," which looks like it might have the voter support to make it into the Best Picture field with the Academy. A nice surprise for the latter was a well-deserved Supporting Male nomination for Bruce Willis, though it came at the expense of Robert De Niro for "Silver Linings Playbook."

Also doing very well were "Beasts of the Southern Wild," gay romance "Keep The Lights On" and Sundance winner "Middle Of Nowhere," which all picked up four nominations, though the latter missed out on Best Feature, having to settle for a nod in the microbudget John Cassavettes Award category. Richard Linklater's "Bernie" rounded out the Best Feature field, and also picked up a nod for star Jack Black, while "Fill The Void," "Gimme The Loot," "Safety Not Guaranteed," "Sound Of My Voice" and "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" made up the First Feature nominees. "The Loneliest Planet" director Julia Loktev got a directing nod for her film, while Matthew McConaughey picked up two nominations -- Best Male Lead for "Killer Joe," and Best Supporting Male for "Magic Mike." Who'd have guessed that a year ago? It could also give McConaughey a boost for his Oscar chances for "Magic Mike," which have been flagging as of late.

The most notable loser was probably either Nicholas Jarecki's "Arbitrage," which missed out altogether, or "The Sessions," which, while it won nods for John Hawkes and Helen Hunt, missed out otherwise, whereas many had pegged it as a likely Best Feature nominee. Most other omissions -- including "The Master" -- are due to the films being too expensive, or otherwise ineligible. Also of note: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence continuing their march to the Oscars with nominations, a surprise nod for Wendell Pierce for the under-the-radar "Four," a deserved mention for Mary Elizabeth Winstead for "Smashed" (which may just keep her long-shot Oscar chances alive), three acting nominations for "Middle Of Nowhere," and a lead actress nomination for Linda Cardenelli for "Return" -- the "Freaks & Geeks" star has made headlines by funding her own awards campaign.

Altogether, we can't complain too much here -- the love was spread quite equally, with semi-studio pictures like "Seven Psychopaths" and "End Of Watch" each winning two nods, but smaller films like "Compliance" and "Here" also making the cut in various categories. It speaks to what's been a very, very strong year for American independent film, and it's about as diverse and agreeable a line up as we can remember. Read the full nominations on page two. [Indiewire]

Best Feature
"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
"Bernie"
"Keep The Lights On"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Silver Linings Playbook"

Best Director
Wes Anderson - "Moonrise Kingdom"
Julia Loktev - "The Loneliest Planet"
David O Russell - "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ira Sachs - "Keep The Lights On"
Benh Zeitlin - "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best First Feature
"Fill The Void"
"Gimme The Loot"
"Safety Not Guaranteed"
"Sound Of My Voice"
"The Perks Of Being A Wallflower"

John Cassavetes Award
"Breakfast With Curtis"
"The Color Wheel"
"Middle Of Nowhere"
"Mosquita y Mari"
"Starlet"

Best Male Lead
Jack Black - "Bernie"
Bradley Cooper - "Silver Linings Playbook"
John Hawkes - "The Sessions"
Thure Lindhart - "Keep The Lights On"
Matthew McConaughey - "Killer Joe"
Wendell Pierce - "Four"

Best Female Lead
Linda Cardenelli - "Return"
Emayatzy Corinealdi - "Middle Of Nowhere"
Jennifer Lawrence - "Silver Linings Playbook"
Quvenzhane Wallis - "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
Mary Elizabeth Winstead - "Smashed"

Best Supporting Male
Matthew McConaughey - "Magic Mike"
David Oyelowo - "Middle Of Nowhere"
Michael Pena - "End Of Watch"
Sam Rockwell - "Seven Psychopaths"
Bruce Willis - "Moonrise Kingdom"

Best Supporting Female
Rosemarie DeWitt - "Your Sister's Sister"
Ann Dowd - "Compliance"
Helen Hunt - "The Sessions"
Brit Marling - "Sound Of My Voice"
Lorraine Toussaint - "MIddle Of Nowhere"

Best Screenplay
Wes Anderson - "Moonrise Kingdom"
Zoe Kazan - "Ruby Sparks"
Martin McDonagh - "Seven Psychopaths"
David O Russell - "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias - "Keep The Lights On"

Best First Screenplay
Rama Burshtein - "Fill The Void"
Derek Connolly - "Safety Not Guaranteed"
Christopher Ford - "Robot & Frank
Rashida Jones & Will McCormack - "Celeste & Jesse Forever
Jonathan Lisecki - "Gayby"

Best International Feature
"Amour"
"Once Upon A TIme In Anatolia"
"Rust & Bone"
"Sister"
"War Witch"

Best Documentary
"The Central Park Five"
"How To Survive A Plague"
"The Invisible War"
"Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present"
"The Waiting Room"

Best Cinematography
"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
"End Of Watch"
"Here"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Valley Of The Saints"

Piaget Producers Award
Mynette Louie - "Stones In The Sun"
Derrick Tseng - "Prince Avalanche"
Alicia Van Couvering - "Nobody Walks"

Someone To Watch Award
David Fenster - "Pincus"
Adam Leon - "Gimme The Loot"
Rebecca Thomas - "Electrick Children"

Stella Artois Truer Than Fiction Award
Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Pravel - "Leviathan"
Peter Nicks - "The Waiting Room"
Jasonyyyee Tippet and Elizabeth Mimms - "Only The Young"

Robert Altman Award
"Starlet"

'Silver Linings,' 'Moonrise Kingdom' Lead Spirit Award Nominations

Peter Knegt — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:41:00 GMT

The 28th Annual Film Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced today in Los Angeles, with Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" and David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook" leading the pack with five nominations apiece.

