Spirit Awards: Joel McHale does his homework

 

Joel McHale has much more than a bowl of "Soup" on his plate. In addition to hosting E!'s caustic takedown of reality TV, McHale also stars in NBC's ensemble comedy "Community," and still works regularly as a stand-up comedian. And on Saturday, he'll likely utilize all his skills as he hosts the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards honoring independent films.

He promises to tamp down some of that biting wit, though, because he has great respect for independent films, which are a world apart from his normal target -- "Bridalplasty," say. What he doesn't have is great amounts of time to go see films.

That fact left him with quite a bit of homework to do before the awards -- he needed to catch up on the nominees. “I’ve been watching tons of films,” McHale said. “I watch in my trailer, try to watch in the morning. I was given a big bag of screeners and sternly told, ‘Do not lose this or there will be big trouble.' "

He quipped, “It was like I was being handed the secret launch codes.”

-- Greg Braxton

Photo: Joel McHale, left and Danny Pudi in a scene from "Community." Credit: NBCUniversal

Who says Sundance movies are way out there?

 

In Wednesday's first wave of announcements for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, festival director John Cooper said he was continuing to steer away from higher-profile filmmakers with big-name casts in favor of up-and-coming directors with unknown ensembles.

But if Sundance, which Cooper took over with last January's lineup, is aiming toward artier and more obscure works, awards voters don't seem to mind.

While many of the lead nominations for this week's Independent Spirit Awards not surprisingly premiered in Park City, Utah, last January, a number of contenders for more significant awards -- including the Oscars -- also are Sundance alumni.

The 2010 Sundance gathering certainly had its share of here today, gone tomorrow washouts ("Welcome to the Rileys," "Sympathy for Delicious," "Hesher," "Twelve"), but the festival also served as the launching pad for a number of movies currently riding awards momentum: Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling's "Blue Valentine," director Lisa Cholodenko's "The Kids Are All Right," and Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone."

But the festival's more impressive showing was in documentary filmmaking. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences two weeks ago announced its short list for documentary features, and among the 15 finalists, seven of the movies played in Park City: "Exit Through the Gift Shop," "Enemies of the People," "GasLand," "Restrepo," "The Tillman Story," "Waiting for 'Superman" and "Waste Land."

-- John Horn

Graffiti believed to be from guerrilla artist Bansky, the subject and director of "Exit Through the Gift Shop," on a wall at January's Sundance Film Festival. Credit: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

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).

'Winter's Bone' and 'The Kids Are All Right' top the Spirit Award nominations

 

Oscar favorites "127 Hours," "Black Swan," "The Kids Are All Right" and "Winter's Bone" all received multiple nods Tuesday morning at the nominations for Film Independent's 2011 Spirit Awards, which will take place on Feb. 26. One suprise of the day was Noah Baumbach's "Greenberg," which received a best picture nomination, a best actor nod for star Ben Stiller and best actress recognition for Greta Gerwig.

The Spirit Awards in its 26th year recognized what a crowded field it is for actresses this year, nominating a record six women in the category. In addition to Gerwig, Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right" received a nomination as did Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole," Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine."

In a suprising move, Williams' "Blue Valentine" co-star Ryan Gosling was not recognized for his performance in the marriage drama from director Derek Cianfrance. Rather, the best actor nominations went to Ronald Bronstein from the teeny indie "Daddy Longlegs," Aaron Eckhart from "Rabbit Hole," James Franco from "127 Hours," John C. Reilly from "Cyrus" and Stiller.

In the directing category, Film Independent recognized two female directors among the five nominees including Lisa Cholodenko for "The Kids Are All Right" and Debra Granik for "Winter's Bone." The other three slots included Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," Danny Boyle for "127 Hours" and John Cameron Mitchell for "Rabbit Hole." Although Eckhart, Kidman and Mitchell were all nominated, "Rabbit Hole" itself was left off the indie awards' best picture list.

