Six nominations for Birdman and five each for Boyhood, Nightcrawler and Selma as the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards are announced. Winners will be announced on Feb. 21, 2015, the day before Oscar night.
BEST FEATURE
(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole
Boyhood
Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland
Love is Strange
Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy
Selma
Producers: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey
Whiplash
Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster, Michael Litvak
BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle
Whiplash
Ava DuVernay
Selma
Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Richard Linklater
Boyhood
David Zellner
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
BEST SCREENPLAY
Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
Big Eyes
J.C. Chandor
A Most Violent Year
Dan Gilroy
Nightcrawler
Jim Jarmusch
Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias
Love is Strange
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
Producers: Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah
Dear White People
Director/Producer: Justin Simien
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe
Nightcrawler
Director: Dan Gilroy
Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak
Obvious Child
Director: Gillian Robespierre
Producer: Elisabeth Holm
She’s Lost Control
Director/Producer: Anja Marquardt
Producers: Mollye Asher, Kiara C. Jones
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Desiree Akhavan
Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo
Little Accidents
Justin Lader
The One I Love
Anja Marquardt
She’s Lost Control
Justin Simien
Dear White People
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the writer, director and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.
Blue Ruin
Writer/Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Producers: Richard Peete, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
It Felt Like Love
Writer/Director/Producer: Eliza Hittman
Producers: Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner
Land Ho!
Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens
Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy
Man From Reno
Writer/Director: Dave Boyle
Writers: Joel Clark, Michael Lerman
Producer: Ko Mori
Test
Writer/Director/Producer: Chris Mason Johnson
Producer: Chris Martin
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Marion Cotillard
The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore
Still Alice
Jenny Slate
Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton
Only Lovers Left Alive
BEST MALE LEAD
André Benjamin
Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal
Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
John Lithgow
Love is Strange
David Oyelowo
Selma
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Patricia Arquette
Boyhood
CIO, CTO & Developer Resources
Jessica Chastain
A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo
Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz
Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Riz Ahmed
Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke
Boyhood
Alfred Molina
Love is Strange
Edward Norton
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
J.K. Simmons
Whiplash
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Darius Khondji
The Immigrant
Emmanuel Lubezki
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Sean Porter
It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Bradford Young
Selma
BEST EDITING
Sandra Adair
Boyhood
Tom Cross
Whiplash
John Gilroy
Nightcrawler
Ron Patane
A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard
The Guest
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
20,000 Days on Earth
Directors: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard
Producers: Dan Bowen, James Wilson
CITIZENFOUR
Director/Producer: Laura Poitras
Producers: Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky
Stray Dog
Director: Debra Granik
Producer: Anne Rosellini
The Salt of the Earth
Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders
Producer: David Rosier
Virunga
Director/Producer: Orlando von Einsiedel
Producer: Joanna Natasegara
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
Force Majeure
(Sweden)
Director: Ruben Östlund
Ida
(Poland)
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Leviathan
(Russia)
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Mommy
(Canada)
Director: Xavier Dolan
Norte, the End of History
(Philippines)
Director: Lav Diaz
Under the Skin
(United Kingdom)
Director: Jonathan Glazer
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast)
Inherent Vice
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Casting Director: Cassandra Kulukundis
Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone, Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short Serena Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams, Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon
SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
Foxcatcher
Director/Producer: Bennett Miller
Producers: Anthony Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik
Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman
Actors: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum
18th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 18th annual Producers Award, sponsored by Piaget, 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.
Chad Burris
Elisabeth Holm
Chris Ohlson
21st ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 21st annual Someone to Watch Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
H.
Directors: Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia
The Retrieval
Director: Chris Eska
20th ANNUAL LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 20th annual Truer Than Fiction Award, sponsored by LensCrafters 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 funded by LensCrafters.
Approaching the Elephant
Director: Amanda Rose Wilder
Evolution of a Criminal
Director: Darius Clark Monroe
The Kill Team
Director: Dan Krauss
The Last Season
Director: Sara Dosa
Yeah I have to quote In Contention, nobody needs award coverage this deep.
My favourites:
– Marion Cotillard for Best Actress, Darius Khondji for Cinematography
– Tilda Swinton for Best Actress. Jim Jarmusch for Screenplay.
– Richard Linklater for Best Director (can’t believe he never won this one. Neither did Gus Van Sant btw!)
– “Blue Ruin” for John Cassavetes Award.
– “The Salt of the Earth” for Best Documentary.
– “Mommy” & “Under the Skin” for Best Foreign Film !
🙂
Claudiu, Robert A.,
Nomination = Vulnerable
Win = Dead
So you’re both right!
“But you have to admit that “dead” is a bit of an overstatement…” :)”
I thought I just did. 🙂 Of course! I think it’s closer to dead, you think it’s closer to just vulnerable… who knows?!