Both films were nominated in the best feature category, alongside "Bernie," "Keep The Lights On" and "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Full commentary to come (there's lots to discuss).

The Nominees for the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards:

BEST FEATURE:
Beasts of the Southern Wild
PRODUCERS: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey & Josh Penn
Bernie
PRODUCERS: Liz Glotzer, Richard Linklater, David McFadzean, Dete Meserve, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams
Keep the Lights On
PRODUCERS: Marie Therese Guirgis, Lucas Joaquin, Ira Sachs
Moonrise Kingdom
PRODUCERS: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Scott Rudin
Silver Linings Playbook
PRODUCERS: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom
Julia Loktev
The Loneliest Planet
David O. Russell
Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs
Keep the Lights On
Benh Zeitlin
Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEST SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Moonrise Kingdom
Zoe Kazan
Ruby Sparks
Martin McDonagh
Seven Psychopaths
David O. Russell
Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias
Keep the Lights On

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Fill the Void
DIRECTOR: Rama Burshtein
PRODUCER: Assaf Amir
Gimme the Loot
DIRECTOR: Adam Leon
PRODUCERS: Dominic Buchanan, Natalie Difford, Jamund Washington
Safety Not Guaranteed
DIRECTOR: Colin Trevorrow
PRODUCERS: Derek Connolly, Stephanie Langhoff, Peter Saraf, Colin Trevorrow, Marc Turtletaub
Sound of My Voice
DIRECTOR: Zal Batmanglij
PRODUCERS: Brit Marling, Hans Ritter, Shelley Surpin
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
DIRECTOR: Stephen Chbosky
PRODUCERS: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith

Continue to next page for the rest of the nominations.

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Rama Burshtein
Fill the Void
Derek Connolly
Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford
Robot & Frank
Rashida Jones & Will McCormack
Celeste and Jesse Forever
Jonathan Lisecki
Gayby

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director, and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.
Breakfast with Curtis
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Laura Colella
Middle of Nowhere
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Ava DuVernay
PRODUCERS: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes
Mosquita y Mari
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Aurora Guerrero
PRODUCER: Chad Burris
Starlet
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Sean Baker
WRITER: Chris Bergoch
PRODUCERS: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Kevin Chinoy, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Francesca Silvestri
The Color Wheel
WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Alex Ross Perry
WRITER: Carlen Altman

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Linda Cardellini
Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi
Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence
Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhané Wallis
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Smashed

BEST MALE LEAD
Jack Black
Bernie
Bradley Cooper
Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes
The Sessions
Thure Lindhardt
Keep the Lights On
Matthew McConaughey
Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce
Four

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Rosemarie DeWitt
Your Sister’s Sister
Ann Dowd
Compliance
Helen Hunt
The Sessions
Brit Marling
Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint
Middle of Nowhere

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Matthew McConaughey
Magic Mike
David Oyelowo
Middle of Nowhere
Michael Péna
End of Watch
Sam Rockwell
Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis
Moonrise Kingdom

Continue to next page for rest of nominations.

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

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
How to Survive a Plague
DIRECTOR: David France
PRODUCERS: David France, Howard Gertler
Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present
DIRECTOR: Matthew Akers
PRODUCERS: Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre
The Central Park Five
DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
The Invisible War
DIRECTOR: Kirby Dick
PRODUCERS: Tanner King Barklow, Amy Ziering
The Waiting Room
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER: Peter Nicks
PRODUCERS: Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Amour
(France)
DIRECTOR: Michael Haneke
Once Upon A Time in Anatolia
(Turkey)
DIRECTOR: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust And Bone
(France/Belgium)
DIRECTOR: Jacques Audiard
Sister
(Switzerland)
DIRECTOR: Ursula Meier
War Witch
(Democratic Republic of Congo/Canada)
DIRECTOR: Kim Nguyen

16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 16th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Nobody Walks
PRODUCER: Alicia Van Couvering
Prince Avalanche
PRODUCER: Derrick Tseng
Stones in the Sun
PRODUCER: Mynette Louie

19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 19th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Pincus
DIRECTOR: David Fenster
Gimme the Loot
DIRECTOR: Adam Leon
Electrick Children
DIRECTOR: Rebecca Thomas

STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 18th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Leviathan
DIRECTOR: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
The Waiting Room
DIRECTOR: Peter Nicks
Only the Young
DIRECTOR: Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims

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

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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.”

For Your Consideration: Independent Spirit Awards Have Plenty to Choose From (But Don't Expect Much Oscar Crossover)

Peter Knegt — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:58:54 GMT

With the recent announcement of the Gotham Award nominations, it only seems appropriate for this week’s column to take on the granddaddy of independent film awards: Film Independent’s Spirit Awards. With nominations to be announced November 27, the awards promise to (as always) be a surprising and at times unexpected representation of the year in American independent film.

One thing that can be expected: This year’s event promises to be much less Oscar friendly than last year’s Spirits, which was dominated by Oscar crossover thanks to "The Artist." The year before was similar situation, when four of the Spirits' best feature nominees also got Oscar nods for best picture (Oscar winner "The King's Speech" wasn't eligible in that category, but won the Spirits' foreign film award).

