Spirit Awards 2017: Molly Shannon, Casey Affleck, and “Moonlight”

Posted on February 26, 2017 at 4:01 pm

I love the Spirit Awards (formerly Independent Spirit), given out the night before the Oscars for the best of the year’s independent films. These are movies made with more passion than money, and the award ceremony, on the beach, is always casual and a bit subversive, but always very sincere. I am proud to be a Spirit Awards voter, and very proud of our selections.

Best Feature:

Moonlight (A24)

Producers: Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski

Best Director:

Barry Jenkins, Moonlight (A24)

Best Screenplay:

Barry Jenkins, Tarell Alvin McCraney (Story By), Moonlight (A24)

Best First Feature:

The Witch (A24)

Director: Robert Eggers

Producers: Daniel Bekerman, Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Jodi Redmond,

Rodrigo Teixeira

Best First Screenplay:

Robert Eggers, The Witch (A24)

John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000):

Spa Night (Strand Releasing)

Writer/Director: Andrew Ahn

Producers: David Ariniello, Giulia Caruso, Ki Jin Kim, Kelly Thomas

Best Supporting Female:

Molly Shannon, Other People (Vertical Entertainment)

isabelle-huppert-in-elle-closing-her-shutters-in-storm-with-help-of-neighbor
Image via Sony Picture Classics
Best Supporting Male:

Ben Foster, Hell or High Water (CBS Films/Lionsgate)

Best Female Lead:

Isabelle Huppert, Elle (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best Male Lead:

Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea (Amazon Studios)

Robert Altman Award:

Moonlight (A24)

Director: Barry Jenkins

Casting Director: Yesi Ramirez

Ensemble Cast: Mahershala Ali, Patrick Decile, Naomie Harris, Alex Hibbert, André Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monáe, Jaden Piner, Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders

Best Cinematography:

James Laxton, Moonlight (A24)

Best Editing:

Joi McMillon, Nat Sanders, Moonlight (A24)

Best International Film:

Toni Erdmann (Germany and Romania– Sony Pictures Classics)

Director: Maren Ade

Best Documentary:

O.J.: Made in America (ESPN Films)

Director/Producer: Ezra Edelman

Producers: Deirdre Fenton, Libby Geist, Nina Krstic, Erin Leyden, Tamara Rosenberg, Connor Schell, Caroline Waterlow

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Razzies and Spirit Awards

Posted on March 7, 2010 at 11:58 am

Sandra Bullock certainly gets the good sport award for her gracious acceptance of the worst actress Razzie for her performance in All About Steve. She came out on stage with a wagon full of DVDs for everyone. If she wins tonight, that will make her the first person to win both an Oscar and a Razzie in the same year.

I really hated the movie, but I recognized that she had good intentions and a good idea and her performance was not the problem. And Bradley Cooper (her co-awardee for worst couple) was certainly blameless. The Razzie should go to the screenwriter. I also thought the Jonas Brothers’ award was mean-spirited. They weren’t acting; it was a documentary. But I completely support the Razzie for Land of the Lost.

Worst Picture of 2009:

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Worst Actress of 2009:

Sandra Bullock

All About Steve

Worst Actor(s) of 2009:

All Three Jonas Brothers

Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience

Worst Screen Couple:

Sandra Bullock & Bradley Cooper

All About Steve

Worst Supporting Actress:

Sienna Miller

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Worst Supporting Actor:

Billy Ray Cyrus

Hannah Montana: The Movie

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel

Land of The Lost

Worst Director:

Michael Bay

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Worst Screenplay:

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

On a happier note, the Spirit Awards for independent films were given out on Friday night. Eddie Izzard was surprisingly disappointing as the host and Ben Stiller ruined his segment with a trashy stunt, but the laid-back ceremony continues to have the best sense of passion and community of any of the award shows. “Precious” was the big winner with awards for leading and supporting actresses, best director, and best picture. All of their acceptance speeches were sensational. I especially loved seeing the documentary award go to Anvil, who also got a chance to perform with a great introduction from Dave Grohl. Here are the very worthy winners:

Best Film: Precious

Best Director: Lee Daniels, Precious

Best Actress: Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Supporting Actor: Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Best Documentary: Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Best Foreign film: An Education

Best Debut film: Scott Cooper, Crazy Heart

Best First screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious

Best Screenplay: Scott Neustader and Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer

Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, A Serious Man

John Cassavetes Award: Lynn Shelton, Humpday

Robert Altman Award: A Serious Man

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The Spirits and the Razzies

Posted on February 22, 2009 at 8:38 am

Just before the Oscars every year, two other important awards are announced. The Razzies (named for the rude noise called a “raspberry”) are given to the worst of the year from Hollywood. This year the recipients are:
Worst Picture: The Love Guru (which I also picked as the year’s worst in my essay for Rotten Tomatoes) love guru.jpg
Worst Actor: Mike Myers in “The Love Guru”
Worst Actress: Paris Hilton “The Hottie and the Nottie”
Worst Screenplay: “The Love Guru”
Worst Supporting Actor: Pierce Brosnan in “Mamma Mia!”
Worst Supporting Actress: Paris Hilton again in “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
Worst Couple: Paris Hilton again with either Christine Lakin or Joel David Moore in “The Hottie & The Nottie”
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off, or Sequel: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”
And by the way, anyone can vote on the Razzies for a modest fee.
The Spirit Awards (formerly called Independent Spirit) are given out by Film Independent, a resource group for independent film-makers. Its annual awards ceremony is broadcast on the Independent Film Channel and it is always hilarious, outrageous, and lots of fun (warning: very strong language and provocative material).
This year’s Spirit winners include:
“The Wrestler” (best feature, best actor Mickey Rourke, best cinematographer)
“Vicky Christina Barcelona” (best screenplay by Woody Allen, best supporting actress Penelope Cruz)
“Milk” (best first screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, best supporting actor James Franco)
“The Visitor” (best director Tom McCarthy)
“Synecdoche New York” (best first feature, Robert Altman ensemble award)
“The Class” (best foreign film)
“Man on Wire” (best documentary)
“Frozen River” (best actress Melissa Leo)
Membership is also available in Film Independent.

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