Spirit Awards 2019: If Beale Street Could Talk, Glenn Close, Roma
Posted on February 24, 2019 at 8:00 am
For me, the most significant and enjoyable movie awards of the year are the Spirit Awards (formerly Independent Spirit). I was thrilled that my favorite film of 2018, “If Beale Street Could Talk” was selected for Best Picture, Director, and Supporting Actress.
Here are the awards:
Best Feature
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (WINNER)
Best Director
Barry Jenkins, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK (WINNER)
Best First Feature
SORRY TO BOTHER YOU
Best Male Lead
Ethan Hawke, FIRST REFORMED
Best Female Lead
Glenn Close, THE WIFE
Best Supporting Female Actor
Regina King, IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Best Supporting Male Actor
Richard E. Grant, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Best Cinematography
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, SUSPIRIA
Best Screenplay
Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?
Best First Screenplay
Bo Burnham, EIGHTH GRADE
Best Editing
Joe Bini, YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
Best Documentary
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Best International Film
ROMA (Mexico)
The Truer Than Fiction Award
Bing Liu, MINDING THE GAP
Producers Award
Shrihari Sathe
The Someone to Watch Award
Alex Moratto, SÓCRATES
The Bonnie Award
Debra Granik
Robert Altman Award
SUSPIRIA
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Casting Directors: Avy Kaufman, Stella Savino
Ensemble Cast: Malgosia Bela, Ingrid Caven, Lutz Ebersdorf, Elena Fokina, Mia Goth, Jessica Harper, Dakota Johnson, Gala Moody, Chloë Grace Moretz, Renée Soutendijk, Tilda Swinton, Sylvie Testud, Angela Winkler
Spirit Award Nominees for the Best Indie Films of 2018
Posted on November 20, 2018 at 5:47 pm
The nominees for the Spirit Awards have been announced:
BEST FEATURE
EIGHTH GRADE
Producers: Eli Bush, Scott Rudin, Christopher Storer, Lila Yacoub
FIRST REFORMED
Producers: Jack Binder, Greg Clark, Gary Hamilton, Victoria Hill, David Hinojosa, Frank Murray, Deepak Sikka, Christine Vachon
IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK
Producers: Dede Gardner, Barry Jenkins, Jeremy Kleiner, Sara Murphy, Adele Romanski
LEAVE NO TRACE
Producers: Anne Harrison, Linda Reisman, Anne Rosellini
YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE
Producers: Rosa Attab, Pascal Caucheteux, Rebecca O’Brien, Lynne Ramsay, James Wilson
(Award given to the producer)
BEST FIRST FEATURE
HEREDITARY
Director: Ari Aster
Producers: Kevin Frakes, Lars Knudsen, Buddy Patrick
SORRY TO BOTHER YOU
Director: Boots Riley
Producers: Nina Yang Bongiovi, Jonathan Duffy, Charles D. King, George Rush, Forest Whitaker, Kelly Williams
THE TALE
Director/Producer: Jennifer Fox
Producers: Sol Bondy, Lawrence Inglee, Mynette Louie, Oren Moverman, Simone Pero, Reka Posta, Laura Rister, Regina K. Scully, Lynda Weinman
WE THE ANIMALS
Director: Jeremiah Zagar
Producers: Andrew Goldman, Christina D. King, Paul Mezey, Jeremy Yaches
WILDLIFE
Director/Producer: Paul Dano
Producers: Andrew Duncan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riva Marker, Oren Moverman, Ann Ruark, Alex Saks
(Award given to the producer and director)
BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Schrader, First Reformed
Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk
Debra Granik, Leave No Trace
Tamara Jenkins, Private Life
Lynne Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here
BEST SCREENPLAY
Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Richard Glatzer (writer, story by), Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Wash Westmoreland, Colette
Paul Schrader, First Reformed
Tamara Jenkins, Private Life
Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Quinn Shephard (writer, story by), Laurie Shephard (story by), Blame
Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade
Christina Choe, Nancy
Jennifer Fox, The Tale
Cory Finley, Thoroughbreds
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
A BREAD FACTORY
Writer/Director/Producer: Patrick Wang
Producers: Daryl Freimark, Matt Miller
EN EL SÉPTIMO DÍA
Writer/Director/Producer: Jim McKay
Producers: Alex Bach, Lindsey Cordero, Caroline Kaplan, Michael Stipe
NEVER GOIN’ BACK
Writer/Director: Augustine Frizzell
Producers: Liz Cardenas, Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston
SÓCRATES
Writer/Director/Producer: Alex Moratto
Writer: Thayná Mantesso
Producers: Ramin Bahrani, Jefferson Paulino, Tammy Weiss
THUNDER ROAD
Writer/Director: Jim Cummings
Producers: Natalie Metzger, Zack Parker, Benjamin Weissner
(Award given to the best feature made for under $500,000; given to the writer, director and producer)
BEST MALE LEAD
Daveed Diggs, Blindspotting
Ethan Hawke, First Reformed
John Cho, Searching
Christian Malheiros, Sócrates
Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade
Toni Collette, Hereditary
Helena Howard, Madeline’s Madeline
Regina Hall, Support the Girls
Glenn Close, The Wife
Carey Mulligan, Wildlife
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Adam Driver, BLACKkKLANSMAN
Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Josh Hamilton, Eighth Grade
John David Washington, Monsters and Men
Raúl Castillo, We the Animals
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Tyne Daly, A Bread Factory
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Leave No Trace
J. Smith-Cameron, Nancy
Kayli Carter, Private Life
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Ashley Connor, Madeline’s Madeline
Benjamin Loeb, Mandy
Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Suspiria
Zak Mulligan, We the Animals
Diego Garcia, Wildlife
BEST EDITING
Luke Dunkley, Nick Fenton, Chris Gill, Julian Hart, American Animals
Nick Houy, Mid90s
Anne Fabini, Alex Hall, Gary Levy, The Tale
Keiko Deguchi, Brian A. Kates, Jeremiah Zagar, We the Animals
Joe Bini, You Were Never Really Here
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
BURNING (South Korea)
Director: Lee Chang-Dong
HAPPY AS LAZZARO (Italy)
Director: Alice Rohrwacher
ROMA (Mexico)
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
SHOPLIFTERS (Japan)
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu
THE FAVOURITE (United Kingdom)
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
BEST DOCUMENTARY
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
Director/Producer: RaMell Ross
Producer: Joslyn Barnes, Su Kim
MINDING THE GAP
Director/Producer: Bing Liu
Producer: Diane Quon
OF FATHERS AND SONS
Director: Talal Derki
Producers: Hans Robert Eisenhauer, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme, Tobias N. Siebert
ON HER SHOULDERS
Director: Alexandria Bombach
Producers: Hayley Pappas, Brock Williams
SHIRKERS
Director/Producer: Sandi Tan
Producers: Jessica Levin, Maya Rudolph
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
Director/Producer: Morgan Neville
Producer: Caryn Capotosto, Nicholas Ma
(Award given to the director and producer)
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
SUSPIRIA
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Casting Directors: Avy Kaufman, Stella Savino
Ensemble Cast: Malgosia Bela, Ingrid Caven, Lutz Ebersdorf, Elena Fokina, Mia Goth, Jessica Harper, Dakota Johnson, Gala Moody, Chloë Grace Moretz, Renée Soutendijk, Tilda Swinton, Sylvie Testud, Angela Winkler
(Award given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
BONNIE AWARD SPONSORED BY AMERICAN AIRLINES
Karyn Kusama
Tamara Jenkins
Debra Granik
(Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo joined American Airlines in 1973 at age 24, becoming the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline. In her honor, the second annual Bonnie Award will recognize a mid-career female director with a $50,000 unrestricted grant, sponsored by American Airlines.)
PRODUCERS AWARD
Jonathan Duffy and Kelly Williams
Gabrielle Nadig
Shrihari Sathe
(The Producers Award, now in its 22nd year, 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.)
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
LEMONADE
Director: Ioana Uricaru
SÓCRATES
Director: Alex Moratto
WE THE ANIMALS
Director: Jeremiah Zagar
(The Someone to Watch Award, now in its 25th year, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted.)
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
Director: RaMell Ross
The Spirit Awards are like the Oscars for independent films. Some of them have big stars and some are distributed by big studios. Some are made by first-time filmmakers on budgets that would barely pay for one day’s catering fees on a studio film. But all of them are passion projects. None of them are franchises, none are special effects films, and none are based on best-selling novel series. The award ceremony will be the night before the Oscars. This year’s nominees are:
Best Feature
Anomalisa
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
Spotlight
Tangerine
Best Director
Sean Baker, Tangerine
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
Todd Haynes, Carol
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, Anomalisa
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
David Robert Mitchell, It Follows
Best Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa
Donald Margulies, The End of the Tour
Phyllis Nagy, Carol
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, Spotlight
S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk
Best First Feature
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
James White
Manos Sucias
Mediterranea
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Best First Screenplay
Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Joseph Carpignano, Mediterranea
Emma Donoghue, Room
Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, Myna Joseph, The Mend
Best Male Lead
Christopher Abbott, James White
Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation
Ben Mendelsohn, Mississippi Grind
Jason Segel, The End of the Tour
Koudous Seihon, Mediterranea
Best Female Lead
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Rooney Mara, Carol
Bel Powley, The Diary of A Teenage Girl
Kitana Kiki Rodriquez, Tangerine
Best Supporting Male
Kevin Corrigan, Results
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Best Supporting Female
Robin Bartlett, H.