It should make this year quite refreshing by comparison, since it gives opportunity to honor many deserving indies a little too outside the mainstream for Academy tastes. So let’s break it down with respect to some of the Spirits’ major categories to see where things might be headed. When considering what is seemingly left out, keep in mind the awards’ eligibility rules.

READ MORE: 2013 Oscar Predictions

For example, both "The Master" and "Silver Linings Playbook" have budgets that exceed $20 million, placing them outside the awards’ limitations. "Magic Mike" was released by a studio, despite only costing $7 million to make. Meanwhile, "Amour," "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," "Ginger and Rosa," "Holy Motors," "Rust and Bone," "Seven Psychopaths" and "Take This Waltz" are not American productions, thus excluding them from all categories except “foreign film,” where one would suspect a lot of them will pop up.

There’s also the tricky thing of films that haven’t been theatrically released showing up, thanks to their festival screenings. “Frances Ha” would be a film to watch out for if that ends up being the case in their regard (with Greta Gerwig a surefire best actress nominee, one would think). So that all said, here’s some best guesses.

Best Feature

Prediction: Bernie, Middle of Nowhere, Moonrise Kingdom, The Sessions, Your Sister's Sister
Spoilers: Arbitrage, Compliance, Damsels in Distress, End of Watch, Hitchcock, Keep The Lights On, The Loneliest Planet, Smashed

Benh Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" may or may not be competing in the remarkably packed best first feature category instead (the awards have an inconsistent history with this), which would make way for Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" to be the arguable favorite (and Anderson film has never even been nominated in this category before, let alone won).

"Kingdom" comes with main competition from "Hitchcock," Ben Lewin's "The Sessions," Richard Linklater's "Bernie," Ava DuVernay's "Middle of Nowhere," Lynn Shelton's "Your Sister's Sister," Craig Zobel's "Compliance" and Whit Stilman's "Damsels in Distress." It could truly be any combination of these. And while "Kingdom" has a (very) outside shot at a best picture Oscar nomination, this could very well be only the second time in 10 years that no Spirit Award nominee in this category crossed over.

Best Lead Female

Prediction: Ann Dowd (Compliance), Melanie Lynskey (Hello I Must Be Going), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock), Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Smashed)

Spoilers: Emily Blunt (Your Sister's Sister), Emayatzy Corinealdi (Middle of Nowhere), Greta Gerwig (Damsels in Distress), Zoe Kazan (Ruby Sparks), Melissa Leo (Francine)

Quvenzhané Wallis for the win! The young lead of "Beasts of the Southern Wild" might be a long shot for an Oscar win (though she still seems like a likely nominee), the Spirit Award is very likely her prize to lose. Though she does has some impressive, eclectic competition in the likes of Ann Dowd ("Compliance"), Emily Blunt ("Your Sister's Sister"), Melanie Lynskey ("Hello I Must Be Going"), Emayatzy Corinealdi ("Middle of Nowhere"), Mary Elizabeth Winstead ("Smashed") and Helen Mirren ("Hitchcock").

You'd think a combination of those actresses would make up the nominees, but you never know how this category will work out. Last year Lauren Ambrose ("Think of Me") and Rachael Harris ("Natural Selection") came out nowhere to nab nominations over favorites like Glenn Close ("Albert Nobbs") and Felicity Jones (“Like Crazy”). And as previously noted, if Greta Gerwig's performance in "Frances Ha" is eligible, watch out for her.

Best Lead Male

Prediction: Jack Black (Bernie), Richard Gere (Arbitrage), John Hawkes (The Sessions), Anthony Hopkins (Hitchcock), Matthew McConaughey (Killer Joe)
Spoilers: Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk With Me), Mark Duplass (Your Sister's Sister), Jake Gyllenhaal (End of Watch), Frank Langella (Robot and Frank), Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

Certainly the most competitive of all the acting categories, the race for best lead male is a doozy that could offer an awesomely mixed bag of actors. Jack Black, Richard Gere, John Hawkes and Matthew McConaughey (twice over, though as noted, "Magic Mike" isn't eligible) gave what some would consider career performances this year; it’s hard to imagine any of them being snubbed. And then there's Anthony Hopkins, whose performance in "Hitchcock" is still sight unseen but seems like a pretty safe bet all things considered (but hey, last year they snubbed George Clooney here for "The Descendants," so you never know).

That doesn't leave much room for newcomers like Mike Birbiglia and Logan Lerman, or Jake Gyllenhaal and Frank Langella, who also gave what many considered their best performances in years for "End of Watch" and "Robot and Frank," respectively.

As for the winner, it seems like John Hawkes is the one to beat. This would notably also be his third nomination in a row after "Martha Marcy May Marlene" and "Winter's Bone" (which he won for). John Hawkes, the new king of the Spirit Awards.

Best Supporting Female and Best Supporting Male

Female Prediction: Lauren Ambrose (Sleepwalk With Me), Rosemarie DeWitt (Your Sister's Sister), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Frances McDormand (Moonrise Kingdom), Lorraine Toussaint (Middle of Nowhere)
Female Spoilers: Gina Gherson (Killer Joe), Shirley MacLaine (Bernie), Susan Sarandon (Arbitrage), Octavia Spencer (Smashed), Juno Temple (Killer Joe)

Male Prediction: Dwight Henry (Beasts of the Southern Wild), William H. Macy (The Sessions), Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Michael Pena (End of Watch), Bruce Willis (Moonrise Kingdom)
Male Spoilers: Emile Hirsch (Killer Joe), Bill Murray (Moonrise Kingdom), Edward Norton (Moonrise Kingdom), Nick Offerman (Smashed), Nate Parker (Arbitrage)

The Spirits tend to get even more wildly unpredictable when it comes to the supporting categories. Who predicted Ashley Bell (“The Last Exorcism”) and Daphne Rubin-Vega (“Jack Goes Boating”) over Mila Kunis (“Black Swan”) and Dianne Weist (“Rabbit Hole”) two years ago? Or John C. Reilly for "Cedar Rapids" last year? With that in mind, continue to take these suggestions cautiously.

