In Contention

Tag: Gotham Independent Film Awards

  • ‘Winter’s Bone’ wins big at Gothams

    If you were able to catch the live stream of the 20th anniversary Gotham Awards tonight (nominees here), then you saw the usual slap-dash, boozed up shenanigans.

    Debra Granik’s “Winter’s Bone” was carrying the big stick coming in with three nominations and it walked away with two awards, including Best Feature. Most surprising was the film’s hot young thing actress Jennifer Lawrence being upset in the Breakthrough Actor category by “Daddy Longlegs” star Ronald Bronstein. Did signing on to “X-Men: First Class” put a bad taste in voters’ mouths? Hmm…

    Speaking of which, Natalie Portman went there in her cheeky intro for Darren Aronofsky’s tribute, mentioning his upcoming “The Wolverine” and “Machine Man.” His tribute reel, with just five films to pull from, looked killer. Talk about the beginnings of a brilliant career.

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  • 10/21 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Praise for ‘Love & Other Drugs,’ sussing out Best Actress, quotable ‘Social Network’

    • Jeffrey Wells calls “Love & Other Drugs” Edward Zwick’s best film yet. [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • Peter Knegt assesses the Gotham Award nominations. [indieWIRE]

    • Nathaniel Rogers hearts Sam Rockwell in “Conviction.” [Tribeca Film]

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  • ‘Winter’s Bone’ leads the way with Gotham Award nominees

    The nominees for the 20th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were announced this morning by Elvis Mitchell via live stream and we get a lot of what we’d expect.  Debra Granik’s “Winter’s Bone” received three nominations, including Best Feature, while Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids Are All Right” received two.  Those were the list-toppers.

    Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” received one nomination, for Best Feature.  The director is also getting an honorary award, however, as previously announced.

    The biggest surprise for me is “Let Me In” nailing down a Best Feature nomination.  I was happy to see Glenn Ficarra and John Requa nail down a Breakthrough Director nomination for the delightful “I Love You Phillip Morris,” and I also caught “The Company Men” last week (the same day as Ficarra and Requa’s film, actually).  It’s a tight piece of work and it’s nice to see John Wells spotlighted in that category, too.

    Check out the full list of nominees after the jump.

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  • Gotham tributes for Duvall, Swank, Schamus, Aronofsky

    The press release, in part:

    The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP), the nation’s oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers, announced today that director Darren Aronofsky, actors Hilary Swank and Robert Duvall, and Focus Features CEO, James Schamus, will each be presented with a career Tribute at the 20th Anniversary Gotham Independent Film Awards™ on Monday, November 29th at Cipriani Wall Street, New York, New York.

    Signaling the official kick-off to the film awards season, the Gotham Independent Film Awards™ is one of the leading awards for independent film. Anchoring the evening’s seven competitive awards for Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You and the new Festival Genius Audience Award, are four Tributes to film community icons.

    This year’s Tribute selection represents a range of individuals – all veterans well-versed in the journey between lower-budget independent films and large-scale studio releases…

    “We are moved and honored to give tribute to four cinematic film luminaries, all of whom have had their roots in independent film, and have steadfastly focused on the art of film, irrespective of the size of the budget of their work” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director of the IFP. “This year’s tributes personify independent spirit and have created an astonishing breadth of work that we are proud to celebrate. James Schamus won the producing award in 1996 and Darren Aronofsky was our Breakthrough Director in 1998. We are thrilled to honor them again for their deserving careers. Robert Duvall and Hilary Swank’s work have enriched our lives; from the smallest of indies to the largest of Hollywood features, we are in awe of their talent and look forward to what lies ahead.”

    [Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures]

  • OFF THE CARPET FAIL

    Katie Jarvis in Fish TankThis is weak sauce, and I know that going in, but it looks like back-to-back weeks without an Off the Carpet column.  Two screenings today, suddenly being pulled out of town tomorrow, computer issues, etc. — it tends to get in the way.

    In the meantime, some sporadic thoughts:

    • “An Education,” “Fish Tank” (which I finally saw this morning as we gear up for AFI Fest) and “Up in the Air” would make for a bizarrely appropriate triple feature.

    • With that in mind, I’ve found myself, for better or worse, turning over what the year in film might actually mean this year.  It’s folly, of course, and overly reductive, but I always enjoy turning over the year’s themes.  Maturity seems to be a big constant.  What say you?

    • I think what has shaped up to be a handsome year in indie film was let down today by a dubious slate of Gotham nominees.

    • Ennio Morricone at the Hollywood Bowl is SO going to rock this weekend.  But probably not quite as much as U2 tomorrow night (my first time).

    That’s all I’ve got.  Predictions have been tweaked.  The contenders are here.  The floor is yours.

  • Nominees announced for 19th annual Gotham Awards

    Algenis Perez Soto in SugarAnd here…we…go!

    I’m on my way out the door and so I can’t fully comment on the just announced list of Gotham Award nominees (which, along with the trickling-in list of Hollywood Film Fest winners, really is making this seem like an Oscar season all of a sudden, no?)  But here they are.  A handful of other awards/honors were announced a few weeks back.

    I’m glad “Sugar” got something, even if it is a lone nomination in the ensemble field.  “The Hurt Locker” cleaned up with nominations across the board.  “Big Fan” did really well, too.  Your thoughts?

