'Moonrise Kingdom,' 'Silver Linings,' 'Beasts' & 'Keep The Lights On' Top Spirit Awards Nominations

nullWe've barely had time to take a breath since the Gotham Awards were awarded last night, and already we're moving on, because their big cousin, the 28th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, revealed their nominations just a few minutes ago.

Among a strong slate, it's two potential Oscar contenders that came off the best, in the shape of David O. Russell's "Silver Linings Playbook," and Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom," which each picked up five nominations. There was some speculation in advance as to the eligibility of the former, but as usual, Harvey Weinstein worked his magic, giving the film an important pick-me-up after some mildly disappointing box office numbers. After picking up Best Feature at the Gothams yesterday, this is the second big boost in 24 hours for "Moonrise Kingdom," which looks like it might have the voter support to make it into the Best Picture field with the Academy. A nice surprise for the latter was a well-deserved Supporting Male nomination for Bruce Willis, though it came at the expense of Robert De Niro for "Silver Linings Playbook."

Also doing very well were "Beasts of the Southern Wild," gay romance "Keep The Lights On" and Sundance winner "Middle Of Nowhere," which all picked up four nominations, though the latter missed out on Best Feature, having to settle for a nod in the microbudget John Cassavettes Award category. Richard Linklater's "Bernie" rounded out the Best Feature field, and also picked up a nod for star Jack Black, while "Fill The Void," "Gimme The Loot," "Safety Not Guaranteed," "Sound Of My Voice" and "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" made up the First Feature nominees. "The Loneliest Planet" director Julia Loktev got a directing nod for her film, while Matthew McConaughey picked up two nominations — Best Male Lead for "Killer Joe," and Best Supporting Male for "Magic Mike." Who'd have guessed that a year ago? It could also give McConaughey a boost for his Oscar chances for "Magic Mike," which have been flagging as of late.

The most notable loser was probably either Nicholas Jarecki's "Arbitrage," which missed out altogether, or "The Sessions," which, while it won nods for John Hawkes and Helen Hunt, missed out otherwise, whereas many had pegged it as a likely Best Feature nominee.   Most other omissions — including "The Master" — are due to the films being too expensive, or otherwise ineligible. Also of note: Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence continuing their march to the Oscars with nominations, a surprise nod for Wendell Pierce for the under-the-radar "Four," a deserved mention for Mary Elizabeth Winstead for "Smashed" (which may just keep her long-shot Oscar chances alive), three acting nominations for "Middle Of Nowhere," and a lead actress nomination for Linda Cardenelli for "Return" — the "Freaks & Geeks" star has made headlines by funding her own awards campaign.

Altogether, we can't complain too much here — the love was spread quite equally, with semi-studio pictures like "Seven Psychopaths" and "End Of Watch" each winning two nods, but smaller films like "Compliance" and "Here" also making the cut in various categories. It speaks to what's been a very, very strong year for American independent film, and it's about as diverse and agreeable a line up as we can remember. Read the full nominations on page two. [Indiewire]

Best Feature
"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
"Bernie"
"Keep The Lights On"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Silver Linings Playbook"

Best Director
Wes Anderson – "Moonrise Kingdom"
Julia Loktev – "The Loneliest Planet"
David O Russell – "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ira Sachs – "Keep The Lights On"
Benh Zeitlin – "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Best First Feature
"Fill The Void"
"Gimme The Loot"
"Safety Not Guaranteed"
"Sound Of My Voice"
"The Perks Of Being A Wallflower"

John Cassavetes Award
"Breakfast With Curtis"
"The Color Wheel"
"Middle Of Nowhere"
"Mosquita y Mari"
"Starlet"

Best Male Lead
Jack Black – "Bernie"
Bradley Cooper – "Silver Linings Playbook"
John Hawkes – "The Sessions"
Thure Lindhart – "Keep The Lights On"
Matthew McConaughey – "Killer Joe"
Wendell Pierce – "Four"

Best Female Lead
Linda Cardenelli – "Return"
Emayatzy Corinealdi – "Middle Of Nowhere"
Jennifer Lawrence – "Silver Linings Playbook"
Quvenzhane Wallis – "Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
Mary Elizabeth Winstead – "Smashed"

Best Supporting Male
Matthew McConaughey – "Magic Mike"
David Oyelowo – "Middle Of Nowhere"
Michael Pena – "End Of Watch"
Sam Rockwell – "Seven Psychopaths"
Bruce Willis – "Moonrise Kingdom"

Best Supporting Female
Rosemarie DeWitt – "Your Sister's Sister"
Ann Dowd – "Compliance"
Helen Hunt – "The Sessions"
Brit Marling – "Sound Of My Voice"
Lorraine Toussaint – "MIddle Of Nowhere"

Best Screenplay
Wes Anderson – "Moonrise Kingdom"
Zoe Kazan – "Ruby Sparks"
Martin McDonagh – "Seven Psychopaths"
David O Russell – "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias – "Keep The Lights On"

Best First Screenplay
Rama Burshtein – "Fill The Void"
Derek Connolly – "Safety Not Guaranteed"
Christopher Ford – "Robot & Frank
Rashida Jones & Will McCormack – "Celeste & Jesse Forever
Jonathan Lisecki – "Gayby"

Best International Feature
"Amour"
"Once Upon A TIme In Anatolia"
"Rust & Bone"
"Sister"
"War Witch"

Best Documentary
"The Central Park Five"
"How To Survive A Plague"
"The Invisible War"
"Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present"
"The Waiting Room"

Best Cinematography
"Beasts Of The Southern Wild"
"End Of Watch"
"Here"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Valley Of The Saints"

Piaget Producers Award
Mynette Louie – "Stones In The Sun"
Derrick Tseng – "Prince Avalanche"
Alicia Van Couvering – "Nobody Walks"

Someone To Watch Award
David Fenster – "Pincus"
Adam Leon – "Gimme The Loot"
Rebecca Thomas – "Electrick Children"

Stella Artois Truer Than Fiction Award
Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Pravel – "Leviathan"
Peter Nicks – "The Waiting Room"
Jasonyyyee Tippet and Elizabeth Mimms – "Only The Young"

Robert Altman Award
"Starlet"