But it seems pretty likely that both of John Hawkes' "Sessions" co-stars -- Helen Hunt and William H. Macy -- make it in here (and both could very well win), while it's a bit of a question mark how many (and which ones) make it from the huge cast of "Moonrise Kingdom," though it seems like consensus is that Bruce Willis and Frances McDormand were best in show.

Who knows beyond that... Michael Pena for "End of Watch"? Rosemarie DeWitt for "Your Sister's Sister"? Dwight Henry for "Beasts"? Whatever the mix, expect a diversity of performances in true Spirit Award-spirit… even if Macy and Hunt can pretty much start writing their acceptance speeches now.

Best Director and Best First Feature:

Director Prediction: Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom), Ava DuVernay (Middle of Nowhere), Ben Lewin (The Sessions). Richard Linklater (Bernie), Lynn Shelton (Your Sister's Sister)
Director Spoilers: Sacha Gervasi (Hitchcock), Julia Loktev (The Loneliest Planet), Ira Sachs (Keep The Lights On), Whit Stilman (Damsels in Distress), Craig Zobel (Compliance)

First Feature Prediction: Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin), Not Fade Away (David Chase), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky), Safety Not Guaranteed (Colin Trevorrow), Sleepwalk With Me (Mike Birbiglia)
First Feature Spoilers: Francine (Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky), Robot and Frank (Jake Schreier), Sound of My Voice (Zal Batmanglij)

One of the most interesting races to watch is the one that has no Oscar equivalent: Best first feature. 2012 was an exceptional year for first time filmmakers. Yes, Benh Zeitlin's work on "Beasts" is the clear frontrunner, but he could be joined by an impressve lineup of other new filmmakers, many of them coming to film from a different medium: David Chase ("Not Fade Away"), Stephen Chbosky ("Perks of Being a Wallflower"), and Mike Birbiglia ("Sleepwalk With Me").

As for the best director race, Wes Anderson is probably a sure bet for a nod, though a refreshing mix of filmmakers (imagine if the Oscars ever nominate two women -- one of them African-American -- in their version of this category) should be joining him.

Best Foreign Film

Prediction: Amour, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Holy Motors, Rust and Bone, Take This Waltz
Spoilers: Ginger and Rosa, The Intouchables, Kill List, A Royal Affair, Seven Psychopaths, Sister

This category is always quite interesting in that it often honors both foreign-language films and English-language films made outside the United States. As a result, "The King’s Speech” beat “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” and “Of Gods and Men” two years ago, though last year "A Separation" won here just like it did at the Oscars.

This year, the English language likes of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," "Ginger and Rosa," "Seven Psychopaths" and "Take This Waltz" square off against mostly French competitions (what a year for French language cinema): "Amour," "Holy Motors," "The Intouchables" and "Rust and Bone" could all represent the French language.

Best Documentary

Prediction: How To Survive a Plague, The House I Live In, The Invisible War, The Queen of Versailles, Searching For Sugar Man
Spoilers: Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, Bully, The Central Park Five, Detropia, Head Games, Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, Only The Young, The Revisionaries, Room 237, Samsara, West of Memphis

As the recent IDA Award nominations helped made clear, another thing 2012 has going for it is an extraordinary output of documentary filmmaking. How the Spirit Awards end up choosing to represent that is probably the toughest call of all; historically, they have very much gone their own way in this category.

Steve James’ “The Interrupters” won last year, helping make up for an Oscar snub. James is in the mix again this year with "Head Games," but there's a lot of competition in "The House I Live In," "How To Survive a Plague," "The Invisible War," "Samsara," "Searching For Sugar Man" and "The Queen of Versailles." And what makes this perhaps the most interesting of all categories to watch is largely because of much it probably won’t look anything like it’s Oscar counterpart.

For Your Consideration is a weekly column by Indiewire's Senior Editor and awards guru, Peter Knegt. Follow him on Twitter and check out his weekly Oscar prediction chart updates.

Now THIS Is How It Should Be Done: Seth Rogen's Independent Spirit Awards Opening Monologue (In Case You Missed It)

Edward Davis — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 23:39:23 GMT

To paraphrase host Seth Rogen, there was this show on Saturday that you didn't watch and barely knew even existed, taking place in a tent for some fucking reason. It was the Spirit Awards, aka the Independent Spirit Awards as they used to call it (we posted the winners on Saturday), and if you want to watch the antithesis of Billy Crystal's pretty tame, often anemic, and self-congratulatory Oscar monologue and jokes, this is surely it (and it's NSFW, btw).