Marin Ireland, Glass Chin
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anomalisa
Cynthia Nixon, James White
Mya Taylor, Tangerine
Best Documentary
(T)error
Best of Enemies
Heart of Dog
The Look of Silence
Meru
The Russian Woodpecker
Best International Film
Embrace the Serpent
Girlhood
Mustang
Son of Saul
Best Cinematography
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
It Follows
Meadlowland
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Best Editing
Beasts of No Nation
Heaven Knows What
It Follows
Room
Spotlight
John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $500,000)
Advantageous
Christmas, Again
Heaven Knows What
Krisha
Out of My Hand
Robert Altman Award (Best Ensemble)
Spotlight
Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award
Chloe Zhoa
Felix Thompson
Robert Machoian & Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
Piaget Producers Award
Darren Dean
Mel Eslyn
Rebecca Green and Laura D. Smith
I admit that the awards show I enjoy most each year is the “Spirit Awards,” and not just because I am lucky enough to get to vote for them. They truly reflect their name in paying tribute to films that are made more for love than for money. And they honor and support the small, the new, the passionate, and the struggle. This year’s winners are:
Best Feature:Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon
Best Director: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
Best Screenplay: David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
Best First Feature:The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Summit Entertainment)
Writer/Director: Stephen Chbosky / Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith
Best First Screenplay: Derek Connolly, Safety Not Guaranteed (FilmDistrict)
John Cassavetes Award (For best feature made under $500,000): Middle of Nowhere (AFFRM in partnership with Participant Media)
Writer/Director/Producer: Ava DuVernay / Producers: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes
Best Supporting Female: Helen Hunt, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)
Best Supporting Male: Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (Warner Bros.Pictures)
Best Female Lead: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook (The Weinstein Company)
Best Male Lead: John Hawkes, The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)
Robert Altman Award:Starlet (Music Box Films)
Director: Sean Baker / Casting Director: Julia Kim / Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone
Best Cinematography: Ben Richardson, Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)
Best International Film:Amour (France – Sony Pictures Classics) Director: Michael Haneke
Best Documentary: The Invisible War (Cinedigm Entertainment Group)
Director: Kirby Dick / Producers: Amy Ziering, Tanner King Barklow
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and the Very, Very Independent — the Spirit Awards and the Razzies
Posted on February 26, 2012 at 1:05 pm
The Spirit Awards for independent film were announced yesterday, as were the Razzie nominations for the worst films and performances of 2011. Good news for “The Artist,” not such good news for Adam Sandler, who broke the record for the most Razzie nominations, because three of his films were included along with his performances as both actor and actress (in drag) in “Jack and Jill.”
BEST FEATURE: “The Artist” BEST DIRECTOR: Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist” BEST MALE LEAD: Jean Dujardin, “The Artist” BEST FEMALE LEAD: Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn” BEST SUPPORTING MALE: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners” BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE: Shailene Woodley, “The Descendants” BEST FIRST FEATURE: “Margin Call” JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Feature Under $500,000): “Pariah” BEST SCREENPLAY: “The Descendants” BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY: “50/50” BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: “The Artist” BEST DOCUMENTARY: “The Interrupters” BEST FOREIGN FILM: “A Separation” ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD: “Margin Call”
WORST PICTURE • Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star • New Year’s Eve •Transformers: Dark of the Moon •The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
WORST ACTOR • Adam Sandler, Just Go With It & Jack and Jill • Nick Swardson, Bucky Larson •Russell Brand, Arthur • Taylor Lautner, Abduction & Breaking Dawn • Nicholas Cage, Drive Angry 3-D, Season of the Witch, & Trespass
WORST ACTRESS • Adam Sandler, Just Go With It & Jack and Jill • Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin: The Undefeated • Sarah Jessica Parker, I Don’t Know How She Does It & New Year’s Eve • Kristen Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 • Martin Lawrence, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR • Al Pacino,Jack and Jill • Patrick Dempsey, Transformers: Dark of the Moon • James Franco, Your Highness, • Nick Swardson, Jack and Jill &Just Go With It • Ken Jeong for four movies—Big Mommas,The Hangover: Part II, Transformers &Zookeeper.
WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS • David Spade, Jack and Jill • Martin Lawrence, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son • Nicole Kidman, Just Go With It • Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Transformers: Dark of the Moon • Katie Holmes, Jack and Jill
WORST SCREEN ENSEMBLES • The Entire Cast of Bucky Larson • The Entire Cast of Jack and Jill • The Entire Cast of New Year’s Eve • The Entire Cast of Transformers • The Entire Cast of Breaking Dawn
WORST SCREEN COUPLE • Nicholas Cage & “anyone sharing the screen with him in any of his three 2011 films” • Shia LaBeouf & Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Transformers • Adam Sandler & Jennifer Aniston or Brooklyn Decker, Just Go With It • Adam Sandler & Katie Holmes, Al Pacino or himself, Jack and Jill • Kristen Stewart & Taylor Lautner or Robert Pattinson, Breaking Dawn.
WORST PREQUEL, SEQUEL, REMAKE OR RIPOFF • Arthur • Bucky Larson • The Hangover: Part II • Jack and Jill • Breaking Dawn
WORST DIRECTOR • Michael Bay, Transformers • Tom Brady, Bucky Larson • Bill Condon, Breaking Dawn • Dennis Dugan, Jack and Jill & Just Go With It • Garry Marshall, New Year’s Eve.
WORST SCREENPLAY • Bucky Larson • Jack and Jill • New Year’s Eve • Transformers • Breaking Dawn