The nominations for the 25th Anniversary Spirit Awards — which will take place March 5 — were announced this morning by Matt Dillon and Taraji Henson.
The ceremony will air live on IFC at 11 p.m. EST / 8 p.m. PST. (two days before the Oscars)
The nominees:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer)
“(500) Days Of Summer,” Producers: Mason Novick, Jessica Tuchinsky, Mark Waters, Steven J. Wolfe
“Amreeka,” Producers: Paul Barkin, Christina Piovesan
“Precious,” Producers: Lee Daniels, Gary Magness, Sarah Siegel-Magness
“Sin Nombre,” Producer: Amy Kaufman
“The Last Station,” Producers: Bonnie Arnold, Chris Curling, Jens Meuer
BEST DIRECTOR
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, “A Serious Man”
Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Cary Joji Fukunaga, “Sin Nombre”
James Gray, “Two Lovers”
Michael Hoffman, “The Last Station”
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
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”
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
“A Single Man,” Director: Tom Ford, Producers: Tom Ford, Andrew Miano, Robert Salerno, Chris Weitz
“Crazy Heart,” Director: Scott Cooper, Producers: T Bone Burnett, Judy Cairo, Rob Carliner, Scott Cooper, Robert Duvall
“Easier With Practice,” Director: Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Producer: Cookie Carosella
“Paranormal Activity,” Director: Oren Peli, Producer: Jason Blum, Oren Peli
“The Messenger,” Director: Oren Moverman, Producers: Mark Gordon, Lawrence Inglee, Zach Miller
BEST SCREENPLAY
The Messenger
The Last Station
500 Days of Summer
The Vicious Kind
Adventureland
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 FEMALE LEAD
Maria Bello, “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Gwentyth Paltrow, “Two Lovers”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire”
Nisreen Faour, “Amreeka”
BEST MALE LEAD
Jeff Bridges
Colin Firth
Joseph Gordon Levitt
Souleymane Sy Savane
Adam Scott
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Monique
Samantha Morton
Natahlie Press
Mia Wasikowska
Dina Korzun
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Jemaine Clements
Woody Harrelson
Cristian McKay
Ramon McKinnon
Christopher Plummer
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
A Serious Man
Sin Nombre
Treeless Mountain
Cold Souls
Bad Lieutenant
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
Anvil!
Food Inc
More Than a Game
October Country
Which Way Home
BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
A Prophet
An Education
Everlasting Moments
Mother
The Maid
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Robert Altman Award
“A Serious Man”
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Casting Directors: Ellen Chenoweth, Rachel Tenner
Cast: Richard Kind, Sari Lennick, Jessica McManus, Michael Stuhlbarg, Aaron Wolff
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Karin Chien, “The Exploding Girl,” “Santa Mesa”
Larry Fessenden, “I Sell the Dead,” “The House of the Devil”
Dia Sokol, “Beeswax,” “Nights & Weekends”
SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Kyle Patrick Alvarez, “Easier With Practice”
Asiel Norton, “Redland”
Tariq Tapa, “Zero Bridge”
TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Natalia Almada, “El General”
Jessica Oreck, “Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo”
Bill Ross, Turner Ross, “45365”
Wow. I am SO behind on my movie watching this year.
I have no doubt that “Precious” is going to sweep every category but personally I’d want “Amreeka” is get some recognition. For “Best Director”, Lee Daniels is probably going to win, but Ethan and Joel’s “A Serious Man” was one of the best films of the year for me, so I’d hope for them to win. For the “Best First Feature” category, I have no doubt that “(500)Days of Summer” is going to win. I see that “Crazy Heart” is getting some publicity even before it’s released to the public, that’s good news as I am anticipating it. For “Best Female Lead”, I want Nisreen Faour to win. She was excellent in “Amreeka”, but “Precious” is going to take the win once again. Now, I’ve seen “Precious” and I personally didn’t like it that much. Perhaps it deserves a re-visit, but I just felt like it was a tiring melodrama, but my opinion seems to be pretty uncommon.
I didn’t know half these movies!