Rogen, in his trademark cheeky "I don't really give a fuck" style swung for the fences, took no prisoners, and was the definition of irreverent (and funny to boot). His targets? The Spirits themselves ("completely inconsequential, nothing will come from this literally, nothing," he quipped), Brett Ratner and the slurs that got him fired from his Oscar gig ("without awards season we wouldn't know what a horrible bigot Brett Ratner was"), the audience ("I was committed to watching all your movies and I made it through the first five minutes of every one...some of them start pretty fucking slow") and Chris Brown and the Grammys ("you could literally beat the shit out of a nominee and they'll ask you perform twice at the Grammys"). Oh, let's not forget the pointed digs at at disgraced actor when discussing the antagonist Jews (Ron Perlman and Albert Brooks) in Nicolas Winding Refn's neo-noir drama "Drive" ("Seriously, that movie made Jews look so scary I thought Mel Gibson directed it," he said).

Overall, this is kind of the irreverence and danger that awards shows need and yet there's something about his flippant nature that didn't make any of it come across too mean-spirited (god forbid a celebrity get truly offended). A host bordering so closely to outrageous you're actually paying attention to what he might say because you might be one of his targets; gee, sounds like a damn good idea, Academy. With Ricky Gervais safely in his penalty box this year, we tip our cap to Seth Rogen for keeping celebrities on their toes, and more importantly, making us laugh. Watch below. And Seth? If Only "50/50" woulda been this funny. ;) [via Movieline]

'The Artist' Sweeps Spirit Awards Taking Best Picture, Director, Actor & Cinematography

Kevin Jagernauth — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:44:11 GMT

The awards season train continues for "The Artist," and while in years past the Spirit Awards have tended to honor edgier or more decidedly independent fare, this year it looks like even they have the fever for the silent movie sensation. Taking home the big prizes for Best Picture, Best Director (Michel Hazanavicius), Best Actor (Jean Dujardin) and Best Cinematography (Guillaume Schiffman) it looks like the stage has been set for the film to repeat these honors, and maybe more, tomorrow night at the venue formerly known as the Kodak Theater.

How did our awards season prognosticator do on his predictions? He came in about 41% or 7 for 17. Truthfully, we figured that Spirit Awards favorite Alexander Payne might do some repeat business at the ceremony with "The Descendants," but it only came away from the event with an award for Shailene Woodley for Best Supporting Female and Best Screenplay for Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. We're please to see "Without" director Mark Jackson take the Someone To Watch award which should be a nice profile boost, while "The Interrupters" deservedly took Best Documentary and Christopher Plummer got in a practice round of his acceptance speech for tomorrow by winning Best Supporting Actor here. It was also a big evening for "Margin Call" that took Best First Feature and the Robert Altman Award home.

Full list of winners below and you can watch the fun tonight on IFC at 10 PM.

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer)
"The Artist"

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
"Margin Call," Director: J.C. Chandor; Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
"Pariah"

BEST SCREENPLAY
"The Descendants," Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
"50/50," Will Reiser

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

BEST MALE LEAD
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"The Artist," Guillaume Schifmann

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
"The Interrupters," Steve James

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
"A Separation," Asghar Farhadi

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
"Margin Call," Director: J.C. Chandor; Casting Director: Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey; Ensemble Cast: Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Sophia Linn - "Take Shelter"

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Mark Jackson - "Without"

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Heather Courtney – "Where Soldiers Come From"

'The Artist' Sweeps Indie Spirit Awards

Peter Knegt — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 22:45:00 GMT

Michel Hazanavicius's "The Artist" swept the 27th Film Independent's Spirit Awards this afternoon, taking prizes for best feature, best director, best actor and best cinematography in what is surely foreshadowing for tomorrow's Oscars.

Other major winners included "Margin Call" -- which took best first feature and the Robert Altman Award, and "The Descendants," which won best screenplay best supporting female.

The complete list of Spirit Award winners is below. Also check out our minute by minute rundown from the ceremony.

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer)
"The Artist"

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
"Margin Call"

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
"Pariah"

BEST SCREENPLAY
"The Descendants"

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
"50/50"

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

BEST MALE LEAD
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
"The Artist"

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
"The Interrupters"

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
"A Separation"

MROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
"Margin Call"

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Sophia Linn - "Take Shelter"

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Mark Jackson - "Without"

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Heather Courtney – "Where Soldiers Come From"

The Predictions | The Nominees | The Indiewire Poll | Twitter

SPIRIT AWARDS LIVE | The Complete Event, Minute By Minute

Nigel M Smith — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 21:01:23 GMT

The 27th Film Independent's Spirit Awards are currently going down here in Santa Monica. Indiewire is on the scene to offer minute by minute coverage of everything Spirit Awards.

The Winners | The Predictions | The Nominees | The Indiewire Poll | Twitter

3:50PM: And that's a wrap folks. See you tomorrow at the Oscars. Thanks for tuning in.

3:43PM: Gotta love the press: "Michelle! Do you feel sexier now that you've played a bombshell?" Michelle: "No, not really."

3:40PM: Williams bringing some serious star wattage to the backstage press tent. On winning her award, "People were saying I was like the Susan Lucci of the Spirit Awards." Not any more.

3:39PM: "The Artist" wins Best Feature. You don't say.

3:33PM: Williams onstage: "Thank you for supporting me, welcoming me and making me feel at home in this room and in this community, back when the only thing I owned that I wore was my dignity."

3:32PM: Williams wins for "My Week With Marilyn."

3:31PM: Michelle Williams is sure keeping her BFF Busy Phillips busy. The blonde bombshell is once again by her side.

3:30PM: Olivia Wilde and Willem Dafoe presenting Best Female Lead to...

3:23PM: "The Artist" helmer Michel Hazanavicius wins. Quelle surprise...

3:22PM: J.C. Chandor and his "Margin Call" crew invade the press tent. Press won't be privy to hearing the winning director accept the award.

