It won’t come as a surprise to anyone to “Precious” landed atop the list of Independent Spirit Award nominations this morning. Lee Daniels’ indie smash earned 5 mentions including Best Feature, Director and Actress, and looks like the one to beat in every category where it features.
Fewer people, however, might have expected Michael Hoffman’s “The Last Station” to tie that total, landing Best Feature and Director nods alongside more predictable citations for stars Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer. Many pundits (myself included) have been suggesting that this placid, kindly regarded film could be a threat for a Best Picture Oscar nod — this lends further weight to the idea.
Surprises include the comparatively low profile of “A Serious Man” on the list, which some thought a shoo-in for a Best Feature nod. It missed in the top category, as did Michael Stuhlbarg for Best Actor, though the film managed mentions in the Best Director and Best Cinematography races. Further compensation for the film arrives in the shape of the Robert Altman Award for ensemble work.
Other surprises include the snubbing of Hal Holbrook, despite the inclusion of his “That Evening Sun” co-stars, while the Best Actress race unexpectedly includes Gwyneth Paltrow and Maria Bello at the expense of, say, Maggie Gyllenhaal. Fans of Paltrow’s vehicle “Two Lovers” will be also be delighted by the Best Director nod for James Gray, which I certainly didn’t see coming — one might speculate that Joaquin Phoenix only just missed the Best Actor list.
My personal favorite nod? Natalie Press for Best Supporting Actress. My biggest headscratcher? “Bad Lieutenant” for Best Cinematography, of all things. What makes (or mars) your day on the list below? (I suspect there will be a lot of happy “(500) Days of Summer” fans out there.)
Best Feature
“Amreeka”
“(500) Days of Summer”
“The Last Station”
“Precious”
“Sin Nombre”
Best Director
Michael Hoffman, “The Last Station”
Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Joel and Ethan Coen, “A Serious Man”
Cary Fukunaga, “Sin Nombre”
James Gray, “Two Lovers”
Best Actor
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 Actress
Maria Bello, “Downloading Nancy”
Nisreen Faour, “Amreeka”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Gwyneth Paltrow, “Two Lovers”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Best Supporting Actor
Jemaine Clement, “Gentlemen Broncos”
Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Christian McKay, “Me and Orson Welles”
Ray McKinnon, “That Evening Sun”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Best Supporting Actress
Dina Korzun, “Cold Souls”
Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Samantha Morton, “The Messenger”
Natalie Press, “Fifty Dead Men Walking”
Mia Wasikowska, “That Evening Sun”
Best Screenplay
“Adventureland”
“(500) Days of Summer”
“The Last Station”
“The Messenger”
“The Vicious Kind”
Best First Feature
“Crazy Heart”
“Easier With Practice”
“The Messenger”
“Paranormal Activity”
“A Single Man”
Best First Screenplay
“Amreeka”
“Cold Souls”
“Crazy Heart”
“Precious”
“A Single Man”
Best Foreign Film
“An Education”
“Everlasting Moments”
“The Maid”
“Mother”
“A Prophet”
Best Documentary
“Anvil! The Story of Anvil”
“Food, Inc.”
“More Than a Game”
“October Country”
“Which Way Home”
Best Cinematography
“The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans”
“Cold Souls”
“A Serious Man”
“Sin Nombre”
“Treeless Mountain”
John Cassavetes Award
“Big Fan”
“Humpday”
“New Year Parade”
“Treeless Mountain”
“Zero Bridge”
Robert Altman Award
“A Serious Man”
Comments
61 responses to “‘Precious’ and ‘Last Station’ lead Spirit nominees”
Awesome that Christian McKay got nominated.
So Mirren wins Rome, shows up on the Indy list.. I guess she’s the 4th nominee..
Now the fight for the 5th spot is between Cotillard, Ronan, Cornish and Bullock.
Gwyneth is a bit of a shocker, but I think she is dying for a comeback. It almost seems like a lifetime ago that she won the Oscar.
Well that’s not good for A Serious Man, my favorite movie of the year thus far. No Picture, no Best Actor, no Screenplay? Yeesh…
Which movie is Nathalie* Press nominated for?
So, some strange snubs. Michael Stuhlbarg and “A Serious Man”, as well as Ben Foster, were robbed, imo. Julianne Moore might have been, too, actually.
I’m really happy for JGL though. He was snubbed back in the day for “Mysterious Skin” (ugh, disgraceful), so he deserves this.
@McGuff: Don’t fret too much. “Milk” was snubbed for Best Feature and Director last year.
And Jake Gyllenhaal missed the cut for “Brokeback Mountain”, while Laura Linney somehow even got snubbed here (in addition to the ludicrous snubs elsewhere), but thankfully got the last laugh come Oscars.