    Best Feature
    “Amreeka”
    “Big Fan”
    “The Hurt Locker”
    “The Maid”
    “A Serious Man”

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Festival pick-ups, the season’s fetes and the PGA’s 10

    Robert Duvall in Get Low• We wrapped up Toronto as Lee Daniels’s “Precious” took the festival’s audience award, putting it on a solid track for Oscar.

    • We got a look at the first trailer for “Harry Brown,” which may or may not be an awards film for actor Michael Caine.  John, you’ll recall, isn’t feeling it.

    • We saw ‘Meatball’ dominance at the box office in this weekend’s Sunday Cents column.

    • This week’s Off the Carpet column kicked off our weekly Oscar coverage with a call for perspective on the perceived Best Picture frontrunners, while a new weekly column from across the pond — The Long Shot — introduces a different perspective mid-week.

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  • Gothams tap Bigelow, Portman, Tucci, Bevan/Fellner for career tributes

    Kathryn BigelowThe Independent Film Project has announced this year’s Career Tribute recipients for the 19th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards.

    The feted will be: Kathryn Bigelow, whose film “The Hurt Locker” is on a steady awards season course; Natalie Portman, who is said to give a pretty solid performance in Jim Sheridan’s upcoming “Brothers”; and Stanley Tucci, who is already a delight opposite Meryl Streep in “Julie & Julia” and could be an awards contender at season’s end for his performance in Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones.”

    Working Title Films executives Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are also set to be honored — WELL-deserved.

    Michelle Byrd, executive director of IFP, is quoted in the press release.  On Bigelow:

    Kathryn Bigelow’s unparalleled ability to portray thrilling action and stomach churning suspense have been a mainstay of her work as a director…What sets her apart, however, is her ability to bring those talents to bear on films of any budget while also presenting characters with emotional gravity.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: ‘Button’ rises, ‘Torino’ surfaces, ‘Doubt’ swoops

    Apologies for the slightly delayed wrap. Much to discuss this week — here are the highlights:

    • With some formerly hot prospects now off the radar, this week’s Off the Carpet column surveys the landscape, and concludes that things look good for “Benjamin Button.”

    • “The Soloist” withdrew as the AFI fest opener; their loss is “Doubt”‘s gain.

    • With a trailer for “Gran Torino” finally emerging, we wonder if Clint Eastwood is the real frontrunner for Best Actor.

    • The Gotham Independent Film Awards unveiled the season’s first set of nominees — good news for titles like “Ballast” and “The Visitor.”

    • More impressions from the London Film Festival, including hot foreign-language contender “The Class.”

    • Still in London, we caught up with “Happy-Go-Lucky”‘s superb Best Supporting Actor contender, Eddie Marsan.

    • This week’s edition of Tech Support put Art Direction in the spotlight.

    • We were in a listmaking mood this week, rounding up some of the most scandalously unnominated actors of this era …

    • … while John Foote reminisced over his personal favourite movie moments.

    • And finally, who should host the Oscars? Our answer may surprise you.

  • 10/21 Oscarweb Round-up

    Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace• Kim Voynar sets up Film Essent at MCN. [Movie City News]

    • Tom O’Neil collects some more guesses from Oscar prognosticators. [Gold Derby]

    • And he reports that “Slumdog Millionaire”‘s Dev Patel will be campaigned as a supporting actor. [Gold Derby]

    • John Campea explores the reasons why “The Dark Knight” will land a Best Picture nomination in the wake of delayed and underwhelming competition. [The Movie Blog]

    • Eugene Hernandez and Peter Knegt discuss the Gotham nods. [indieWIRE]

    • Brooks Barnes looks into Wall Street’s creative affect on Hollywood. [New York Times]

    • Brad Brevet sits down with “Happy-Go-Lucky” helmer Mike Leigh. [Rope of Silicon]

    • Lauren Schuker looks at Paramount’s two release date retreats as a sign of the economic crisis. [Wall Street Journal]

    • The meteoric downfall of Roberto Benigni. [Spout Blog]

    • Anne Thompson had a good time watching “Quantum of Solace.” [Thompson on Hollywood]

  • ‘Ballast’ tops list of Gotham Indie award nominees

    BallastThe Gotham Independent Film Award nominees have been announced (note the change in moniker this year), and Lance Hammer’s Mississippi drama “Ballast” leads the pack with four nominations.  Six films received two nominations apiece, including Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York,” Jonathan Demme’s “Rachel Getting Married” and Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

    One film that might have popped up had it been eligible was Gus Van Sant’s “Milk,” but the film was not ready to screen for IFP in time.

    These are the first set of film awards nominations of the 2008 season, kicking off the campaigns for more than a few potential Oscar contenders, including actresses Rosemarie DeWitt, Melissa Leo and Rebecca Hall, each of them nominated in the Breakthrough Actor category.  The documentary race also includes a number of Oscar hopefuls, “Man on Wire,” “Trouble the Water” and “Encounters at the End of the World” among them.

    The frontrunner at this point is probably the bread-winner of the nomiantions process: “Ballast.”  But I have a feeling “The Visitor” could spark enough support to surprise in the end.  Also nominated for Best Feature is Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” the film’s only mention.

    The awards will be held on Tuesday Decmber 2 at New York’s Cipriani Wall Street.

    (Full list of nominees after the jump.)

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