3:20PM: Kirsten Dunst, sporting a very mini mini, onstage with Jonah Hill to present the Best Director Award.

3:17PM: "Margin Call" director J.C. Chandor onstage, "I'm just glad we made a good little movie."

3:15PM: "Margin Call" trumps "Martha Marcy May Marlene" to take the award. Some applause backstage.

3:14PM: Onstage Rosario Dawson is telling her Best First Feature co-presenter Anthony Mackie to settle down. Somebody's clearly been enjoying the bubbly.

2:57PM: "A Separation" wins Best International Feature.

2:54PM: James on his hometown, "Chicago is the quintessential American city. Every story you want to tell is right there."

2:53PM: "The Interrupters" director Steve James met with big applause backstage.

2:51PM: "The Descendants" wins Best Screenplay. Oscar tomorrow? Seems likely.

2:50PM: Elizabeth Banks and Joseph Gordon-Levitt getting friendly onstage in presenting Best Screenplay.

2:44PM: Despite not getting an Oscar nomination, "The Interrupters" wins Best Documentary. Well deserved.

2:41PM: His co-star, Penelope Ann Miller, onstage accepting the award on his behalf, mistakenly states that Dujardin won the Cesar award just last night for Best Actor. Didn't happen. He lost out to Omar Sy for "Untouchable."

2:41PM: And the guy's not even here! On Oscar week no less...

2:40PM: Nope. Jean Dujardin wins for "The Artist."

2:39PM: Jessica Chastain and Chris Pine on stage to present the Best Male Lead. Will Chastain be presenting it to her co-star, Shannon?

2:39PM: Rogen is back and still picking on Michael Shannon. "He'll kill somebody before the show's over."

2:26PM: "Pariah" wins the John Cassavetes award.

2:25PM: Woodley says she has no movies in store. What you waiting for?! Says she's waiting "for something dark and small."

2:22PM: For such a young talent, Woodley is remarkably well spoken and very poised. She'll go far.

2:20PM: Shailene Woodley looking sparkly and gorgeous backstage. "Being on a film as an 18 year old, the experience was a catalyst for me coming into my own."

2:16PM: Patricia Clarkson on Bingham Ray: "This man was an independent film." A moving salute. "Thank you Bingham. Wish you were here."

2:13PM: Wow, first upset of the night! Shailene Woodley beats Chastain for Best Supporting Actress. "This is nerve racking," she says upon taking to the stage. "I'm so excited, my heart is pumping!"

2:13PM: Will Reiser is done making the rounds with the press so audio is back on!

2:11PM: Best Supporting Actress race is ON from the looks of the monitors backstage. Jessica Chastain expected to win.

2:07PM: Will Reiser backstage looking dapper. "Winning a Spirit Award is really special. Independent film to be is about telling great stories about real people. It seems like there's less and less room for films like these. These are films that I want to continue making."

2:04PM: "The Artist" wins Best Cinematography.

2:03PM: Plummer takes on "The Artist"'s beloved dog Uggie: "Our dog [in "Beginners"] had soul!" Ouch.

2:01PM: Plummer backstage: "I'm not crazy about the red carpet. I was so grateful at one of the award nights to see a grey carpet. It was such a relief!"

2:00PM: "I hope my winning this award helps the film," Plummer says.

1:59PM: Plummer backtage in press tent, so we're cut off from hearing Reiser accept his award. Plummer looks dashing and very proud.

1:58PM And the winner for Best First Screenplay goes to Will Reiser for "50/50."

1:56PM: Julia Ormond and Benjamin Bratt onstage to present Best First Screenplay. Attempted jokes were met with silence...

1:52PM: Plummer calls his "Beginners" co-star Ewan McGregor, "a scene stealing swine."

1:51PM: And the award goes to, who else, Mr. Plummer.

1:47PM: Zoe Saldana and Jeffrey Dean Morgan taking to the stage to present Best Supporting Male. Christopher Plummer? Who are we kidding...

1:45PM: Rogen on Best Actress nominee Elizabeth Olsen, the other Olsen sister: "I can't believe she was a mistake!"

1:42PM: Press folks are opting to skip out of listening to Rogen's speech in favor of getting lunch in an adjacent tent. This year: Lunch boxes!

1:40PM: Rogen admits to being scared of Best Actor nominee Michael Shannon. Who can blame him?

1:38PM: Rogen is a fan of "Drive." "I liked that all the villains were Jewish."

1:33PM: Seth Rogen has the audience (and press) in stitches. "I was commited to watching the movies. I watched the first five minutes of every one of them."

1:32PM: Host Seth Rogen: "I have no fucking clue why we're in a tent right now. You know you're at a wonderful awards show when you have to use a porta potty."

1:31PM: Consider us corrected. And the show if officially OFF with a lively video montage.

1:25PM: Announcer is annoucing, LOUDLY, that the show is set to start in 5 minutes. We want to believe him, but we know better.

12:50PM: 40 minutes and counting until the 27th Film Indpendent Spirit Awards are set to start. Indiewire's set up in the press tent, which we're glad to report is rather toasty, unlike last year when the wind threatened to blow off the roof. "Take Shelter" director/writer Jeff Nichols is walking the red carpet, alongside his stars Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, both rumored to win at today's ceremony according to Indiewire's annual Spirits poll.