But the Spirit nods are good news for both "Kids" and "Black Swan," which were shut out of Monday night's Gotham Awards. The Film Independent committee evaluated 220 movies, all of which had a budget under $20 million.

In the supporting actor category, Bill Murray was recognized for his role in "Get Low" from director Aaron Schneider, who picked up a first feature nomination. Samuel Jackson was nominated for "Mother and Child" as was John Ortiz for "Jack Goes Boating," Mark Ruffalo for "The Kids Are All Right" and John Hawkes for "Winter's Bone."

For supporting actress, Ashley Bell picked up a surprise nomination for "The Last Exorcism," Dale Dickey was nominated for "Winter's Bone," Allison Janney picked up a nod for her role in Todd Solondz' "Life During Wartime," Naomi Watts for "Mother and Child"  and Daphne Rubin-Vega for "Jack Goes Boating."

Film Independent's Spirit Award nominations announced

Film Independent's Spirit Awards announced its nominations Tuesday morning with �127 Hours,� �Black Swan,� �Greenberg,� �The Kids Are All Right� and �Winter�s Bone� earning nominations for best film of 2010.

 Best director nominations went to Darren Aronofsky for ��Black Swan,� Danny Boyle for �127 Hours,� Lisa Cholodenko for �The Kids Are All Right,� Debra Granik for �Winter�s Bone� and John Cameron-Mitchell for �Rabbit Hole.�

 The awards will be announced at the Spirit Awards ceremony Feb. 26 under a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.

A full list coming soon.

 

Live video: 2011 Spirit Award nominations

The live webcast for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards will begin on Tuesday at 8 a.m. PST, 11 a.m. EST. Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner are scheduled to announce the nominees. Check back here for the webcast.

Watch live streaming video from spiritawards at livestream.com

Joel McHale to host Independent Spirit Awards

As if funny man Joel McHale wasn't busy enough hosting E!'s "The Soup" and starring in the NBC comedy series  "Community," he has taken on  another gig: host of the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Film Independent, the nonprofit organization that produces the awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, announced Wednesday morning that McHale will be the host for the 26th edition of the free-wheeling award show. The awards this year return to the beach in Santa Monica on the afternoon  of Feb. 26 -- the day before the Academy Awards. The ceremony will air on IFC that evening.

Previous hosts of the award ceremony include Eddie Izzard, Steve Coogan, Rainn Wilson and director John Waters.

The nominees for the Spirit Awards will be announced Nov. 30 at the London West Hollywood Hotel.

-- Susan King

Photo: Joel McHale. Credit: Paul Burk / EPA

 

 

Spirit Awards return to Saturday afternoon and Santa Monica

After a move to downtown Los Angeles last year, the Spirit Awards are heading back to the beach in Santa Monica.

As previously announced, the Oscar-weekend ceremony also will return to Saturday afternoon (Feb. 26) instead of the Friday-night slot it occupied last year.

Film Independent, the group that administers the awards, had made the switch to Friday night -- which saw the awards held in a cavernous space on the event deck at L.A. Live -- to breathe new life into the event. "If the show is the same every year, we risk it becoming rote," Film Independent chief Dawn Hudson told 24 Frames last year. But although attendance was high, the show faced backlash from some in the industry over both the space and the timing, with other industry parties competing for mindshare on Friday night.

The Friday move also gave the Spirits a live prime-time airing on IFC. This year, the Spirits will air on Saturday night on IFC, but there will be no live simulcast, as there has been in the past. The show will be tape delayed until 10 p.m. on both coasts. There will be no condensed airing on AMC, as there has been for past Saturday broadcasts.

This year's show will be produced by Dick Clark Productions, which had that role last year, and executive produced by MTV awards show veteran Audrey Morrissey. Morrissey was behind the 2010 MTV Movie Awards and the 2010 People�s Choice Awards.

The Los Angeles Film Festival, which this year moved to various locations in downtown L.A., is unlikely to move back to the Westside: It's entering the second year of a three-year deal.

-- Steven Zeitchik