Kolés: Mommy is not an obvious frontrunner, far from it. I would think Ida and Timbuktu are the favorites, because they are more Oscar-friendly movies: Ida has the formal beauty of its striking cinematography (as well as great performances), and Timbuktu is the closest you will ever get to an African crowd-pleaser. Leviathan is a beast of a film, it’s an outsider. Mommy would have to battle it out for the fifth spot in my estimation (Force Majeure is the fourth spot) and it will be up against movies like Winter Sleep, Two Days, One Night etc. So, really, I could easily envision Mommy miss out altogether.
Very much psyched that “Ida” got nominated, but it’s facing some stiff competition. Last sunday “Leviathan” won the Golden Frog at Camerimage, same award that “Ida” won last year. “Mommy” is obviously the frontrunner, but I still hope that this little polish movie everyone is talking about right now, will make it into the top five and … hell, win the fucking Oscar.
“But you have to admit just “vulnerable” is a bit of an understatement…”
But you have to admit that “dead” is a bit of an overstatement…” 🙂
“Not necessarily. Every now and then there’s a Jacki Weaver or a Jonah Hill to beat the odds.”
But you have to admit just “vulnerable” is a bit of an understatement… 🙂
Who the fuck is puddy?
Paddy, just went to CRU thanks to your passionate plea. Plus I thought you’d hunt down any naysayer. Interesting site and I’ll continue to go to it, thanks! Speaking of…haven’t heard much buzz about Kate Winslet *hint hint*
Norte!!! Wohoo!!!
@puddy I also miss watermelons.
The most glaring omission here is Rene Russo, especially considering the overall strong sentiment in favor of Nightcrawler. Riz Ahmed is in, even. I feel bad for Russo, she really deserved this recognition after spending so many years on the sideline.
damn i was hoping for rene russo. she was excellent, but its still early. im on the nightcrawler train this year all the way. lot of the movies so far this year have been zzzzzzz.
“Now if some of those performers miss out on SAG, GG, or BFCA nominations, then we can start arguing they’re vulnerable.”
You mean dead…
***
Not necessarily. Every now and then there’s a Jacki Weaver or a Jonah Hill to beat the odds. But I was thinking more along the lines if a performer misses one of SAG/GG/BFCA they can start seeming more vulnerable, although not out of the running, obviously.
“All the movies most likely to appear in the Oscar BP lineup–Boyhood, Birdman, Selma, maybe Whiplash–also missed screenplay, so we can’t really read much into Boyhood missing a nomination.”
Yeah, but think how telling it might have been had it (Boyhood) been the only one of them to get that nomination… At least this way we KNOW the lineup in this category is pretty irrelevant (Oscar prediction-wise). Otherwise, it might have been.
“Now if some of those performers miss out on SAG, GG, or BFCA nominations, then we can start arguing they’re vulnerable.”
You mean dead…
I really liked Riz Ahmed in NIGHTCRAWLER. 🙂 YAY!
Stergios is my second favourite fanboy of all time (on a list of the two fanboys I can tolerate). Even if he’s spamming a wee bit.
My first favourite is obvs still Watermelons.
LCBaseball, your argument is sound and you clearly have integrity in your tastes But srsly:
the final Harry Potter is the best example, it was 100% top critic rated even!
Is this Rotten Tomatoes we’re discussing here? What can anyone who wishes to understand any more than what a bunch of geeky hacks think about a film gain from paying any attention to Rotten Tomatoes? I’m not even suggesting Metacritic as an alternative – aren’t we long past their faux-highbrow self-importance? The only review aggregator worth anyone’s while is Critics Roundup. Films are selected based on their cultural significance, be they highly obscure, international arthouse fare or big-budget Hollywood tentpole productions, and writers are selected based on their appreciation of film and knowledge of the art form and the quality of their prose.
Anybody who hasn’t yet made the switch from RT / Metacritic to Critics Roundup ought to consider making it immediately!
I’m over the moon since the best actress of all time, the one and only Marion Cotillard being nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her insuperable performance as Ewa Cyluska in The Immigrant! It fills me with joy and excitement. She should sweep all the awards with her immensely powerful and hauntingly beautiful work in Gray’s film. Any list of Best Actress contenders would look empty without the incomparable Marion Cotillard of either The Immigrant or Two Days, One Night in the lead. Both performances should be considered among the 10 greatest performances ever put on film. She gave the absolute best (Two Days, One Night) and the absolute second best female performance (The Immigrant) at the same year. I’ll be more than thrilled to watch her win a second Oscar for either. I’m also extremely excited (not to sound mean) about watching Reese Witherspoon being snubbed for Wild. Having seen the film in a screening, I must say that her work there, whille really good, is far from Oscar-worthy. Watching her being snubbed in favor of sublime work (and truly Oscar-worthy work) by actresses as talented as Tilda Swinton for her exceptional performance in Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive (I’m sure obviously there’s not a chance she’s going to be acknowledged for her tremendous turn from the Oscars though), I’m over the moon. Bringing groundbreaking talents for towering work in front and snubbing Oscar vehicle turns by limited actors always feels great!
