Saturday, March 6, 2010

Independent Spirit Awards 2010 -- a sweep for Precious


On Friday night, the film Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire was the big winner at the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards.  It took five awards, just shy of the record six awards won by Fargo, Sideways and Stand and Deliver. As well as winning the top prize of Best Picture (producers Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness), it won Best Director (Lee Daniels), Best Lead Female (Gabourey Sidibe), Supporting Female (Mo'Nique) and First Screenplay (Geoffrey Fletcher).

The Indie Spirit Awards are given to films made for no more than $20 million. The major indie film of this past year The Hurt Locker was not eligible because it received acting nominations last year for Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie, prior to its theatrical release.  Lee Daniels acknowledged this upon accepting his directing award, joking "Kathryn Bigelow's not here tonight, I am." The Best Picture award was announced by Ben Stiller as a trio of dancers he said were pornstars gyrated nearby.

The evening was hosted by an irreverent comedian Eddie Izzard.  Roger Ebert was in attendance and received a standing ovation when introduced with the news that the award given to an emerging documentary filmmaker was renamed the Chaz & Roger Ebert Truer Than Fiction Award, after receiving a sponsorship from the Eberts' foundation.

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The complete list of 2010 Indie Spirit Award winners:

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer)
Precious

BEST DIRECTOR
Lee Daniels, Precious

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
Crazy Heart

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)
Humpday

BEST SCREENPLAY
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, (500) Days of Summer

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious

BEST MALE LEAD
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Mo’Nique, Precious

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins, A Serious Man

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
Sacha Gervasi, Anvil! The Story of Anvil

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
Lone Scherfig, An Education

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
A Serious Man
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Casting Directors: Ellen Chenoweth, Rachel Tenner
Cast: Richard Kind, Sari Lennick, Jessica McManus, Michael Stuhlbarg, Aaron Wolff

PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
Karen Chien (The Exploding Girl, and Santa Mesa)

SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Easier with Practice

TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Bill Ross & Turner Ross, 45365

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