Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner were on hand to announce this year's nominees for the Film Independent Spirit Awards, the prizes traditionally handed out the night before the Academy Awards and recognizing the independent films that might be too small, weird or generally out-there for Oscar attention. Nominated for the top prize of Best Feature were 127 Hours, Black Swan, Greenberg, The Kids Are All Right, Winter's Bone-- all films, save Greenberg, firmly in the Oscar race as well.
Also well-represented in the nominations was Rabbit Hole, nominated for Best Director for John Cameron MItchell, Best Screenplay for David Lindsay-Abaire as well as dual acting nominations for stars Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. There was also special mention for Nicole Holofcener's Please Give, which snagged a Best Screenplay nod as well as the Robert Altman prize for ensemble acting.
Films with strong Oscar buzz often do well at the Independent Spirits, no matter how much they may claim to be an alternative to the status quo, and with Winter's Bone having cleaned up at last night's Gotham Awards, it's a real contender here too. Check out the full list of nominees below (via IFC.com) and let us know your favorite choices in the comments.
BEST FEATURE
127 Hours
Greenberg
The Kids Are All Right
Winter's Bone
BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Danny Boyle, 127 Hours
Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Winter's Bone
John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole
BEST SCREENPLAY
Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Winter's Bone
Nicole Holofcener, Please Give
David Lindsay-Abaire, Rabbit Hole
Todd Solondz, Life During Wartime
BEST FIRST FEATURE
Everything Strange and New
Get Low
Night Catches Us
The Last Exorcism
Tiny Furniture
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diane Bell, Obselidia
Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture
Nik Fackler, Lovely, Still
Bob Glaudini, Jack Goes Boating
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener, Monogamy
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Daddy Longlegs
Lbs.
Lovers of Hate
Obselidia
The Exploding Girl
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Greta Gerwig, Greenberg
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
BEST MALE LEAD
Ronald Bronstein, Daddy Longlegs
Aaron Eckhart, Rabbit Hole
James Franco, 127 Hours
John C. Reilly, Cyrus
Ben Stiller, Greenberg
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Ashley Bell, The Last Exorcism
Dale Dickey, Winter's Bone
Allison Janney, Life During Wartime
Daphne Rubin-Vega, Jack Goes Boating
Naomi Watts, Mother and Child
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Samuel L. Jackson, Mother and Child
Bill Murray, Get Low
John Ortiz, Jack Goes Boating
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adam Kimmel, Never Let Me Go
Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
Jody Lee Lipes, Tiny Furniture
Michael McDonough, Winter's Bone
Harris Savides, Greenberg
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Marwencol
Restrepo
Sweetgrass
Thunder Soul
BEST FOREIGN FILM
Kisses
Mademoiselle Chambon
Of Gods and Men
The King's Speech
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Hossein Keshavarz, Dog Sweat
Laurel Nakadate, The Wolf Knife
Mike Ott, Littlerock
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
In-Ah Lee, Au Revoir Taipei
Adele Romanski, The Myth of the American Sleepover
Anish Savjani, Meek's Cutoff
AVEENO® TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Sweetgrass
Jeff Malmberg, Marwencol
Lynn True, Nelson Walker, Summer Pasture
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
Please Give
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele
