Awards Season 2006

[chaddoli]

Fuck, man, I understand why people enjoy LMS, it's a very well-intentioned, good-natured film that I don't like but aren't inspired to hate - BUT this is exactly the type of film that the Independent Spirit Awards should NOT be encouraging. Those types of awards need to be going to films like Old Joy and Mutual Appreciation if we are going to stop this downward spiral.

[toiletduck!]

Yeah, that was perhaps a little off-handed. LMS just doesn't look like my thing, and the negative reactions I read are *exactly* how I had expected I would react to it. There are only so many days in the week, and LMS hasn't even come close to the top of my yet-to-see list. It may very well be brilliant, but there are a lot of things that I anticipate enjoying that I would like to see first.

That being said, and with regards to the topic at hand, there are a few awards and end of year lists that I make certain I have seen, if only to be aware of where the general critical consensus stands. That's what I meant by 'managing' to avoid LMS so far. The Oscars are the only variable on my list still open, but if it doesn't earn a best picture nod or win a major, I'm guessing the only way I'll see LMS in the near future is if a friend throws it in some rainy afternoon.

It's not meant as a terribly large knock to the film; it's just me playing to my assumed tastes. It's the same reason I've 'managed' to avoid Garden State, the last two X-Men films, and a wide majority of James Bond, all to many of my friends' shock and awe.

-Toilet Dcuk

EDIT: For some sort of future record-keeping purpose -- LMS bored me to tears. Alan Arkin looked like he was having fun. That's really the only compliment I can find.

[marty]

Fuck, man, I understand why people enjoy LMS, it's a very well-intentioned, good-natured film that I don't like but aren't inspired to hate - BUT this is exactly the type of film that the Independent Spirit Awards should NOT be encouraging. Those types of awards need to be going to films like Old Joy and Mutual Appreciation if we are going to stop this downward spiral.

Totally agree 100%. Old Joy and Mutual Appreciation were two of the best films I saw last year along with Lodge Kerrigan's Keane. These are the films that NEED to be be supported by Independent Spirit Awards and not bloody Little Miss Sunshine which was a Fox studios film! Independet quality cinema is dying and it needs support. I just heard that IFC Channel is going mainstream now and will not be screening independent films any longer? Is this true? If so, then that is very very sad.

[Barmy]

Variety reports that the Academy, for the first time, has added the makeup wing (or something like that) to the Oscar voting pool. About 125 people out of a pool of about 5000, if I remember correctly.

Marty's Oscar chances are looking dimmer.

[marty]

No, I think Marty will finally get his Oscar but I can't see The Departed winning Best Picture. Too violent for the blue-rinse Academy voters. Best Picture is likely to go Babel as it is this year's Crash.

[exte]

These are the films that NEED to be be supported

I sort of agree with your argument with LMS, as it isn't my favorite film, but wasn't it that kind of sentiment that kept a lot of awards from Reservoir Dogs, at least at Sundance, if I remember correctly? Looking at imdb, maybe even the Spirit Awards for Best First Feature? I mean, what shit is that? Either they deserve it or they don't, there shouldn't be any NEED involved... In the Soup? The Waterdance? Clearly they STILL need it...

[chaddoli]

There is need involved because intelligent people who want to know what the good independent films are this year look at awards like this and the recent films that are important, and yes, important films are still made, even in America, aren't awarded therefore not seen - because, why? Little Miss Sunshine is so fucking quirky?

[Matt]

American Society of Cinematographers Awards noms:

Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC, (Children of Men)
Dick Pope, BSC (The Illusionist)
Robert Richardson, ASC (The Good Shepherd)
Dean Semler, ASC, ACS (Apocalypto)
Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC (The Black Dahlia)

Some very formidable names there, but I'm sorry not to see Dion Beebe's name among them (for Miami Vice). After all, he won last year (for Memoirs of a Geisha, shot on film) and was nominated for similar work on Collateral (with Paul Cameron, who did all the pre-shoot testing, lighting plans, and 1/4 of the principal photography).

[Andre Jurieu]

Little Miss Sunshine may not be visually striking or innovative but it's impossibly memorable... Not one thing feels false.

