'Moonrise Kingdom,' 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Top Indie Spirit Awards Nominations
On the heels of their wins at Monday night's Gotham Awards, Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" and Benh Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" are among the nominees in the Best Feature category at the Film Independent Spirit Awards.
Spirit Awards nominees, which were announced on Tuesday morning by actors Anna Kendrick. Zoe Saldana and Common, also included "Bernie," "Keep the Lights On" and "Silver Linings Playbook."
That last film was something of a surprise nominee, because its reported budget was higher than the $20 million limit set by Spirit Awards rules. The jury has some discretion in qualifying films, but 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.
In a year in which the major studios have reclaimed the awards picture, releasing such high-profile, critically-acclaimed contenders as "Argo," "Lincoln," "Les Miserables," "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Life of Pi," the leading independent-film awards appear more peripheral to the Oscar race than they have been in recent years.
Last year, Oscar nominees "The Artist" and "The Descendants" were nominated for Best Feature, with "The Artist" defying the showbiz adage "win on Saturday, lose on Sunday" by taking the top Spirit Award one day before winning the Best Picture Oscar. In fact, six of last year's Spirit Award winners – including director Michel Hazanavicius, actor Jean Dujardin and Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer – won at both ceremonies.
The previous year, four out of the five Spirit Awards nominees in the Best Feature category also received Oscar Best Picture noms.
Nominations for the Spirit Awards are made by juries of about a dozen filmmakers and critics. The main jury, the American Narrative Nominating Committee, picks nominees in the majority of categories.
Generally, the awards are restricted to films made for less than $20 million and judged to be "independent" in nature by a jury. Winners are chosen by all members of Film Independent, which is open both filmmakers and to movie fans who pay an annual fee.
The 28th Film Independent Spirit Awards will take place on the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 23, in its usual location of a tent on Santa Monica beach.
More to come.
The nominees:
BEST FEATURE Beasts of the Southern Wild Bernie Keep the Lights On Moonrise Kingdom Silver Linings Playbook
BEST DIRECTOR Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom Julia Loktev, The Loneliest Planet David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild
BEST SCREENPLAY Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom Zoe Kazan, Ruby Sparks Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook Ira Sachs, Keep the Lights On
BEST FIRST FEATURE Fill the Void Gimme the Loot Safety Not Guaranteed Sound of My Voice The Perks of Being a Wallflower
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY Rama Burshtein, Fill the Void Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed Christopher Ford, Robot & Frank Rashida Jones & Will McCormack, Celeste and Jesse Forever Jonathan Lisecki, Gayby
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD - Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Breakfast with Curtis Middle of Nowhere Mosquita y Mari Starlet The Color Wheel
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Linda Cardellini
Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi
Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence
Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhané Wallis
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Smashed
BEST MALE LEAD
Jack Black
Bernie
Bradley Cooper
Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes
The Sessions
Thure Lindhardt
Keep the Lights On
Matthew McConaughey
Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce
Four
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Rosemarie DeWitt
Your Sister's Sister
Ann Dowd
Compliance
Helen Hunt
The Sessions
Brit Marling
Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint
Middle of Nowhere
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Matthew McConaughey
Magic Mike
David Oyelowo
Middle of Nowhere
Michael Péna
End of Watch
Sam Rockwell
Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis
Moonrise Kingdom
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Yoni Brook
Valley of Saints
Lol Crawley
Here
Ben Richardson
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov
End of Watch
Robert Yeoman
Moonrise Kingdom
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
How to Survive a Plague
DIRECTOR: David France
PRODUCERS: David France, Howard Gertler
Marina Abramovi_: 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)
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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