Indie Spirit nominations shockers: Where are Julianne Moore and Ryan Gosling?

When the Independent Spirit Awards nominations were announced today, the biggest surprises were the snubs. No Julianne Moore — even though there were six contenders in the lead actress category instead of the usual five and voters loved "The Kids Are All Right" so much that they nominated it for best picture.

Arguably, Moore has more screen time and lines of dialogue than costar Annette Bening, but Indie Spirit voters prefer Bening. That's revealing. That bolsters what award pundits like me have been saying all derby season. Moore doesn't belong in the lead actress contest. She should drop down to supporting or else voters will oust her from the lead race themselves.

"Blue Valentine" was expected to do well, but only Michelle Williams ended up with a bid. Costar Ryan Gosling got skunked and his flick wasn't nommed for best picture. Normally, Gosling is a darling of the indie crowd. He won the Spirit Award for lead actor three years ago for "Half Nelson" and was nominated in 2002 for "The Believer."

Robert Duvall is widely considered to be a beloved veteran in the indie realm. He won a Spirit last year as co-producer of best picture "Crazy Heart" and claimed two more in 1998 for directing and starring in "The Apostle." However, Spirit voters snubbed him and costar Sissy Spacek on Tuesday despite nominating "Get Low" for best first feature and best supporting actor (Bill Murray).

Two films that out-performed early forecasts: "Rabbit Hole" and "Greenberg." "Rabbit Hole" was expected to nab a few nominations, but not in so many lead categories: best director (John Cameron Mitchell), screenplay (David Lindsay-Abaire), actor (Aaron Eckhart), actress (Nicole Kidman). Kidman's bid was a surprise since she had not been nominated in the past for notable indie turns in "Margot at the Wedding" or "Dogville." Considering "Rabbit Hole" received so much love from the Spirits, it's curious that supporting star Dianne Wiest — normally a darling of kudos shows — was overlooked.

There were no expectations for "Greenberg," so it's shocking that it received bids for best picture, best actor (Ben Stiller), actress (Greta Gerwig) and cinematography.

-- Tom O'Neil

Photos: "The Kids Are All Right" (Focus Features), "Blue Valentine" (Weinstein Co.)