@ PADDY
What do I have against non-studio pictures? Nothing, as long as they are films that I can love, but I believe I already provided an answer to this question on another posting…
“I have enjoyed following the race quite a few years and a part of me says why care about the Oscars? They rarely pick the films I love, and just about every year I start to wish they would get with the program a little more and recognize the films that the general public (as well as the critics) feels strongly about (the final Harry Potter is the best example, it was 100% top critic rated even!) but year after year I continue to champion these films, enjoying the process and following the latest developments throughout the year, inevitably being let down time and time again lol.
Nolan is my best hope and Inception proved that they are opening up to him, but with the director snub that year it’s clear they haven’t completely warmed up to Nolan (yet), as opposed to the DGA that have nominated him 3 times. Is Interstellar the one that really breaks though?
I guess you could say my tastes lean more towards quality popular fare when it comes to modern day films, and I’ve been quite disappointed over the last decade with snubs like…
2004- Before Sunset
2005- Batman Begins
2006- Children of Men, The Prestige, V for Vendetta, Inside Man
2007- The Bourne Ultimatum, Zodiac, Gone Baby Gone
2008- The Dark Knight
2009- Star Trek, 500 Days of Summer
2010- The Town, Shutter Island, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2011- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2012- Skyfall, The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers
2013- Frozen, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Now yes, I do realize that the Academy rarely goes for this type of stuff and I inevitably tend to end up watching most of what they do nominate (saw 4/5 in ’05, 5/5 in ’07, 3/4 in ’08, 9/10 in ’09, 9/10 in ’10, 8/9 in ’11) and yes they have chosen some good to really great films at times, but in the past decade I have been sooo disappointed and only 2 of the nominees can I count among my all time favorites (Inception and True Grit)”
LCBASEBALL22. there’s yet:
Nightcrawler 88
St. Vicent 82
The Retrieval is available on Netflix streaming. It was nominated for “Someone to Watch” award. I haven’t seen it so I”m gonna go watch it.
Maybe they didn’t nominate TIG because they didn’t like it. I don’t want to pass judgement on a film before I even see it, but seriously, it just looks like your standard run-of-the-mill British biopic. Not bad, but nothing earth shattering. I will say this though, I am surprised Cumberbatch got snubbed. Now that does surprise me.
Glad to see the boost for Selma. My guy tells me it will suffer some sort of whisper campaign – historical inaccuracy found, scandal behind the scenes, “we just awarded a black movie” racism – idk… something bogus to derail it’s chances.
But hopefully not. Hopefully this is the first of it’s successes among awards body nominations.
Into the Woods – 84
That’s nice, keep going up!
this BP lineup would do a lot to salvage the fact 2014 was a near-dud, quality-wise
I’m going to explode very soon.
Migration to France is imminent.
It seems to me, that if they are trying to be influencial, woulnd’t they want to announcer the winners before the Oscar nominations are read?
In what world is Film Independent trying to be influential? They announce their nominees before the season even starts, then announce their winners after the final ballots of the season have been turned in. Anyone expecting to see Andrea Suarez Paz nominated for the Oscar? Yeh, no.
Wow, yeah maybe they should just re-title the Oscars the Best Independent Film Awards…
What on earth do you have against non-studio pictures, LCBaseball? Why should you care? A good film is a good film whether it’s made by an independent production company or by a major American studio? Shit, it’s not like the Academy’s choices havebeen particularly obscure. 12 Years a Slave may be indie, but it stars Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Fassbender. Crash stars Sandra Bullock, Terrence Howard and Don Cheadle. The Hurt Locker stars Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce and Jeremy Renner. The King’s Speech stars Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. Hardly a death knell for your beloved Christopher Nolan-styled blockbusters. You want obscure and independent? Lav Diaz’s Norte, the End of History got a nomination from Film Independent today. Check it out, will you?
Norte, the End of History.
I repeat, Norte, the End of History.
Fucking watch it, you philistines. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen.
P.S. all in all, these are brilliant nominations, their best in years, despite all the snubs.
Maybe they just hated The Imitation Game? Perfectly explicable, since it’s a bit shit.
