Tis the Season: The Film Independent Spirit Awards

(Scroll over film titles for the full Black Sheep review.)

Last week, I was in Montreal on non-movie related business. It was consuming to say the least. Not only did I miss the announcement that James Franco and Anne Hathaway will be hosting the Oscars, but I also missed the nominations for the Film Independent Spirit Awards. This ceremony is always held the evening before the Oscars and honours the best in American independent cinema, including shout-out's to foreign entries and documentaries as well.

The 2010 nominees are a fantastic bunch with a couple of notable exceptions that could cripple Oscar odds right from the start. Leading the pack with seven nominations, is WINTER'S BONE, the "chilling" tale of survival in the Ozarks, with nods for Best Feature, Director (Debra Granik) , Lead Actress (Jennifer Lawrence), Screenplay (Granik and Anne Rosellini), Supporting Actress (Dale Dickey) and Supporting Actor (John Hawkes). The film is considered an underdog at the Oscars and this will certainly assist its Best Picture odds, as well as its actors' chances. Coming in next with 5 nods is the summer indie favorite, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, from director, Lisa Cholodenko. Cholodenko earns nods for writing and directing, while the film nabs a Best Feature nod and stars Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo earn acting kudos in their respective categories. The film has a good shot at the Oscar Top 10 and Cholodenko might nab a screenplay nod as well, but no nomination for Julianne Moore in such a competitive year here, where she should have easily been rewarded, is a very bad start for her.

The Best Feature category is rounded out by 127 HOURS, BLACK SWAN and GREENBERG. Of the five nominees, GREENBERG is the only entry I don't believe in. I doubt the love shown here will translate elsewhere either. RABBIT HOLE would have been a much stronger choice. Still, the John Cameron Mitchell film was honoured with screenplay and direction nods, as well as one for lead actress, Nicole Kidman and lead actor, Aaron Eckhardt. Meanwhile, Oscar front runner, THE KING'S SPEECH earns a slot in the Foreign Film category, the only one it could have hoped for. This will certainly be the first amongst many accolades for the Tom Hooper hopeful. I was also disappointed not to see more love for the Nicole Holofcener gem PLEASE GIVE, which took just one nod for screenplay.

The Independent Spirit Awards will be held on February 26, 2011 and hosted by Joel McHale, the star of television's "Community". Here are the major category nominees:

BEST FEATURE

127 HOURS

BLACK SWAN

GREENBERG

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

WINTER'S BONE

BEST DIRECTOR

Darren Aronofsky, BLACK SWAN

Danny Boyle, 127 HOURS

Lisa Cholodenko, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Debra Granik, WINTER'S BONE

John Cameron Mitchell, RABBIT HOLE

BEST SCREENPLAY

Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Bloomberg, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, WINTER'S BONE

Nicole Holofcener, PLEASE GIVE
David Lindsay-Abair, RABBIT HOLE

Todd Solondz, LIFE DURING WARTIME

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Annete Bening, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

Greta Gerwig, GREENBERG

Nicole Kidman, RABBIT HOLE

Jennifer Lawrence, WINTER'S BONE

Natalie Portman, BLACK SWAN

BEST MALE LEAD

Ronald Bronstein, DADDY LONG LEGS

Aaron Eckhardt, RABBIT HOLE

James Franco, 127 HOURS

John C. Reilly, CYRUS

Ben Stiller, GREENBERG

For a full list of nominees and more information on the Film Independent Spirit Awards, visit their website, Spiritawards.com

Tis the Season: The Independent Spirit Awards

It's that time of year again and I'm not talking about that little holiday lurking around the corner. No, it's awards season! As usual, the first serious announcements come from the Independent Spirit Awards. Last year, these folks launched the push that got FROZEN RIVER nominated for two Oscars so we'd best be taking them seriously. This year, PRECIOUS and the yet to be released, THE LAST STATION lead the pack with five nominations apiece. Missing among the PRECIOUS nominees was Mariah Carey in the supporting category. Her road to an Oscar nomination is off to a rough start. Other notable absences include Michael Stuhlberg (A SERIOUS MAN) and Ben Foster (THE MESSENGER). And while I am disappointed to see any love thrown in the direction of TWO LOVERS, I am happy to see some support for SIN NOMBRE. Maybe some surprise Oscar love is within its reach. I'm also very happy to see some strong support for (500) DAYS OF SUMMER and Tom Ford's A SINGLE MAN. Here are the nominees in the major categories ...

BEST FEATURE

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
AMREEKA
PRECIOUS
SIN NOMBRE
THE LAST STATION

BEST DIRECTOR

Ethan Coen, Joen Coen, A SERIOUS MAN
Lee Daniels, PRECIOUS
Cary Joji Fukunaga, SIN NOMBRE
James Grey, TWO LOVERS
Michael Hoffmann, THE LAST STATION

BEST SCREENPLAY

THE MESSENGER
THE LAST STATION
THE VICIOUS KIND
ADVENTURELAND
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Maria Bello, DOWNLOADING NANCY
Nisreen Faour, AMREEKA
Helen Mirren, THE LAST STATION
Gwyneth Paltrow, TWO LOVERS
Gabourey Sidibe, PRECIOUS

BEST MALE LEAD

Jeff Bridges, CRAZY HEART
Colin Firth, A SINGLE MAN
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
Souleymane Sy Savane, GOODBYE SOLO
Adam Scott, THE VICIOUS KIND

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Dina Korzun, COLD SOULS
Mo'Nique, PRECIOUS
Samantha Morton, THE MESSENGER
Natalie Press, FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING
Mia Wasikowska, THAT EVENING SUN

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Jemaine Clement, GENTLEMEN BRONCOS
Woody Harrelson, THE MESSENGER
Christian McKay, ME AND ORSON WELLES
Raymond McKinnon, THAT EVENING SUN
Christopher Plummer, THE LAST STATION

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

COLD SOULS
CRAZY HEART
AMREEKA
PRECIOUS
A SINGLE MAN

BEST FIRST FEATURE

A SINGLE MAN
CRAZY HEAR
EASIER WITH PRACTICE
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
THE MESSENGER

The awards ceremony, usually held on a beach in Los Angeles on the night before the Oscars move to Friday, March 5 this year. For a full list of the nominees, visit the Independent Spirit Awards website.