The Independent Spirit Awards has been a strange beast for most of this decade. They have often rewarded under the radar masterpieces and performances (Mya Taylor’s win in Best Supporting Female for “Tangerine” last year) but have also made head-scratching nominations in the, um, spirit of “independent spirit” (the curious case of “American”-made “The Artist”). For the most part though the committee system used to determine the nominees does much more good than bad except when it’s clear industry politics or, um, bad taste come into play. Now, we’re not claiming that’s why there are some majorly strange choices regarding this morning’s nominations but we’re not not denying it either.
Hey, the 42 people who volunteered their time on three committees clearly had some opinions that are unique to the rest of the industry. Don’t blame the players, blame the game.
Don’t panic, these films weren’t eligible
“La La Land,” “Nocturnal Animals” and “Fences” were not eligible. Lionsgate could have argued for consideration under “independent spirit” (its budget was significantly over the $20 million threshold) but classily decided to let other films have their moment in the sun. Oh, but “Love & Friendship” did and that means Kate Beckinsale was snubbed which is pretty embarrassing for that particular committee.
“Chronic” should not be a Best Feature nominee
Here are some films that would have been better nominees than the middling “Chronic”: “Hell or High Water,” “Paterson,” “Other People,” “The Fits,” “Little Men,” “Don’t Think Twice,” “Loving,” “20th Century Women,” “The Witch,” “Morris From America,” “Southside With You,” “Captain Fantastic” and “Christine” just to name a few. All films with substantially better critical reception than the Cannes 2015 title most people completely forgot about. Listen, the committee has the right to pick whatever they want based on the movies they see. That doesn’t mean we can’t call their taste into question.
We love Isabelle Huppert but how she qualified…
Guess what everybody, rule change! It used to be that to qualify for the Spirits a film needed to have at least filmed on location in the U.S. (the aforementioned “The Artist”) or have a significant number of key creative including director, writer, producers, etc. be U.S. citizens. This year that quietly changed. Now, all a film needs is two individuals who are either American citizens or…legal residents. So, in “Elle”’s case that is screenwriter David Birke (no. 1) and either producers Saïd Ben Saïd (mostly lives in France and makes films overseas), Michel Merkt (see Saïd) or director Paul Verhoeven have U.S. residency (or maybe the cat was from Hoboken). For context, it’s worth noting that “Elle” is France’s submission for the Foreign Language Film Oscar and the cast and crew have made it a point of pride since Cannes to point out that the film could not get off the ground in the U.S. and had to be made in Europe with European financing. Moreover, it appears each Spirit committee can judge a film’s eligibility regarding this qualification independently. That might explain why “Elle” did not receive nods in any other category. Listen, we adore Huppert in this role and “Elle” is a lock for this pundit’s top 10 list. That being said, this is a bad loophole for an awards body that is supposed to recognize the best in U.S. independent cinema. The good news is we can look forward to many years of Marion Cotillard and Javier Bardem earning nominations and coming to the ceremony. *
Update [8:35 PM]: Keeping the original report because with new information its still slightly confusing. It has been clarified that a film qualified previously if it (A) has significant American content or shot in the U.S. (B) There are at least two out of three Americans (who can be residents and not citizens) who contributed in a substantial role on the film (writer, director or producer). The change this year was that previously you could qualify with (A) and (B) but you also needed U.S. financing. That is no longer the case. Needless to say, I spoke to reps at two different nominated studios who had no idea about the change (or even the “resident” part). To say other studios may be able to take advantage of this loophole next year is an understatement.
Update [9:48 AM]: Sony Classics reps responded that the second qualifier is Verhoeven who, unbeknownst to many, has U.S. citizenship.
Can Best Feature nominee “American Honey” now find some Oscar love?
Even if it only earned $654,000 at the box office so far there are a lot of fans of Andrea Arnold’s “American Honey” out there. Many are critics. Many are in the industry. This is your moment. Relish it. Celebrate like crazy when “Honey” likely takes home a Spirit or two in February, because The Academy will likely not be so kind. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan is the film’s best bet at a nomination although its possible the Writer’s Branch reward it in the Original Screenplay category but it’s an incredibly competitive year and the fact most of the dialogue was improvised doesn’t help.
“Moonlight” stars didn’t get shafted in the individual categories
Breathe easy “Moonlight” fans. Naomi Harris and Mahershala Ali were not snubbed in the Best Supporting Female and Best Supporting Male categories. Barry Jenkins’ masterpiece was honored with the Robert Altman Award that is given to the director, the casting director and the cast of a film with a noteworthy ensemble. Those actors are then no longer qualified for nominations in the other acting categories. If it makes you feel any better eventual Best Picture winner “Spotlight” took home the Altman last year.
Before you get too excited about Molly Shannon…
A nominee for Best Supporting Female, Shannon finally got the awards recognition many expected after “Other People” opened the 2016 Sundance Film Festival last January. Shannon is fantastic in the role and, honestly, is likely the frontrunner in this category. The Spirit committees also recognized her co-star Jesse Plemmons as a surprising Best Male Lead nominee and, as expected, bestowed a Best First Screenplay nod to writer and director Chris Kelly. Shannon really needs a SAG Award nomination to get the Academy’s attention. Screeners have been sent to SAG nom com, but she’s got some tough competition to crack the top five. It’s possible, but like “American Honey” if you’re a Shannon fan (and who isn’t?) this may be the honor you really want to get excited about.
“Jackie” is the secret winner of the Spirit nods
It didn’t earn the most nominations (“Moonlight” and “American Honey” each took six), but Pablo Larraín’s historical drama turned out to be much more than a Natalie Portman nod for Best Female lead. Instead, “Jackie” also earned Best Feature, Best Editing (a heads up for Oscar) and a Best Director nod for Larraín. The latter had to excite distributor Fox Searchlight the most as he made the cut over “Manchester by the Sea’s” Kenneth Lonergan. If the studio can duplicate three of those nods at the Globes (and potential earn an Original Score nomination) a Larraín Best Director nod may become more of a lock than not.
No California love for “Paterson”
Boy, the Spirit committees did not like Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson.” The celebrated drama earned three major Gotham Awards including Best Feature, Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Adam Driver). At worst, many expected “Paterson” to take Screenplay and Actor nods from the Spirits but it wasn’t meant to be. And it’s telling considering Jarmusch is a six-time Spirit nominee including in 2015 for the screenplay for “Only Lovers Left Alive.”
It’s a bad day all around for “Weiner”
Not only did the celebrated documentary about Anthony Weiner’s second fall from grace get snubbed by the PGA Awards, but less than two hours later it failed to earn a Spirit nod too. Considering “Weiner” won the Grand Jury prize at Sundance it’s quite surprising. Does this mean even awards voters have had enough of Weiner?
Casey Affleck is gonna win at least one statue Oscar weekend
“Manchester” might have missed out on one key nomination Amazon Studios was hoping for, but it can rest easy in the fact that its leading man should take home a Spirit in February. Affleck should easily beat fellow nominees Plemmons, Viggo Mortensen (“Captain Fantastic”), Tim Roth (“Chronic”) and the unexpected David Harewood (“Free in Deed”) The Best Actor Oscar will likely come down to Affleck or “Fences’” Denzel Washington. If Washington beats him out Oscar Sunday the Spirits should give him the spotlight he deserves.