Some BFCA score updates (though some are early reportings)
Boyhood – 96
Whiplash – 93
Birdman – 91
Gone Girl – 90
The Imitation Game – 90
Selma – 90
Wild – 90
American Sniper – 88
The Theory of Everything – 88
The Grand Budapest Hotel – 87
Foxcatcher – 85
A Most Violent Year – 85
***
Into the Woods – 84
Still Alice – 83
Top Five – 82
Interstellar – 80
The Homesman – 78
**
Inherent Vice – 66
Mr. Turner – 65
Also, in that time frame only the following production companies have produced Best Picture winning films…
Warner Brothers (3 films – Million Dollar Baby, The Departed, Argo)
Fox Searchlight (2 Films – Slumdog Millionare, 12 Years a Slave)
Weinstein Company (2 films- The King’s Speech, The Artist)
Dreamworks/Universal (2 films- Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind)
Mirimax (2 films- Chicago, No Country For Old Men)
Summit (1 film- The Hurt Locker)
New Line Cinema (1 film- Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)
DEJ Productions (1 film- Crash)
Many of these no longer exist or have merged with larger companies so can we say it’s a foregone conclusion that this year’s Best Pic winner is going to be one of the following…
Interstellar (WB)
Unbroken (Universal)
The Imitation Game (Weinstein)
Birdman (Fox Searchlight)
LCBaseball, thanks for the endorsement. I don’t see why there shouldn’t be a balance between the arthouse and the successful movies this year; this BP lineup would do a lot to salvage the fact 2014 was a near-dud, quality-wise:
Boyhood, Birdman, Selma (the boxoffice minis)
Mockingjay 1, Interstellar, Gone Girl (the popular w/critics and fans crowd)
Both camps sated, and the Oscars avoid being a rerun of the ISA’s. Again.
The story at Thompson on Hollywood about Weinstein’s crossword ploy to plug ”The Imitation Game” IS interesting.
Too bad the writer of the piece has misspelled Alan Turing’s name as Alan ”Turning” (not once but twice). 😉
Maybe it’ll be corrected by the time you see it.
“Did you all catch this part?! – “in the past decade, the Academy has given the best picture Oscar to a studio film only three times’ – Wow, yeah maybe they should just re-title the Oscars the Best Independent Film Awards…”
This is such a fallacy. Most of the films that have won have been financed and distributed by the major studios. They’re just under the studios’ various “independent” labels.
Here’s something else interesting to note; since the dawn of the 21st Century only 3 Spirit Award Best Feature winners have not been found in the Oscar Best Picture lineup, and of them was a Chris Nolan film…
2001- Memento
2002- Far From Heaven
2008- The Wrestler
3 “bummers” for me:
No Miles Teller.
No Rene Russo.
Biggest of all, No Skeleton Twins anywhere (love that movie).
@ GUSTAVOHR
“Every single major winner at the last Oscars (with the exception of Alfonso Cuaron) had picked up a Spirit Award just before the telecast.”
Looking back through the last 5 years the same thing pretty much happened the year of The Artist and then the year The King’s Speech won, 4 of the Spirit Best Film nominees were in the Oscar Best Picture lineup…5 if you count that The King’s Speech won the Spirit award’s Best Foreign category.
I’m sorry to see that Ellar Coltrane, the heart of ”Boyhood,” has been overlooked. If there’s any performance that merits ”Special Distinction,” it’s Coltrane’s. Otherwise, it’s refreshing to see that the Spirit nominations won’t be a precursor (or repeat) of all the current Oscar contenders.
So, this is interesting. http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/weinstein-plants-clever-imitation-game-fyc-ploy-in-new-york-times-20141125
Robert, I don’t really disagree with you that by my valuation of the “hits” that The Imitation Game and Foxcatcher took today then Gone Girl and Interstellar also took hits, but my only rebuttal is that Gone Girl and Interstellar very obviously had larger budgets and were never, are never films that would be in the conversation. The Imitation Game, Foxcatcher, The Theory of Everything, Wild, Big Eyes are films that exist on the same cognitive level of Whiplash, Selma, A Most Violent Year and Boyhood. At least for me they *FEEL* like independent films while Interstellar and Gone Girl don’t. I don’t think Birdman feels like an independent film either, but it’s there and it’s in the conversation so.
For the misinformed/less informed/uninformed Oscar voter, maybe they, too, think of TIG and TTOE and Foxcatcher as indie films that somehow missed out on Spirit Award nominations and therefore probably aren’t good enough to watch the screener of and therefore won’t get a vote.
My wheels are just turning, that’s all. Overthinking it probably.
I don’t get why some people act as if this is an important Oscar prognosticator.
Ryan, I’d like to think that you and others here know me well enought that my question/statement “that if they are trying to be influencial, woulnd’t they want to announcer the winners before the Oscar nominations are read?” does not reflect my own opinions of film awards, and especially concerning the Oscars. I asked only to learn more knowledge about the decisions of the important “when, and why”. I like and respect that certain films and film awards do not concern themselves with the Oscars. 🙂
Ryan, re: “How about this bizarre concept: Maybe Some People and Some Groups Do Not Worship at the Altar of the Oscars and instead they strive to offer an ALTERNATIVE to the Oscars that they can be personally proud to have chosen.”
