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The 2009 Independent Spirit Nominations

By Dustin Rowles | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (15)

500+Days+Summer.jpg

The 2009 Independent Spirit Nominations were handed out today, and we’re duty bound to report them so that you can visualize all the great movies that aren’t playing at your local multiplex in Sheboygan. Actually, I don’t know what is says about the industry, but some of the choices seem somewhat obscure by even my own indie-friendly tastes. There were a few really great indies this year, but there wasn’t a lot of depth, which means it’s roughly the same five films nominated for everything, and only three of them got any sort of real exposure outside of NY/LA. But then again, that’s what awards like these are for: To highlight films that we’re missing. I have some favorites, but I’ll keep my mouth shut and just present the nominees. My guess is that, besides Precious, a screenplay nod for (500) Days and an acting nod for Jeff Bridges, you won’t be seeing any of the rest of these films come Oscar nomination time.

The envelope please:

BEST FEATURE
500 Days Of Summer
Amreeka
Precious
Sin Nombre
The Last Station

BEST FIRST FEATURE
A Single Man
Crazy Heart
Easier With Practice
Paranormal Activity
The Messenger

BEST DIRECTOR
Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - A Serious Man
Lee Daniels - Precious
Cary Fukunaga - Sin Nombre
James Gray - Two Lovers
Michael Hoffman - The Last Station

BEST MALE LEAD
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 500 Days Of Summer
Souléymane Sy Savané - Goodbye Solo
Adam Scott - The Vicious Kind

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Maria Bello - Downloading Nancy
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Gwentyth Paltrow - Two Lovers
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious
Nisreen Faour - Amreeka

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Jemaine Clement - Gentleman Broncos
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
Christian McKay - Me and Orson Welles
Raymond McKinnon - That Evening Sun
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station

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 SCREENPLAY
Alessandro Camon & Oren Moverman - The Messenger
Michael Hoffman - The Last Station
Lee Toland Krieger - The Vicious Kind
Greg Mottola - Adventureland
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber - 500 Days Of Summer

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Sophie Barthes - Cold Souls
Scott Cooper - Crazy Heart
Cherien Dabis - Amreeka
Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious
Tom Ford & David Scearce - A Single Man


BEST DOCUMENTARY
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Food, Inc.
More Than a Game
October Country
Which Way Home

BEST FOREIGN FILM
A Prophet (France)
An Education (UK/France)
Everlasting Moments (Sweden)
Mother (South Korea)
The Maid (Chile)

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Best feature made for less than $500,000.
Big Fan
Humpday
The New Year Parade
Treeless Mountain
Zero Bridge







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Comments

HA! no nomination for the unbearable Zooey Dishwaternel.

Good.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 1, 2009 5:47 PM

They should have an Ed Wood award for the best movie made for the limit on your credit card.

Posted by: BWeaves at December 1, 2009 5:50 PM

Interesting that Paranormal Activity is nominated for First Feature rather than Budget Feature. How much money was spent on marketing that it either bought the not-so-hot horror a better nomination or invalidated it from a more fitting category?

Nice to see Big Fan recognized somewhere. In a just world, Patton Oswalt and Joseph Gordon Levitt would be in the running for the Best Actor Oscar. So of course George Clooney and Morgan Freeman are fighting it out for another acting Oscar. Of course.

Posted by: Robert at December 1, 2009 6:13 PM

So The Last Station must be better than the trailer indicates.

Posted by: Cindy at December 1, 2009 7:38 PM

Will I ever get to see A Single Man?

Posted by: Matthew at December 1, 2009 8:08 PM

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at December 1, 2009 5:47 PM

I'd mock Slim, but I watched Juno again, and it was bad. Diablo Cody is easily the worst dialogue writer this side of George Lucas, and since (500) Days of Summer was in the same indie hipster vein, I'm not feeling like I should defend it until I've watched it again.

Posted by: George at December 1, 2009 8:30 PM

Don't worry about. It's not terrible, but it's not really worth defending.

Posted by: Daniel Hall at December 1, 2009 8:56 PM

So happy to see "Anvil" getting some recognition!

Posted by: samantha t at December 1, 2009 9:49 PM

BEST MALE LEAD:
Michael Jai White - Black Dynamite


I double dare anyone to disagree with me

Posted by: A. Biro at December 1, 2009 10:56 PM

They should call these The Smuggies.

Posted by: Tracer Bullet at December 1, 2009 11:07 PM

Looking at that header photo ....

She annoys. Not a fan. That's that.

Gordon Joey Levitts Smith - he grows a 'beard' (looking a bit wispy to me)
and *still* looks about 15. Cracks me up.

Posted by: Ms MoMo at December 2, 2009 1:13 AM

I actually have heard of just about every one of these movies, give or take a small handful. This of course is thanks to having an art house theater that is literally down the street from my house.
Does that mean I win?

Posted by: Kamikaze Feminist at December 2, 2009 6:29 AM

Hahahaha.

"Gwentyth Paltrow"

Also, George makes a great point about replay value. I haven't seen Juno a second time, but seeing Napoleon Dynamite or Superbad (movies I initially enjoyed) the second time nearly killed me. I couldn't make it through either one.

Posted by: caroline at December 2, 2009 10:39 AM

I admire Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an actor, but he looks like a capuchin monkey in that photo.

Posted by: jimbob at December 2, 2009 12:48 PM

I too am disappointed for no Black Dynamite love.

Posted by: Reina at December 3, 2009 4:26 PM


















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