I thought the only thing truly memorable about LMS was how astonishingly synthetic it felt, as if it was assembled as a marketing project for the indy-film crowd. The characters felt manufactured to tug at the heart-strings of specific audience demographics, or designed to be easy targets for shallow (or obvious) social criticisms. It just felt like an amalgamation of dozens of other flimsy Sundance films - like a Sundance greatest hits CD, designed for maximum box-office potential for everyone who likes indy-films.

Does anyone know who the host is this year at the Indie Spirit Awards?

I believe it's the always at least mildly offensive dirty-girl Sarah Silverman... because when you get AIDS you have to make LemonAIDS.

[marty]

Little Miss Sunshine may not be visually striking or innovative but it's impossibly memorable... Not one thing feels false.

I thought the only thing truly memorable about LMS was how astonishingly synthetic it felt, as if it was assembled as a marketing project for the indy-film crowd. The characters felt manufactured to tug at the heart-strings of specific audience demographics, or designed to be easy targets for shallow (or obvious) social criticisms. It just felt like an amalgamation of dozens of other flimsy Sundance films - like a Sundance greatest hits CD, designed for maximum box-office potential for everyone who likes indy-films.

Yeah, I agree. LMS went through the table of contents of a crowd-pleasing indie film and ticked all the boxes as they were making it. Why is this film being labelled as indie by the way? Isn't Fox distributing the film?

[Miguel]

Why is this film being labelled as indie by the way? Isn't Fox distributing the film?

Yes, but it was produced independently.

[portnoy]

Why is this film being labelled as indie by the way? Isn't Fox distributing the film?

Yes, but it was produced independently.

By the daring indie production companies that brought us Big Momma's House 2, Cold Mountain, The Honeymooners, and Everything is Illuminated... There's a certain extent to which equating "Not produced by one of the seven majors" as "produced independently" is not only laughable, but also pretty dishonest.

[Matt]

Totally agree 100%. Old Joy and Mutual Appreciation were two of the best films I saw last year along with Lodge Kerrigan's Keane.

Is Old Joy really any good? I went to college with Dan London and can't imagine watching anything with him in it and not having to stifle laughs. Patch Adams didn't help matters much, either.

[chaddoli]

Yes, Old Joy is a subtle, heartfelt - and heartbreaking - masterpiece. I call it important because well...it captures the zeitgeist...I haven't seen an American film that does that effectively in quite some time.

[marty]

Is Old Joy really any good? I went to college with Dan London and can't imagine watching anything with him in it and not having to stifle laughs. Patch Adams didn't help matters much, either.

Yeah, it's great. I have seen it twice now and will be getting the DVD when released down here. It played last weekend in Melbourne but only for four screenings. The screening I went to on Sunday was a full house.

The film is great. It is very subtle and not much appears to be happening on the surface as you watch it but the film speaks volumes about the growing separation between these two men who were once close college buddies with similar plans, beliefs and ambitions. The film is a soothing, sobering experience and unlike any film I have seen. Totally original and it stays with you for a long time. It's the best film I have seen in the last year.

[Highway 61]

Thanks for the heads up Marty. Seemingly any piece of shit shot locally can get screened at a Portland theater, so I never even bothered with it. Now I'm kicking myself.

[exte]

like a Sundance greatest hits CD...

Someone should put that on a custom cover art for LMS!

[Dylan]

From IMDB: Independent Spirit Awards 2007 Nominations

Best Supporting Female

Nominees:
American Gun (2005) - Marcia Gay Harden
Dead Girl, The (2006) - Mary Beth Hurt
Friends with Money (2006) - Frances McDormand
Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, A (2006) - Melonie Diaz
Stephanie Daley (2006) - Amber Tamblyn

Best Supporting Male

Nominees:
Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, A (2006) - Channing Tatum (I)
Infamous (2006) - Daniel Craig (I)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Alan Arkin
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Paul Dano
Steel City (2006) - Raymond J. Barry

Best Director

Nominees:
Bubble (2005/I) - Steven Soderbergh
Dead Girl, The (2006) - Karen Moncrieff (I)
Half Nelson (2006) - Ryan Fleck
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Jonathan Dayton; Valerie Faris
Prairie Home Companion, A (2006) - Robert Altman (I)