I don’t disagree with this sentiment at all, but it brings up something I often wonder–why don’t any of the “pre-cursors” set their ceremony dates AFTER the Oscars? My assumption is that if they were to do that they’d be risking the attendance of any of the stars who arguably DO worship the Oscars above the other awards.
why don’t any of the “pre-cursors” set their ceremony dates AFTER the Oscars?
My guess would be that we have all been conditioned for decades to perceive the Oscars as the “climatic” peak of Awards Season. And that means anything that happens after the climax would be, um, anti-climactic.
Also, there’s no reason why ANYBODY should need to delay their awards past March 1. It’s a matter of becoming ‘old news’ at some point.
For a long long time, the BAFTAs came after the Oscars, and it always felt a bit wearying to see the Brits straggle across the finish line after the ravenous hoards of awards season had already dispersed.
Do you want to linger around till April 15th for the Big Night of the Ace Eddie Festivities — 6 weeks after the Oscars? That would be sort of silly, right?
This part includes some very telling information as well…
“The truth is, the Oscars need “The Hunger Games” more than the series need the Oscars. It’s not that the Oscars should mimic the MTV Movie Awards. But at the same time, the ceremony is at risk of looking like a day-late shadow of the Independent Spirits Awards. Every single major winner at the last Oscars (with the exception of Alfonso Cuaron) had picked up a Spirit Award just before the telecast.
And, in the past decade, the Academy has given the best picture Oscar to a studio film only three times. Despite the expansion of the best picture race to include more populist titles, Oscar voters frequently give those extra slots to arthouse favorites like “Nebraska,” “Tree of Life” and “Amour.” So far, this year’s best picture competition is again shaping up to be another indie race — with frontrunners “Boyhood,” “The Imitation Game,” “Theory of Everything,” “Birdman” and “Foxcatcher.” This is a problem, because fewer hits among the list of nominees generally means fewer viewers watch the Oscars.”
Did you all catch this part?!
“in the past decade, the Academy has given the best picture Oscar to a studio film only three times”
Wow, yeah maybe they should just re-title the Oscars the Best Independent Film Awards…
“So, being technically eligible is one thing. Being personally acceptable is something else.”
Good distinction, Ryan.
@ THE MIDTOWN RIDER
That’s a good article! While I haven’t seen Mockingjay yet to determine for myself its merits, I thought the first two were worthy of more attention. Of course many of the Harry Potter films deserved more attention as well. The concluding paragraph of that article sums the whole debacle up well…
“It’s a mystery why some hit films — like “Lord of the Rings” and “Avatar” — manage to break into the Oscars race while others (see the eight installments of “Harry Potter”) don’t. If it were up to me, the best picture race wouldn’t just include “Mockingjay,” but also films like “Interstellar,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “The Lego Movie.” Then it would really feel like a celebration of all of this year’s best movies — not just the small ones.”
Here’s what I don’t understand. The nomination are announced this early in the season, yet the ceremony and winners won’t be announced until February 21, which is so late in the season. It seems to me, that if they are trying to be influencial, woulnd’t they want to announcer the winners before the Oscar nominations are read? While the AMPAS voters are still considerring their votes.
It seems to me, that if they are trying to be influencial, woulnd’t they want to announcer the winners before the Oscar nominations are read?
Al, You have spotlighted one of the worst fallacies of awards season. The notion that all anybody ever cares about is “Influencing the Oscars” or “Matching the Oscars” is so reductive and petty it sort of makes me ill.
How about this bizarre concept: Maybe Some People and Some Groups Do Not Worship at the Altar of the Oscars and instead they try to offer an ALTERNATIVE to the Oscars that they can be personally proud to have chosen.
Benutty, I get what you’re saying, I’m just not sure I agree with it. Based on your argument, didn’t Interstellar and Christopher Nolan take a hit today because they’ll be “left out of the conversation” surrounding the ISA nominations? If eligibility doesn’t matter on whether a movie or performance took a hit or not, then Interstellar and Nolan took a hit too, didn’t they?
Just for the record, there are a lot of screenplays that are ineligible for WGA every year, but I wouldn’t say those screenplays took a hit because they were left out of the WGA conversation. Several of those ineligible screenplays have gone on to win the Oscar (such as Tarantino with Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained).
ISA is just a small piece of a very big award season puzzle. I don’t think we should place too much emphasis on it, especially regarding films and performances that weren’t eligible for the awards in the first place.
Maybe is early to say, but I guess Amy Adams will not have much support from the critics.
Thanks for the quote, Corvo. Tapley is reliable (imo).
I think The Imitation Game being left out is a good sign of what I’ve been saying here for weeks–pundits are overestimating it as a contender, as well as its director, in addition to The Theory of Everything. These films have low critic scores and are only lauded because of the central male performances. There is very very very little commentary on any other aspect of these films–and single great performances DO NOT ALWAYS make a Best Picture (The Iron Lady, Crazy Heart, The Wrestler, Blue Jasmine, Flight, The Impossible, etc.)
