Awards

[caption id="attachment_768" align="alignnone"]Take Shelter[/caption]

Take Shelter and The Artist lead the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations with 5 nods each including the nomination for Best Feature Film. Other nominees for Best Feature Film include 50/50, Beginners, and Drive.  Margin Call was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award.

“The Film Independent Spirit Awards recognize the finest artistic achievements across the broad spectrum of independent filmmaking—from emerging talent working on a shoestring budget to established auteurs,” said Film Independent Senior Director Sean Mc Manus. “The 2012 nominees tell their stories in such an authentic way and reflect the inclusive nature of the independent filmmaking community. We are delighted to support them and expand the audience for their work.”

2012 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not listed)
50/50
Producers: Evan Goldberg, Ben Karlin, Seth Rogen
Beginners
Producers: Miranda de Pencier, Lars Knudsen, Leslie Urdang, Dean Vanech, Jay Van Hoy
Drive
Producers: Michel Litvak, John Palermo, Marc Platt, Gigi Pritzker, Adam Siegel
Take Shelter
Producers: Tyler Davidson, Sophia Lin
The Artist
Producer: Thomas Langmann
The Descendants
Producers: Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius
The Artist
Mike Mills
Beginners
Jeff Nichols
Take Shelter
Alexander Payne
The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn
Drive

BEST SCREENPLAY
Joseph Cedar
Footnote
Michel Hazanavicius
The Artist
Tom McCarthy
Win Win
Mike Mills
Beginners
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
The Descendants

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Another Earth
Director: Mike Cahill
Producers: Mike Cahill, Hunter Gray, Brit Marling, Nicholas Shumaker
In the Family
Director: Patrick Wang
Producers: Robert Tonino, Andrew van den Houten, Patrick Wang
Margin Call
Director: J.C. Chandor
Producers: Robert Ogden Barnum, Michael Benaroya, Neal Dodson, Joe Jenckes, Corey Moosa, Zachary Quinto
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Director: Sean Durkin
Producers: Antonio Campos, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Josh Mond
Natural Selection
Director: Robbie Pickering
Producers: Brion Hambel, Paul Jensen

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Mike Cahill, Brit Marling
Another Earth
J.C. Chandor
Margin Call
Patrick deWitt
Terri
Phil Johnston
Cedar Rapids
Will Reiser
50/50

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD – Given to the best feature made for under $500,000.  Award given to the writer, director, and producer.  Executive Producers are not listed
Bellflower
Writer/Director: Evan Glodell
Producers: Evan Glodell, Vincent Grashaw
Circumstance
Writer/Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Producers: Karin Chien, Maryam Keshavarz, Melissa M. Lee
Hello Lonesome
Writer/Director/Producer: Adam Reid
Pariah
Writer/Director: Dee Rees
Producer: Nekisa Cooper
The Dynamiter
Writer: Brad Inglesby
Director: Matthew Gordon
Producers: Kevin Abrams, Matthew Gordon, Merilee Holt, Art Jones, Mike Jones, Nate Tuck, Amile Wilson

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Lauren Ambrose
Think of Me
Rachael Harris
Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye
Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams
My Week with Marilyn

BEST MALE LEAD
Demián Bichir
A Better Life
Jean Dujardin
The Artist
Ryan Gosling
Drive
Woody Harrelson
Rampart
Michael Shannon
Take Shelter

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Jessica Chastain
Take Shelter
Anjelica Huston
50/50
Janet McTeer
Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana
Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley
The Descendants

 

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Albert Brooks
Drive
John Hawkes
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer
Beginners
John C. Reilly
Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll
Midnight in Paris

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Joel Hodge
Bellflower
Benjamin Kasulke
The Off Hours
Darius Khondji
Midnight in Paris
Guillaume Schiffman
The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron
The Dynamiter

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer)
An African Election
Director/Producer: Jarreth Merz
Bill Cunningham New York
Director: Richard Press
Producer: Philip Gefter
The Interrupters
Director/Producer: Steve James
Producer: Alex Kotlowitz
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
Director/Producers: Eric Strauss, Daniele Anastasion
We Were Here
Director/Producer: David Weissman