Best Screenplay

Nominees:
Friends with Money (2006) - Nicole Holofcener
Illusionist, The (2006) - Neil Burger
Painted Veil, The (2006) - Ron Nyswaner
Sorry, Haters (2005) - Jeff Stanzler
Thank You for Smoking (2005) - Jason Reitman

Best First Screenplay

Nominees:
Conversations with Other Women (2005) - Gabrielle Zevin
Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, A (2006) - Dito Montiel
Half Nelson (2006) - Anna Boden; Ryan Fleck
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Michael Arndt (II)
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006) - Goran Dukic

Best Cinematography

Nominees:
Brothers of the Head (2005) - Anthony Dod Mantle
Four Eyed Monsters (2005) - Arin Crumley
Laberinto del Fauno, El (2006) - Guillermo Navarro
Man Push Cart (2005) - Michael Simmonds
Wild Tigers I Have Known (2006) - Aaron Platt (II)

Best Documentary

Nominees:
Lion in the House, A (2006) - Steven Bognar; Julia Reichert
My Country My Country (2006) - Laura Poitras
Road to Guantanamo, The (2006) - Michael Winterbottom; Mat Whitecross
Trials of Darryl Hunt, The (2006) - Anne Sundberg; Ricki Stern
You're Gonna Miss Me (2005) - Keven McAlester

Best Foreign Film

Nominees:
A fost sau n-a fost? (2006) - Corneliu Porumboiu
- Romania.
Crónica de una fuga (2006) - Adrián Caetano
- Argentina.
Indigènes (2006) - Rachid Bouchareb
- France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium.
Leben der Anderen, Das (2006) - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- Germany.
Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, Ang (2005) - Auraeus Solito
- Philippines.

Best First Feature

Nominees:
Day Night Day Night (2006) - Julia Loktev (director/producer); Melanie Judd (I) (producer); Jessica Levin (II) (producer)
Man Push Cart (2005) - Ramin Bahrani (director/producer); Pradip Ghosh (producer); Bedford T. Bentley (producer)
Motel, The (2005) - Michael Kang (I) (director); Matthew Greenfield (producer); Miguel Arteta (producer); Gina Kwon (producer); Karin Chien (producer)
Sweet Land (2005) - Ali Selim (director/producer); Alan Cumming (producer); James Bigham (III) (producer); Ali Selim (producer)
Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006) - Goran Dukic (director); Adam Sherman (I) (producer); Chris Coen (producer); Tatiana Kelly (producer); Mikal P. Lazarev (producer)

Best Male Lead

Nominees:
American Gun (2005) - Forest Whitaker
Half Nelson (2006) - Ryan Gosling (I)
Man Push Cart (2005) - Ahmad Razvi
Painted Veil, The (2006) - Edward Norton (I)
Thank You for Smoking (2005) - Aaron Eckhart

Best Feature

Nominees:
American Gun (2005) - Ted Kroeber
Dead Girl, The (2006) - Tom Rosenberg; Henry Winterstern; Gary Lucchesi; Richard Wright; Eric Karten; Kevin Turen
Half Nelson (2006) - Jamie Patricof; Alex Orlovsky (I); Lynette Howell; Anna Boden; Rosanne Korenberg
Laberinto del Fauno, El (2006) - Bertha Navarro; Alfonso Cuarón; Frida Torresblanco; Alvaro Augustin; Guillermo del Toro
Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - Marc Turtletaub; David T. Friendly; Peter Saraf; Albert Berger; Ron Yerxa

Best Female Lead

Nominees:
For Your Consideration (2006) - Catherine O'Hara (I)
Half Nelson (2006) - Shareeka Epps
Land of Plenty (2004) - Michelle Williams (I)
Sorry, Haters (2005) - Robin Wright Penn
Sweet Land (2005) - Elizabeth Reaser

Special Distinction Award

Winners:
Laura Dern
David Lynch (I)