So happy to see Jake Gyllenhaal between the nominees, I hope he can be nominated also on the next awards shows and maybe win.
Pleased with all the nominees especially lead actress. Surprised at lack of support for IG though.
Robert, I’m definitely not questioning The Theory of Everything’s eligibility. I guess my point about ineligible films being left out of the conversation is the same thing as when an actor is ineligible for a SAG (notably the Beasts of the Southern Wild actors) or when there is a good presence of Oscar films at BAFTAs, but others are left out (Leo for Wolf)—-being out of the conversation and publicity surrounding those nominations/ceremonies can be a hit to the campaigns. People don’t discuss those events with a disclaimer list of who wasn’t eligible.
Also, I found a number of eventual Oscar acting nominees (about 6) from the last 6 years that were eligible for Spirits, but left off their list, but none in the last two years. None of the eligible eventual Oscar winners were left out.
I think when the question of a film’s eligibility is up for debate then it’s status is more fluid in the minds of the people who do the nominating. The rules and regulations do not sound very well-defined to me. I would not be surprised if some members of the nominating committee take issue with the “official” eligibility decision.
This is where my “hunch” and Kris’s guess about the “perception” of eligibility comes into play. It’s the same point I was making about the AFI — maybe The Imitation Game and Theory of Everything are “technically, officially” eligible and maybe the technicality that makes them eligible does not sit well with all the judges on the nominating committee. And that division of sentiment could be enough to knock a movie out of the box.
Movies are divisive for all kinds of reasons. As Kris says, the “perception” that a UK film is wiggling its way in to compete with American films — on the basis of a loophole or unclear definition — that might not jibe with what some voters feel should rightly be the focus of the AFI and Independent Spirit Awards.
So, being technically eligible is one thing. Being personally acceptable is something else.
“Imitation was definitely eligible, FYI. Might have been a foreign perception thing or even pushback on Harvey’s recent dubious qualifiers.”
Kristopher Tapley
Oh never mind what I said earlier, apparently Imitation Game is not eligible because it’s a UK production
Strong list. I think we already know 3 locks for Oscars – Boyhood, Birdman and Selma. I don’t think Whiplash will get into best Pic though (I hope it will)
Al,
I just noticed that Imitation Game is shut out by your comment. It’s definitely a surprise but I think it’ll eventually become a prize winner. Both Alejandro Gonzales Inaritu and Emmanuel Lubezki deserve an award for their work.
“The Theory of Everything was also not deemed eligible.”
Gah, my writing sucks!
The Theory of Everything was ineligible.
The Theory of Everything was also not deemed eligible.
I’m still unclear about The Imitation Game, though. I’ve also read a couple of things that suggest it was eligible. Hmm.
I am a independent spirit voter. The only category I have seen all the nominees is best supporting male . I think Jk Simmons will win but I am voting for Edward Norton in a very strong group of nominees.
I hope the distributors of the film that will be hard to see send screeners.
Weird call on Inherent Vice and Foxcatcher. Actually I never understand when a film is eligilble or not for this award. Just like Soundtrack or Song @ the Oscars
Bryce, re: “Secondly, I cannot tell you whether A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is remotely good enough to warrant that many nominations.”
It’s not. The only thing it deserves is cinematography recognition, but I’m okay with that being left out because Bradford Young will get his due for Selma. Chastain is wildly miscast and the writing is just okay. But, I love what Chandor represents in the industry and so I’m always okay with this perfectly fine film being in the conversation.
No Rene Russo? Uhh. I guess I better not look at these too hard and leave now while the overall good aftertaste persists.
Ryan, thanks for the clarification on Inherent Vice and Foxcatcher. I’m curious now why those films were given special awards then?????
Okay. Thank you Ryan and Robert A. 🙂
I had partly been basing this on what Glenn Whipp had said on Twitter:
Glenn Whipp @GlennWhipp 1h1 hour ago
IMITATION GAME being shut out of #SpiritAwards is a surprise. It was indeed eligible, being written, produced and financed by Americans.
Imitation Game can certainly make a stronger case for having American makers and backers than Theory of Everything.
Um. First I have no idea what the hell KUMIKO, THE TREASURE HUNTER is, so I guess I better find out? Secondly, I cannot tell you whether A MOST VIOLENT YEAR is remotely good enough to warrant that many nominations. But gee. At first glance it looks a tad excessive. Perhaps the picture is overrepresented. I don’t know. Just a hunch.
But other than that, these are very solid sets of nominees. Whoa, like, the best these so-called Indie Spirits have done in a good while. Nicely done, committees!
Robert, you’ll see in my FULL quote which you truncated to fit your argument, that I acknowledged that it doesn’t matter whether or not they were eligible because their names are out of the conversation for now. Their names will also be out of the conversation once we get closer to the Spirit ceremony and the publicity of a win goes to the other contenders, and they have STIFF competition in all of the categories. That being said:
Well we know that Big Eyes was eligible because it got a nomination, and Amy Adams wasn’t one of them. That’s a hit.