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director)
A Separation
(Iran)
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Melancholia
(Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany)
Director: Lars von Trier
Shame
(UK)
Director: Steve McQueen
The Kid With a Bike
(Belgium/France/Italy)
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Tyrannosaur
(UK)
Director: Paddy Considine

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 15th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films.  The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
Chad Burris
Mosquita y Mari
Sophia Lin
Take Shelter
Josh Mond
Martha Marcy May Marlene

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 18th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.  The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Simon Arthur
Silver Tongues
Mark Jackson
Without
Nicholas Ozeki
Mamitas

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 17th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition.  The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
Heather Courtney
Where Soldiers Come From
Danfung Dennis
Hell and Back Again
Alma Har’el
Bombay Beach

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD – (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
Margin Call
Director: J.C. Chandor

Casting Director: Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey

Ensemble Cast: Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci

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[caption id="attachment_785" align="alignnone"]Beginners [/caption]

Beginners and Tree of Life tied for Best Films of 2011 at the 21st annual Gotham Independent Film Awards in New York City on Monday night.

From writer/director Mike Mills, and starring Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer, Beginners is a comedy/drama about a father, who, following the death of his wife of 45 years, comes out of the closet at age 75.

Tree of Life, directed by Terrence Malick and starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain is the story of a Midwestern family in the 1950’s.

Girlfriend, directed by Justin Lerner received the Gotham Independent Film Audience Award and Scenes of A Crime, from co-directors Blue Hadaegh & Grover Babcock received the Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award.

The complete list of winners:

Best Feature – A Tie between: BEGINNERS directed by Mike Mills and TREE OF LIFE directed by Terrence Malick

Best Documentary – BETTER THIS WORLD directed and produced by Katie Galloway and Kelly Duane de la Vega

Breakthrough Director Award – DEE REES Writer and director of Pariah

Breakthrough Actor Award – FELICITY JONES Actor in Like Crazy

Best Ensemble Performance Award – Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Melanie Laurent, Goran Visnjic, Kai Lennox, Mary Page Keller, Keegan Boos  in BEGINNERS

Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You Award – SCENES OF A CRIME Blue Hadaegh & Grover Babcock, Directors and Producers

Gotham Independent Film Audience Award – GIRLFRIEND Justin Lerner, Director

Produced by Jerad Anderson, Kristina Lauren Anderson, Justin Lerner, Shaun O’Banion The Audience Award was voted on line by filmgoers who love movies.

euphoria Calvin Klein Spotlight on Women Filmmakers ‘Live the Dream’ grant – LUCY MULLOY for upcoming film UNA NOCHE

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Asghar Farhadi’s Jodaeiye Nader az Simin (A Separation, Islamic Republic of Iran) won the Best Feature Film Award at the 5th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.  Asghar Farhadi, who wrote, produced and directed the film, accepted his Award at the APSA Ceremony on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from 2011 APSA International Jury President, Hong Kong’s Nansun Shi.

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[caption id="attachment_1857" align="alignnone"]Ralph Fiennes[/caption]

Ralph Fiennes will receive the coveted Richard Harris Award and Kenneth Branagh The Variety Award at the upcoming The Moët British Independent Film Awards ceremony on Sunday 4th December.

The Richard Harris Award was introduced in 2003 in honor of Richard Harris and recognizes outstanding contribution to British film by an actor.  Previous winners have included John Hurt, David Thewlis, Bob Hoskins, Jim Broadbent, Daniel Day-Lewis and most recently Helena Bonham Carter in 2010.
[caption id="attachment_1858" align="alignnone"]Kenneth Branagh [/caption]

Kenneth Branagh will receive the Variety Award which recognizes an actor, director, writer or producer who has helped to focus the international spotlight on the UK.  The Variety Award was received last year by Liam Neeson and has previously been awarded to Sir Michael Caine, JK Rowling, Dame Helen Mirren, Richard Curtis, Michael Sheen and Keira Knightley to name a few.

Both Ralph Fiennes and Kenneth Branagh will be present to receive their awards.