Jennifer:
I’m agree with you, with this nomination Helen Mirren is in the list of the 5 nominies in the oscar race for best actress, along with Streep, Mulligan, Sidibe, and i guess Sandra Bullock for the last spot, now that The Blind Side is a big boxoffice hit, and Sandra is the an america’s sweet heart.
I still don’t undestand why Plummer is competing in the supporting category, is clear that the movie is about Tolstoy and his wife. Is an absurd and ridiculous category fraud.
Maybe The Hurt Locker should have waited to be nominated this year. It could given the film a bigger momentum into awards season.
No Christopher Plummer. No Carey Mulligan. No Michael Sthulbarg. No Bright Star. Some surprises here.
I forgot Julianne Moore and Tom Ford too.
Aha! “A Serious Man” will be receiving the Robert Altman Award, given to one film’s directors/writers and cast. That’s a minor consolation to its infuriating snubs.
Natalie Press was nominated for “Fifty Dead Men Walking”.
@leonardo: Um, you should pay more attention around here. Plummer is going supporting because his character is more supporting, according to Kris. McAvoy’s character is the lead. I don’t think it’s that fraudulent.
Damn, Plummer was nominated. My bad.
@geha714: Only American productions are eligible to be nominated in main categories. Thus, British fare like “An Education” and “Bright Star” can only get a Best Foreign Film nomination.
Thanks, Other James D.
Welcome. Oh, one more thing, Tom Ford was nominated–in Best First Feature. That award goes at least in part to the director. Thus, he wasn’t eligible for the main Director category.
The other James D.:
But everybody is saying that Plummer and Mirren have the same screen time, and the movie is about them, so it looks a little weird to me, something like Kate Winslest last year with The Reader.
What is clear is that Plummer knows that in the leading category has no chance to win, and in the supporting one, maybe, because of the age factor, like Mantin Landau, Alan Arkin, Jack Palance and James Cobourn, for example.
Other James D: Sorry for the Press omission — I was typing too quickly. (An especially unfortunate oversight, since hers is my favourite nomination here!)
So happy for Scott Cooper’s double nod here.
Glad to see the Altman thing.
Is this one of the awards that tries to acknowledge as many films as possible, or do we think Adventureland really deserves a screenplay nod?
I wonder if the winner in Bridges v. Firth will tell us something about the Oscar race.
Also: never heard of The Vicious Kind. Has anyone seen it?
@Guy: No worries. And interesting–I would really like to see the movie, so perhaps I’ll agree!
@Leonardo: But still, I think it’s based on the story’s perspective. In my eyes, Forest Whitaker and Meryl Streep were category fraud. So, this is just. But you could be right, the Academy may disagree, and everything might go apeshit in the end =).
@McGuff: I’m really intrigued for “The Vicious Kind” after seeing it here, simply ’cause I like Adam Scott on that show “Party Down”. Looks like it might be out next year sometime?
just watched 500 Days of Summer last night and absolutely loved it, and while I’m glad to see it’s nods here I can’t help but wonder why it was left out for Screenplay and for Zooey Deschanel.
The saddest thing for me is the omission of Ben Foster. I was sure he’d get nominated, but at least his two co-stars did.
@JAB: Check again on Screenplay. Plain as tall Sarah.
“The Vicious Kind”? Firt time I see that name. Has anyone seen it?
So, if “Precious” wins this, it won’t win the Oscar, right? Beware the curse of the Independent Spirit Award!
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@JAB, it got a Screenplay nod. Just criminally not a nod for Zooey Deschanel.
This “(500) Days of Summer” fan is very happy.
Interesting nominees but some really strange picks too, like seeing Adventureland nominated for screenplay, while A Serious Man missed that, despite its director nod. I actually quite loved Adventureland, I don’t think it’s undeserving at all, but at the same time I would never have imagined that it could best A Serious Man for a writing nod.
It’s too bad The Hurt Locker was ineligible, had it not been nominated for the few it got last year when it was unreleased and barely on anyone’s radar, it certainly would’ve grabbed more nominations this year.
Hey, wait, THAT Adam Scott, from Party Down? AWESOME. I may have to find some way to see The Vicious Kind.
Like all the Precious love. Surprised by The Last Station… AND JEMAINE CLEMENT FOR GENTLEMEN BRONCOS?!!!
Glad to see Sin Nombre got some love…
Maybe I don’t know anything about cinematography, but I thought “Bad Lieutenant” was one of the most intentionally ugly films I’ve seen all year. No?
THANKS for explaining about the American requirement – I was a little freaked when I saw that Mulligan wasn’t nominated for Best Actress!
When you think about it THE LAST STATION seems like a perfect Oscar picture – bio, period film, quality tech, “high class” actors…
I’m most glad that JGL got recognized!
Also glad about Harrelson but sad about no Foster!
Surprised by A SERIOUS MAN – seemed like a sure bet for these awards. I do think Stuhlbarg was quite special in it.
I’m really curious to see if McKay can make it to the final five for the Oscars. A lot of blogs still have Damon on their list!
Anyone else surprised that A SINGLE MAN didn’t make Cinematography?
Absolutely delighted at the Two Lovers nominations. Its a superb Directorial effort by Gray. I was longing for it to happen earlier in the year, the film would now be lucky to even get mentioned in a few critics top 10’s. It seems to be all but forgotten. And Phoenix was snubbed.
But boo to 500 days of summer nods. I saw it recently and I guess it passes for profundity for the teenage crowd. What a superficial film. I cant believe it got nominated over Two Lovers.
Some nice touches like some love for 500 Days of Summer, Adventureland(surprisingly), The Messenger, but disappointed and shocked to see A Serious Man ignored in Best Feature, Actor, and Screenplay.
They didn’t include the best male performance of year (Ben Foster), but at least they omitted the year’s most overrated performance, Deschanel in (500) Days of Summer. I think people are praising her performance because they’re attracted to her. Yes, even gay men and women. But the ISA nominators at least saw through that to realize how little she did with the part versus how much a few other actresses could have done.
I’d love if The Last Station won over Precious!
And I guess A Single Man was veeeery snubbed. Sad.
^LOL. “Serious”ly?
@billybil: You’re welcome, and yes, I’m stunned “A Single Man” was snubbed in Cinematography in favor of Werner Herzog’s latest hot mess.
really happy to see SIN NOMBRE and Cary on the list… it remains one of my top films of the year…
happy that 500 Days of Summer got a nod for best feature, one of my favorites so far this year but sad that A Serious man didn’t sneak in there. Saw Precious over the weekend and wonder what the fuss is about. I mean, it gets pretty riduculus
Julian Stark: I haven’t seen “Gentlemen Broncos,” but I’m not surprised in the slightest to see him here. One critic called his performance a “small masterpiece of its own” or something along those lines. Apparently he’s excellent.
JAB and Cengiz: Right there with you guys. “(500) Days of Summer” is one of my favorite films of the year. Deschanel’s snub is a stupid move, imo.
And how the heck is “An Education” a foreign film?
…It’s not American?
Foreign =/= foreign language. “Once” won here two years ago.
I LOVE the fact that “(500) Days of Summer” got all that love, including a nomination for Best Feature. It’s such a great film. It felt like the “Annie Hall” for my generation. Superb!
I’m sad “A Serious Man” wasn’t nominated for Best Feature or Best Actor though. It was a brilliant, laugh-out-loud dark comedy that leaves you thinking. Oh well. In a perfect world the “Precious” bitch wouldn’t be nominated for Best Feature.
And “The Last Station” looks like such a Good Film! Can’t wait.
My Best Actress Predictions:
Marion Cotillard – Nine
Helen Mirren – The Last Station
Carey Mulligan – An Education
Gabourey Sidibe – Precious
Meryl Streep – Julie & Julia
Also
SANDRA BULLOCK WON’T BE NOMINATED. “THE BLIND SIDE” GOT TERRIBLE REVIEWS. It’s going to be between Ronan, Cotillard and Cornish for the 5th spot with Audrey Tautou being a potential dark horse for “Coco Before Chanel”.
Terrible call on A Serious Man.
No script? No best pitcure?
most importantly, NO BEST ACTOR?
he’s definitely my favorite lead actor of the year thus far.
Me.: Plus “The Blind Side” is a terrible movie, and I have a feeling the Academy will see through it. Maybe not though. I believe it to be overrated, overhyped, and, above all, fake.
For some reason, I was barely moved by the trailer for “The Last Station.” Hmm.
Anybody know how long before the Spirit Awards screeners start coming?
I’m so happy to see Paltrow and Gray nominated for “Two Lovers”, I would’ve loved to have seen Joaquin Phoenix and Vinessa Shaw nominated as well but this is still great. I loved that film.
Happy to see Sin Nombre on this list, saw it on dvd a few nights ago and thought it was a superb little film, amazing though it is in top 5. Sorry A Single Man didn’t get in top Five but it probably will be honored at least for Best First Feature and maybe Colin for the BA win too?!
happy to see Sin Nombre up there as well–still my favorite film of the year so far
@Chase K: Agreed. Intentionally or not, “The Bad Lieutenant” is one muddy-looking movie. Of all the places for it to show up, Best Cinematography is the last place I’d look.
Any DPs out there who can convince me otherwise?