So, the Indie Spirits were announced this morning! This year, their big favorites were Birdman, Boyhood and Selma, with the latter in particular picking up a significant boost from this group, since it's such a late release, not coming out until Christmas. This awards body doesn't necessarily mean a lot for the Oscars, since there are always weird rules about what is and isn't eligible, what does and doesn't count as "independent," etc. But there is some overlap most of the time, and the three that led the pack are probably the most likely to cross over with the Academy down the line as well.
BEST FEATURE
- Birdman
- Boyhood
- Love is Strange
- Selma
- Whiplash
DIRECTOR
- Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
- Ava Duvernay, Selma
- Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman
- Richard Linklater, Boyhood
- David Zellner, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter
SCREENPLAY
- Big Eyes
- A Most Violent Year
- Nightcrawler
- Only Lovers Left Alive
- Love is Strange
BEST FIRST FEATURE
- A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
- Dear White People
- Nightcrawler
- Obvious Child
- She's Lost Control
FIRST SCREENPLAY
- Appropriate Behavior
- Little Accidents
- The One I Love
- She's Lost Control
- Dear White People
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to best feature made for under $500,000)
- Blue Ruin
- It Felt Like Love
- Land Ho!
- Man From Reno
- Test
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
MALE LEAD
- Andre Benjamin, Jimi: All is By My Side
- Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
- Michael Keaton, Birdman
- John Lithgow, Love is Strange
- David Oyelowo, Selma
SUPPORTING FEMALE
- Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
- Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
- Carmen Ejogo, Selma
- Andre Suarez Paz, Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
- Emma Stone, Birdman
SUPPORTING MALE
- Riz Ahmed, Nightcrawler
- Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
- Alfred Molina, Love is Strange
- Edward Norton, Birdman
- J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- The Immigrant
- Birdman
- It Felt Like Love
- A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
- Selma
BEST EDITING
- Boyhood
- Whiplash
- Nightcrawler
- A Most Violent Year
- The Guest
DOCUMENTARY
- 20,000 Days on Earth
- CitizenFour
- Stray Dog
- The Salt of the Earth
- Virunga
INTERNATIONAL FILM
- Force Majeure
- Ida
- Leviathan
- Mommy
- Norte, the End of History
- Under the Skin
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to ensemble): Inherent Vice
SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD: Foxcatcher
Glancing over these nominations, it's interesting to not that both the Gothams and the Indie Spirits essentially snubbed Foxcatcher. That film may have a hard time of it going forward, with no acting nods for either Steve Carell or Mark Ruffalo widely rumored to be in consideration for Oscars. Honestly it looks to me like the Spirits wanted to go really indie this year- the last few years have seen their reputation take a hit from nominating too many "big" Oscar movies, like The Artist and Silver Linings Playbook, so perhaps they were trying to restore some integrity this time with more outside the box choices. But mostly, this is a boost for those three films mentioned above, and may not mean much for anything else in the long run. My favorite noms here are Jenny Slate and Tilda Swinton for two of my favorite movies of the year that are unlikely to get any more attention than from this group, so good for them. As for the wins here, I honestly don't know. My gut says Boyhood, but Selma sure is coming on strong at the last minute and could be a real threat, not just here but at the Oscars as well. I guess we'll see.