John Cassavetes Award

Nominees:
Chalk (2006/I) - Mike Akel (director/writer/producer); Angela Alvarez (producer); Graham Davidson (producer); Chris Mass (writer/producer)
Four Eyed Monsters (2005) - Arin Crumley (director/writer/producer); Susan Buice (director/writer/producer)
Old Joy (2006) - Kelly Reichardt (director/writer); Lars Knudsen (I) (producer); Jay Van Hoy (producer); Anish Savjani (producer); Neil Kopp (producer); Jonathan Raymond (III) (writer)
Quinceañera (2006) - Richard Glatzer (II) (writer/director); Wash Westmoreland (writer/director); Anne Clements (I) (producer)
Twelve and Holding (2005) - Michael Cuesta (director/producer); Leslie Urdang (producer); Michael Cuesta (producer); Brian Bell (III) (producer); Jenny Schweitzer (producer); Anthony Cipriano (I) (writer)

Truer Than Fiction Award

Nominees:
Chances of the World Changing, The (2006) - Eric Daniel Metzgar
Kurt Cobain: About a Son (2006) - AJ Schnack
Tailenders, The (2006) - Adele Horne

Producers Award

Nominees:
Half Nelson (2006) - Alex Orlovsky (I); Jamie Patricof
- Also for Point&Shoot (2004).
Nine Lives (2006) - Julie Lynn (I)
- Also for 10 Items or Less (2006).
Shortbus (2006) - Howard Gertler; Tim Perell
- Also for Pizza (2005).

Someone to Watch Award

Nominees:
Colma: The Musical (2006) - Richard Wong (III)
Day Night Day Night (2006) - Julia Loktev
In Between Days (2006) - So Yong Kim

[Andre Jurieu]

So, who wants to guess what trendy pop song will be viciously molested by the Golden Globes tonight during the opening moments when they replace the lyrics in order to somehow try and mention every nominated movie while showing every half-way attractive star who has decided to show up and get drunk? Just watching and listening to that seemingly unavoidable opening train-wreck seems to have become the highlight of Awards Season.

[colinr0380]

How about the Macarena?

[tavernier]

Just show that Jay-Z Budweiser ad.

[Matt]

So, who wants to guess what trendy pop song will be viciously molested by the Golden Globes tonight during the opening moments when they replace the lyrics in order to somehow try and mention every nominated movie while showing every half-way attractive star who has decided to show up and get drunk? Just watching and listening to that seemingly unavoidable opening train-wreck seems to have become the highlight of Awards Season.

They'll never top their new version of "Mambo No. 5" from seven years ago. Thank god I'm usually drunk by the start of the telecast.

[chaddoli]

Everyone should read this.

[tavernier]

Agreed...it's hilarious!

[Dylan]

Golden Globe Winners:

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Winner: Babel (2006)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
Winner: Forest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (2006)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Winner: Helen Mirren for The Queen (2006)

Best Television Series - Drama
Winner: "Grey's Anatomy" (2005)

Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Winner: Dreamgirls (2006)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Winner: Sacha Baron Cohen for Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

Best Director - Motion Picture
Winner: Martin Scorsese for The Departed (2006)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Winner: America Ferrera for "Ugly Betty" (2006)

Best Original Score - Motion Picture
Winner: The Painted Veil (2006) - Alexandre Desplat

Best Foreign Language Film
Winner: Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Winner: "Ugly Betty" (2006)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy
Winner: Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)

Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
Winner: The Queen (2006) - Peter Morgan

Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner: Helen Mirren for Elizabeth I (2005) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner: Bill Nighy for Gideon's Daughter (2005) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Winner: Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls (2006)

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner: Elizabeth I (2005) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
Winner: Meryl Streep for The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Best Animated Film
Winner: Cars (2006)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Winner: Hugh Laurie for "House M.D." (2004)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner: Emily Blunt for Gideon's Daughter (2005) (TV)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama
Winner: Kyra Sedgwick for "The Closer" (2005)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
Winner: Jeremy Irons for Elizabeth I (2005) (TV)

Best Original Song - Motion Picture
Winner: Happy Feet (2006)("The Song of the Heart")

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Winner: Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006)

I'm pleased to see a win for Alexandre Desplat, one of my favorite composers of today.