Whether we can trust The Atlantic or not is up for discussion, but in their lead-up to the nominations they counted Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game and Wild as eligible. That writer points out that TIG has American writers and producers and reminds us of The Artist being eligible (but he also counted Under the Skin as eligible in many categories that it was not). In their piece, Hitfix deemed Foxcatcher (as well as The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Theory of Everything ineligible) and went as far as to say The Imitation Game will “at minimum” get Film and Actor nominations, as well as including Wild in their predictions. Sounds like major hits to TIG and Wild/Witherspoon if you ask me.
Al, I agree with you that we’ll see TWC spin it that TIG wasn’t eligible. They still take a hit by being out of the conversation.
Al, I’m unclear whether The Imitation Game was eligible. In order to be eligible, the film couldn’t have cost more than $20 million to make and it has to be an American production. The Imitation Game is listed as a British-American production, so I’m not sure how ISA handled that. (The Artist was nominated, though, and I’m pretty sure that was a French-American production.)
Since The Imitation Game popped up nowhere, my guess is that it was deemed ineligible, somehow, but I really don’t know that for sure.
A total bummer to see The Skeleton Twins snubbed in every category. Still my favorite movie of the year so far. Hader and Wiig knocked it out of the park.
It is cool to see The Guest score an editing nomination though. Didn’t really expect it to get anything as it’s not really the kind of movie that gets recognized.
“I hear conflicting reports on whether or not either or both of The Imitation Game and Foxcatcher were eligible. Can anyone link to proof that they were/weren’t?”
benutty,
Film Independent has stated explicitly: “Due to Spirit Awards guidelines, Inherent Vice and Foxcatcher were not eligible for individual nominations.”
I have a hunch that The Imitation Game and Theory of Everything were not eligible because they are primarily UK productions. (Remember, The King’s Speech won “Best Foreign Film” at the Spirit Awards but it wasn’t eligible for anything else.)
I’m not sure if the AFI is so strict about the financing and the filmmakers being so thoroughly homegrown American. The AFI could be more lenient toward UK/US co-productions. (although I can’t imagine that the thick UK infusion can help either of those films with the AFI).
Wow, look at the nominations for Best International Film!!! I’ll be happy if that’s the Oscar lineup 🙂
So, The Imitation Game was an independent film, and eligible? Huh. I would have thought that would have been nominated for BP.
@Benutty – Ah, that makes sense. Having heard from two sources that The Imitation Game was eligible, I am shocked to see it completely omitted. That said, I’m sure we will soon here that it was ineligible, otherwise that film took the biggest hit by far.
“I think Redmayne, Cumberbatch, Carell, Jones, Adams, Pike and Swank take the biggest hit here.”
They could only take a hit if they were eligible for the awards and failed to get nominated. You can’t take a hit for a prize you weren’t eligible for in the first place. Besides, next week the crit groups will start announcing and the whole awards season will begin in earnest, and the Spirit nominees will be drowned out by louder noise.
Now if some of those performers miss out on SAG, GG, or BFCA nominations, then we can start arguing they’re vulnerable.
Scarlett Johansson was definitely ineligible for Under the Skin, since it received a Foreign Film nomination (locking it out of any other categories).
Ricky, Johansson isn’t eligible in acting because it’s an international film and Spirits are for American-made* films, aside from the one category.
*as I understand it, the film must be mostly (some percentage/combination of) American-directed, written or produced to qualify.
Weird screenplay lineup, but with 10 slots for Oscar, pretty sure Selma/Boyhood/Birdman are going to be ok (seriously, don’t believe for a second that Jim Jarmusch steals a nomination)
re: “That, to me, shows the academy has been paying more and more attention to quality independent films over the years.”
I tend to agree with the consensus that it’s less about AMPAS paying more attention to independents and more about large studios focusing their attention on tentpoles so that the only thing left in the realm of “adult cinema” for AMPAS to acknowledge *are* independent films, including the indie arms of larger studios. Whether this is good or bad is debatable, but for me it’s sad that more money/weight isn’t being thrown at adult cinema–which, as Sasha points out, is the biggest contribution Gone Girl has made.
Anyone wanna check the stats on how often an acting contender is eligible for a Spirit, but doesn’t get a Spirit nomination yet goes on to get an Oscar nom anyway? I’d try, but I don’t think I’d be good at determining what was/wasn’t eligible for a Spirit in the first place.