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[caption id="attachment_1842" align="alignnone"]Under Fire: Journalists in Combat[/caption]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 15 films in the Documentary Feature category will advance in the voting process for the 84th Academy Awards®. One hundred twenty-four pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 15 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production company:

“Battle for Brooklyn” (RUMER Inc.)
“Bill Cunningham New York” (First Thought Films)
“Buck” (Cedar Creek Productions)
“Hell and Back Again” (Roast Beef Productions Limited)
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front” (Marshall Curry Productions, LLC)
“Jane’s Journey” (NEOS Film GmbH & Co. KG)
“The Loving Story” (Augusta Films)
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” (@radical.media)
“Pina” (Neue Road Movies GmbH)
“Project Nim” (Red Box Films)
“Semper Fi: Always Faithful” (Tied to the Tracks Films, Inc.)
“Sing Your Song” (S2BN Belafonte Productions, LLC)
“Undefeated” (Spitfire Pictures)
“Under Fire: Journalists in Combat” (JUF Pictures, Inc.)
“We Were Here” (Weissman Projects, LLC)

The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, and the Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

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Oliver Platt and Edie Falco will co-host the 21st annual Gotham Independent Film Awards ceremony scheduled to take place November 28th 2011 in New York.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be co-hosting this year’s Gotham Awards,” Platt and Falco said in a joint statement. “We look forward to an evening that celebrates outstanding independent film-making, brave and bold voices against the backdrop of this incredible city.”

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Billy Crystal will replace Eddie Murphy as the host of the 84th Academy Awards. The funny man announced in a tweet, “Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions. Looking forward to the show.”

This will mark Crystal’s ninth time as host. Only Bob Hope has hosted more Academy Awards presentations, with 19 ceremonies between 1940 and 1978. Crystal last hosted the Academy Awards in 2004.

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Academy President Tom Sherak announced today that Academy Award®-winner Brian Grazer will be the replacement for Brett Ratner as the producer of the 84th Academy Awards. This will be the first time Grazer has produced the Oscar® telecast.

“Brian Grazer is a renowned filmmaker who over the past 25 years has produced a diverse and extraordinary body of work,” said Sherak. “He will certainly bring his tremendous talent, creativity and relationships to the Oscars®.”

“I am thrilled to welcome Brian Grazer as my partner and that we will be  collaborating to produce an outstanding show,” echoed co-producer Don Mischer.

“It’s very gratifying to be part of a show that honors excellence in the medium to which I have devoted so much of my career,” said Grazer. “Don is a legend, and I am excited to work with him.”

“I too am delighted that Brian will join Don in producing the Academy Awards and I am looking forward to our producers delivering the movie event of the year,” commented Academy CEO Dawn Hudson.

Grazer has earned four Academy Award nominations. He won a Best Picture Oscar in 2001 for “A Beautiful Mind.” In 1984, Grazer was nominated in the writing category for “Splash,” and he received Best Picture nominations in 1995 and 2008 for “Apollo 13” and “Frost/Nixon,” respectively.  His other film credits include “Spies Like Us,” “Kindergarten Cop,” “The Nutty Professor,” “Liar Liar,” “8 Mile” and “Cinderella Man.”  His current projects include the about to be released “J. Edgar” and the just released “Tower Heist.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

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One day after Brett Ratner, quit as producer of the 84th Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak announced that Eddie Murphy has withdrawn as host of the 84th Academy Awards. “I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well,” said Sherak.

In the statement, Murphy said, “First and foremost I want to say that I completely understand and support each party’s decision with regard to a change of producers for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. I was truly looking forward to being a part of the show that our production team and writers were just starting to develop, but I’m sure that the new production team and host will do an equally great job.”

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

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Brett Ratner has resigned as a producer of the 84th annual Academy Awards after reportedly using the homophobic F-word at an event on Sunday night. He reportedly said “Rehearsal is for f*gs,” in response to a question at the event.

In a statement issued later today, the Academy said, This morning, Brett Ratner submitted his resignation as a producer of the 84th annual Academy Awards to Academy President Tom Sherak. Ratner then issued an open letter to the entertainment industry in which he explained his decision. “He did the right thing for the Academy and for himself,” Sherak said. “Words have meaning, and they have consequences. Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable. We all hope this will be an opportunity to raise awareness about the harm that is caused by reckless and insensitive remarks, regardless of the intent.”

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