The Amazing Race: Our Predictions For The 2012 Spirit Awards

Oliver Lyttelton — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:30:04 GMT

This weekend isn't just about the Oscars, for the record. Saturday night, as is traditional, sees the warm-up for the big show with the 2012 Spirit Awards, Film Independent's antidote to the Academy Awards, intended to honor the best of independent cinema. With recent winners of the top prize including "Juno," "The Wrestler," "Precious" and "Black Swan," they've provided the opportunity for films that are perhaps a little too dark, small or offbeat to win Best Picture from the Academy the chance to grab some gold.

This year, things may be a little different, with oscar front-runner "The Artist" nominated in multiple categories, so we could end up seeing the two ceremonies mirroring each other more closely than ever. But will that actually be the case? True to their name, the Independent Spirits have been known to go their own way. We've run down our predictions below, and stay tuned for our final Oscar guesses later on as well.

Best Feature
"50/50"
"Beginners"
"Drive"
"Take Shelter"
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
Barring a real shock, this should be between the two Best Picture Oscar-nominated films in the running -- "The Artist" and "The Descendants." The former's obviously had the narrative on its side of late, and only a fool would bet against it completely, but the Spirit Awards are big Alexander Payne fans -- both "Sideways" and "Election" won the top prize -- and "The Descendants" feels more like their speed. Not to mention that Fox Searchlight have won five out of the last ten years.
Should Win: "Beginners"
Will Win: "The Descendants"

Best Director
Mike Mills - "Beginners"
Nicolas Winding Refn - "Drive"
Jeff Nichols - "Take Shelter"
Michel Hazanavicius - "The Artist"
Alexander Payne - "The Descendants"
Again, Payne and Michel Hazanavicius, as the two Oscar nominees, have an advantage here, but we'd also put Nicolas Winding Refn close in the running too; "Drive" is very much a director's film, arguably more so than the other two. Any of the three could win here, but we're going to stick with Mr. Payne here.
Should Win: Nicolas Winding Refn
Will Win: Alexander Payne

Best First Feature
"Another Earth"
"In The Family"
"Margin Call"
"Martha Marcy May Marlene"
"Natural Selection"
Historically speaking, this category tends to be won by the best known film in the running, the victory for 2005's "Sweet Land" being the most obvious exception. As such, one can probably rule out the under-the-radar "Natural Selection" and "In The Family." "Another Earth" has something of a chance, but has proven divisive, so this is really a two-horse race, and while either "Margin Call" or "Martha Marcy May Marlene" has the right stuff, we suspect it's the latter that'll win out.
Should Win: "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Will Win: "Martha Marcy May Marlene"

Best Male Lead
Demian Bichir - "A Better Life"
Jean Dujardin - "The Artist"
Ryan Gosling - "Drive"
Woody Harrelson - "Rampart"
Michael Shannon - "Take Shelter"
With George Clooney surprisingly missing out, this is very open: virtually anyone could take this, although Harrelson's chance are fairly slim. We're going to lean towards Oscar front-runner Dujardin here; when they can honor an Oscar nominee, they generally do. But that means that Demian Bichir is certainly in the mix too.
Should Win: Michael Shannon
Will Win: Jean Dujardin

Best Female Lead
Lauren Ambrose - "Think Of Me"
Rachel Harris - "Natural Selection"
Adepero Oduye - "Pariah"
Elizabeth Olsen - "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Michelle Williams - "My Week With Marilyn"
Again, the Spirit Awards have tended to give the Actress prize to whoever among the group has an Oscar nomination, and with Michelle Williams being a frequent nominee, but never having won, the stats point towards her. That being said, the film isn't really their bag (as shown by a general lack of nominations), and we wonder if Elizabeth Olsen could come in and steal it?
Should Win: Adepero Oduye
Will Win: Elizabeth Olsen

Best Supporting Male
Albert Brooks - "Drive"
John Hawkes - "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Christopher Plummer - "Beginners"
John C. Reilly - "Cedar Rapids"
Corey Stoll - "Midnight In Paris"
Christopher Plummer actually has a more competitive field here than he's had at most ceremonies, with all bar perhaps Reilly posing a real threat. Hawkes won the category last year, which might rule him out, but Brooks or Stoll could surprise, particularly the former. Plummer's the safe bet, though.
Should Win: Albert Brooks
Will Win: Christopher Plummer

Best Supporting Female
Jessica Chastain - "Take Shelter"
Angelica Huston - "50/50"
Janet McTeer - "Albert Nobbs"
Harmony Santana - "Gun Hill Road"
Shailene Woodley - "The Descendants"
Two Oscar nominees here, although Chastain is up for "Take Shelter" rather than "The Tree of Life." That being said, we don't see McTeer as a serious threat: Shailene Woodley likely has a better chance. But we imagine this is going to Chastain, as much as a recognition for her work elsewhere as anything else.
Should Win: Jessica Chastain
Will Win: Jessica Chastain

John Cassavettes Award
"Bellflower"
"Circumstance"
"Hello Lonesome"
"Pariah"
"The Dynamiter"
Given for a film with a budget of less than $500,000, this tends to lean towards relatively widely seen festival favorites like "The Station Agent," "Mean Creek" and "Humpday," although more obscure options, like last year's winner, "Daddy Longlegs," are possible. So in theory, this could be anyone's, but we think the ecstatic reviews for "Pariah" will push it over the edge.
Should Win: "Circumstance"
Will Win: "Pariah"

