“Birdman,” a dark comedy about a washed-up actor trying to revive his career, earned a leading six nominations today for the 30th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards, which honor the best of independent cinema.
“Boyhood,” “Nightcrawler” and “Selma” each collected five nominations.
“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” “Boyhood” and “Selma” were nominated for best feature, along with “Love is Strange” and “Whiplash.”
Michael Keaton was nominated for best male lead for his role in “Birdman,” as were Andre Benjamin for “Jimi: All is By My Side,” Jake Gyllenhaal for “Nightcrawler,” John Lithgow for “Love is Strange” and David Oyelowo for “Selma.”
Nominations for best female lead went to Marion Cotillard for “The Immigrant,” Rinko Kikuchi for “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter,” Julianne Moore for “Still Alice,” Jenny Slate for “Obvious Child” and Tilda Swinton for “Only Lovers Left Alive.”
Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s detective drama “Inherent Vice” will receive Film Independent’s Robert Altman Award, which honors a film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.
The film “is a testament to the spirit of Altman’s tradition of artistic collaboration,” said John Welsh, president of Film Independent. “The film features an exquisite ensemble of actors masterfully directed and cast.”
The Spirit Awards will be presented Feb. 21 during a luncheon on the beach in Santa Monica.
Here is a complete list of nominees:
BEST FEATURE (Award given to the producer; executive producers are not awarded.)
— “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance),” Producers: Alejandro G. Inarritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole
— “Boyhood,” Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland
— “Love is Strange,” Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy
— “Selma,” Producers: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey
— “Whiplash,” Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David
Lancaster, Michel Litvak
BEST DIRECTOR
— Damien Chazelle, “Whiplash”
— Ava DuVernay, “Selma”
— Alejandro G. Inarritu, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of
Ignorance)”
— Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
— David Zellner, “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter”
BEST SCREENPLAY
— Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, “Big Eyes”
— J.C. Chandor, “A Most Violent Year”
— Dan Gilroy, “Nightcrawler”
— Jim Jarmusch, “Only Lovers Left Alive”
— Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias, “Love is Strange”
BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer.)
— “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” Director: Ana Lily Amirpour;
Producers: Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah
— “Dear White People,” Director/Producer: Justin Simien; Producers:
Effie T. Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe
— “Nightcrawler,” Director: Dan Gilroy; Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony
Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak
— “Obvious Child,” Director: Gillian Robespierre; Producer: Elisabeth
Holm
— “She’s Lost Control,” Director/Producer: Anja Marquardt; Producers:
Mollye Asher, Kiara C. Jones
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
— Desiree Akhavan, “Appropriate Behavior”
— Sara Colangelo, “Little Accidents”
— Justin Lader, “The One I Love”
— Anja Marquardt, “She’s Lost Control”
— Justin Simien, “Dear White People”
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
awarded.
— “Blue Ruin,” Writer/Director: Jeremy Saulnier; Producers: Richard
Peete, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
— “It Felt Like Love,” Writer/Director/Producer: Eliza Hittman;
Producers: Shrihari Sathe, Laura Wagner
— “Land Ho!,” Writers/Directors: Aaron Katz & Martha Stephens;
Producers: Christina Jennings, Mynette Louie, Sara Murphy
— “Man From Reno,” Writer/Director: Dave Boyle; Writers: Joel Clark,
Michael Lerman; Producer: Ko Mori
— “Test,” Writer/Director/Producer: Chris Mason Johnson; Producer:
Chris Martin
BEST FEMALE LEAD
— Marion Cotillard, “The Immigrant”
— Rinko Kikuchi, “Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter”
— Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
— Jenny Slate, “Obvious Child”
— Tilda Swinton, “Only Lovers Left Alive”
BEST MALE LEAD
— Andre Benjamin, “Jimi: All Is By My Side”
— Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
— Michael Keaton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
— John Lithgow, “Love is Strange”
— David Oyelowo, “Selma”
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
— Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
— Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”
— Carmen Ejogo, “Selma”
— Andrea Suarez Paz, “Stand Clear of the Closing Doors”
— Emma Stone, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
— Riz Ahmed, “Nightcrawler”
— Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
— Alfred Molina, “Love is Strange”
— Edward Norton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
— J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
— Darius Khondji, “The Immigrant”
— Emmanuel Lubezki, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
— Sean Porter, “It Felt Like Love”
— Lyle Vincent, “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”
— Bradford Young, “Selma”
BEST EDITING
— Sandra Adair, “Boyhood”
— Tom Cross, “Whiplash”
— John Gilroy, “Nightcrawler”
— Ron Patane, “A Most Violent Year”
— Adam Wingard,” The Guest”
BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director and producer.)
— “20,000 Days on Earth,” Directors: Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard;
Producers: Dan Bowen, James Wilson
— “CITIZENFOUR,” Director/Producer: Laura Poitras; Producers:
Mathilde Bonnefoy, Dirk Wilutzky
— “Stray Dog,” Director: Debra Granik; Producer: Anne Rosellini
— “The Salt of the Earth,” Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim
Wenders; Producer: David Rosier
— “Virunga,” Director/Producer: Orlando Von Einsiedel; Producer:
Joanna Natasegara
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM (Award given to the director.)
— “Force Majeure,” (Sweden); Director: Ruben Ostlund
— “Ida,” (Poland); Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
— “Leviathan,” (Russia); Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
— “Mommy,” (Canada); Director: Xavier Dolan
— “Norte, the End of History,” (Philippines); Director: Lav Diaz
— “Under the Skin,” (United Kingdom); Director: Jonathan Glazer
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film’s director, casting director and
ensemble cast.)
— “Inherent Vice,” Director: Paul Thomas Anderson; Casting Director:
Cassandra Kulukundis; Ensemble Cast: Josh Brolin, Martin Donovan, Jena Malone,
Joanna Newsom, Joaquin Phoenix, Eric Roberts, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short Serena
Scott Thomas, Benicio Del Toro, Katherine Waterston, Michael Kenneth Williams,
Owen Wilson, Reese Witherspoon
SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARD
— “Foxcatcher,” Director/Producer: Bennett Miller; Producers: Anthony
Bregman, Megan Ellison, Jon Kilik; Writers: E. Max Frye, Dan Futterman;
Actors: Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Channing Tatum
18th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD – The 18th annual Producers Award,
sponsored by Piaget, 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
— Elisabeth Holm
— Chris Ohlson
21st ANNUAL KIEHL’S SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD – The 21st annual Someone to Watch
Award, sponsored by Kiehl’s Since 1851, recognizes a talented filmmaker of
singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award
includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Kiehl’s Since 1851.
— “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
— “H.,” Directors: Rania Attieh & Daniel Garcia
— “The Retrieval,” Director:Chris Eska
20th ANNUAL LENSCRAFTERS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD – The 20th annual Truer Than
Fiction Award, sponsored by LensCrafters 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 funded by LensCrafters.
— “Approaching the Elephant,” Director: Amanda Rose Wilder
— “Evolution of a Criminal,” Director: Darius Clark Monroe
— “The Kill Team,” Director: Dan Krauss
— “strong>The Last Season,” Director: Sara Dosa