Regardless of whether they were eligible or not, I think it hurts films and actors to be left out of all conversations regarding the Spirits. In their absences names like Oyelowo, Gyllenhaal, Chastain, Cotillard are going to pick up steam. I think Redmayne, Cumberbatch, Carell, Jones, Adams, Pike and Swank take the biggest hit here.
breathing a little life support into The Immigrant for above and beyond its two most memorable attributes (cinematography & Cotillard)…too bad it won’t last
Oh wow, I didn’t even catch no Birman in Screenplay. That’s also shocking
I’m trying to decide which is a more shocking omission, Scarlett Johansson for Under the Skin or Richard Linklater for Screenplay. Or Reese Witherspoon for Actress. There were actually a lot of them come to think about it
No Rena Russo BOO!!!
I’m pretty sure Foxcatcher and Inherent Vice were not deemed eligible, for whatever reasons.
“Boyhood missed in Screenplay and Cinematography, which is not at all absurd, given the film, but a suggestion that it might not be totally unstoppable.”
All the movies most likely to appear in the Oscar BP lineup–Boyhood, Birdman, Selma, maybe Whiplash–also missed screenplay, so we can’t really read much into Boyhood missing a nomination. Out of all the major categories, the screenplay nominees probably bear the least resemblance to what the eventual Oscar nominees will be.
Looks like SELMA will be competitive alongside BOYHOOD and BIRDMAN. Looking forward to that one!
JP, Foxcatcher’s budget was probably higher than 20 million, which is the cutoff.
“Interesting: No film got Picture/Directing/Screenplay. ”
I just did a double take. Linklater didn’t get in for screenplay, which shocks the hell out of me. Also, let’s not forget that whether or not a film gets nominated or snubbed here by no means spells it’s chances for Oscar. This is late November, not January or even Oscar morning. But we’ll be hearing “so and so’s chances are now gone because so and so got in” every single time a critic’s group, or guild, is listed.
“This may as well be renamed the 2015 Oscar nominations thread, as I fear this pithy lineup will be the Academy’s choices as well.”
Good. That, to me, shows the academy has been paying more and more attention to quality independent films over the years. This is a pretty impressive lineup.
Very good for Boyhood, Selma and Birdman (the 3 Oscar frontrunners, btw) and also for Whiplash.
Not so good for A Most Violent Year.
Where is Wild? This should definitely has been eligible, hasnt it?
And what to think about Foxcatcher… really dont know.
Really interesting lineup of nominations here…
Gyllenhaal’s nomination over Teller is one of the biggest indicators to me… I wonder if this bodes well for an Oscar nomination.
Boyhood missed in Screenplay and Cinematography, which is not at all absurd, given the film, but a suggestion that it might not be totally unstoppable.
It’s a question of eligibility, probably, but surprised to see no noms for Foxcatcher (beyond the special award), Wild, The Imitation Game…
I agree that we can assume Selma, Whiplash, Birdman and Boyhood will all be in Oscar’s Best Picture lineup.
Interesting: No film got Picture/Directing/Screenplay. Is there a rule? Or do they like to recognize more movies this way?
I hope the Indie Spirits end up with 4 out of the 5 in common with Oscar in Foreign Language. Ida, Force Majeure, Leviathan, and Mommy sounds like a dream line-up.
Rinko Kikuchi and Andre Benjamin are way outta left field, no?
This may as well be renamed the 2015 Oscar nominations thread, as I fear this pithy lineup will be the Academy’s choices as well. But at least someone at Variety says ‘enough’. Why the Oscars Need More Movies Like ‘Hunger Games: Mockingjay’:
http://variety.com/2014/voices/opinion/why-the-oscars-need-more-movies-like-hunger-games-mockingjay-1201363862/
Can’t believe no nominations for ‘The Toy Soldiers’ or no nomination for Robyn Buck for ‘Hard Sun’
Excellent set of nominees not one weak film or performance.
Indie spirit awards throwing some curve balls in the acting categories
Give Best Director to Alejandro G. Iñárritu. There was no better directing job this year. Birdman felt like a ride, as much as a movie. Incredible. 🙂
Glad Jake and Riz got in for NIGHTCRAWLER, but no Russo???
I think this locks in Whiplash, Boyhood, Selma and Birdman all as BP nominees.
I hear conflicting reports on whether or not either or both of The Imitation Game and Foxcatcher were eligible. Can anyone link to proof that they were/weren’t?
I think Adams took a big hit missing out on an Actress nomination, especially considering how aligned Spirits and Oscars were last year.
Good to see Bradford Young recognized for 1 of his 2 films, as well as more than one nomination for A Most Violent Year (though I’m lukewarm on the film, I love Chandor and am in favor of any/all recognition thrown his way). I think Nightcrawler is a serious dark horse and worthy of all praise/nominations/wins it gets.
Very cool to see the love for Only Lovers Left Alive and Under the Skin, and Mommy. Too bad about Frank being excluded.
I think it’s exciting that we’ll get to see a BP lineup that has Birdman, Boyhood, and Selma, so we’ll get to see which one wins, but too bad they won’t announce the winners until just before the Oscars. But still, very exciting. 🙂
Skeleton Twins completely snubbed? I don’t get it….