Best Documentary
"An African Election"
"Bill Cunningham New York"
"The Interrupters"
"The Redemption of General Butt Naked"
"We Were Here"
A far better shortlist than the Oscars' in the same category, Steve James' outstanding "The Interrupters" is the clear front-runner here. That being said, "Bill Cunningham New York" could end up surprising many here.
Should Win: "The Interrupters"
Will Win: "The Interrupters"

Best International Film
"A Separation"
"Melancholia"
"Shame"
"The Kid With The Bike"
"Tyrannosaur"
Thanks to the inclusion of English-language fare, and the not-submitted-by-France "The Kid With A Bike," "A Separation" has a tougher battle than it's faced at similar ceremonies, and we can certainly see a world in which any of the five walk away with the prize. The Iranian film is probably just about the front-runner, but don't be surprised if "Melancholia" or "Shame" win out.
Should Win: "The Kid With The Bike"
Will Win: "A Separation"

Best Cinematography
Joel Hodge - "Bellflower"
Benjamin Kasulke - "The Off Hours"
Darius Khondji - "Midnight In Paris"
Guillaume Schiffman "The Artist"
Jeffrey Waldron - "The Dynamiter"
In a wildly mixed category, this feels like the only one that "The Artist" has truly locked up, with only "Midnight In Paris" as potential competition, but even that may not have enough support to truly be a threat.
Should Win: Joel Hodge
Will Win: Guillaume Schiffman

Best Screenplay
Joseph Cedar - "Footnote"
Michel Hazanivicius - "The Artist"
Tom McCarthy - "Win Win"
Mike Mills - "Beginners"
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash - "The Descendants"
A tricky one to call. Unless "The Artist" sweeps, we doubt that Hazanavicius is in the lead, but on the other hand, we're not convinced that "The Descendants" has it in the bag either, with both McCarthy and Mills being well-liked figures in the community. We're going to lean towards the latter, but it could probably be any of the five.
Should Win: Tom McCarthy
Will Win: Mike Mills

Best First Screenplay
Mike Cahill & Brit Marling - "Another Earth"
J.C. Chandor - "Margin Call"
Patrick DeWitt - "Terri"
Phil Johnston - "Cedar Rapids"
Will Reiser - "50/50"
Another strong category, with several writers who made a real splash, we've got to lean towards J.C. Chandor, who has an Oscar nod - five out of the last six years saw this prize go to an eventual Oscar winner, with Lena Dunham the outlier last year. That being said, Will Reiser's autobiographical cancer tale has done well through most of the season, so don't be entirely surprised if that wins out.
Should Win: Patrick DeWitt
Will Win: J.C. Chandor

Truer Than Fiction Award
"Where Soldiers Come From"
"Hell and Back Again"
"Bombay Beach"
Given to the director of an outstanding nonfiction film, we have to confess we've only seen one film on the list, but we'd be happy to see it go to that one -- "Bombay Beach." That being said, Oscar nominee "Hell And Back Again" probably has this sewn up.
Should Win: "Bombay Beach"
Will Win: "Hell And Back Again"

Someone To Watch
Simon Arthur - "Silver Tongues"
Mark Jackson - "Without"
Nicholas Ozeki - "Marnitas"
Again, we've only seen the one, but that one -- Mark Jackson's excellent "Without," is more than deserving. Hopefully, if he does win, it'll help the film finally gain some kind of distribution.
Should Win: Mark Jackson
Will Win: Mark Jackson

Piaget Producers Award
Chad Burris - "Mosquito Y Mari"
Sophia Lynn - "Take Shelter"
Josh Bond - "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Given to a single producer who made a splash in the previous year, this is most likely a two-horse race between the better-known entries, and we're inclined to lean towards Mr. Bond, given our feeling that 'Martha Marcy' will do well at the awards this year.
Should Win: Josh Bond
Will Win: Josh Bond

Ben Kingsley, Anthony Mackie, Patricia Clarkson & More To Present At The Spirit Awards; My Morning Jacket & K'Naan To Perform

Kevin Jagernauth — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 19:14:03 GMT

EXCLUSIVE: Before the big Oscar show takes place on Sunday, as the tradition goes, the Film Independent Spirit Awards will honor their nominees and winners the night before, with festivities set to get underway on Saturday evening. It is shaping up to another memorable night, with the stars lining up to celebrate the best in independent film over the past year. Seth Rogen will host what is sure to an enjoyable evening, and to help hand out the awards, a lineup of starry names are confirmed to appear.

Past nominees Ethan Hawke (screenplay for "Before Sunset"), Ben Kingsley ("House Of Sand And Fog"), Terrence Howard ("Hustle & Flow," "The Best Man"), Anthony Mackie ("The Hurt Locker," "Brother To Brother"), Giovanni Ribisi ("The Gift"), Patricia Clarkson ("Pieces Of April," "High Art") and Laura Dern ("Blue Velvet," "Smooth Talk" and in 2007 honored with an award for her collaborative work with David Lynch) will be presenting awards to this year's winners tomorrow evening. Joining them to present will also be Lucy Liu and Benjamin Bratt.

But that's not all. The Spirit Awards will also be boasting some pretty solid musical guests, as rockers My Morning Jacket and Canadian hip hop star K'Naan are slated to perform.

All told, it should be a great night. You can tune in to the Film Independent Spirit Awards tomorrow night at 10 PM on IFC.

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Summary of Winners: (to be expanded and updated)

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Ben Kingsley, Anthony Mackie, Patricia Clarkson & More To Present At The Spirit Awards; My Morning Jacket & K'Naan To Perform

Summary of Winners:
(to be expanded and updated)