Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire was the big winner at the 25th Film Independent Spirit Awards held Friday (3/5) night at L.A. Live’s event deck in Los Angeles. The Lee Daniels-directed film won every category for which it was nominated, taking best feature, best director, best first screenplay for Geoffrey Fletcher, best lead female for Gabourey Sidibe, and best supporting female actress for Mo’Nique.
Precious is nominated in many of the same categories for the Academy Awards, with Mo’Nique generally regarded as the Oscar frontrunner. However, when asked backstage if she had drafted an Oscar acceptance speech, she said no. Then asked why, she responded, “I think the universe would say, ‘you’ve got a lot of nerve.'”
Another Oscar favorite, Jeff Bridges, won the Spirit Award for best male lead based on his performance in Crazy Heart. The film was also named best first feature, with awards bestowed upon its director/producer Scott Cooper, and producers T Bone Burnett, Judy Cairo, Rob Carliner and Robert Duvall.
Cooper was emotional in the portion of his acceptance in which he attempted to thank his wife. He couldn’t express his feelings about her on stage but completed what he wanted to say backstage, saying that he has knocked around a long time in his professional life, serving as a perennial bridesmaid. He noted that it takes a special companion to stay by your side and believe in you for so long.
Earning the best cinematography Spirit Award was Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC, for A Serious Man, which also won the coveted third annual Robert Altman Award for its directors Joel and Ethan Coen, casting directors Ellen Chenoweth and Rachel Tenner and ensemble cast members Richard Kind, Sari Lennick, Jessica McManus, Fred Melamed, Michael Stuhlbarg and Aaron Wolff.
Garnering the best screenplay honor were Scott Nerustadter and Michael H. Weber for (500) Days of Summer, which marked the feature film directorial debut of Marc Webb, who first established himself as a music video helmer before diversifying into commercials. Webb directs spots and videos through DNA.
Winning the best foreign film Spirit Award was An Education, directed by Lone Scherfig, and the best documentary film was Anvil! The Story of Anvil, directed by Sacha Gervasi.
Woody Harrelson earned best supporting male actor distinction for The Messenger.
The John Cassavetes Award recognizing the best feature made for under $500,000 was given to writer/director/producer Lynn Shelton for Humpday.
Karin Chien, producer of The Exploding Girl and Santa Mesa, received the Piaget Producers Award, which includes a $25,000 grant created to honor emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity and vision needed to produce quality independent films.
Bill and Turner Ross, who directed the documentary 45365, earned the Chaz & Roger Ebert Truer Than Fiction Award, which too included a $25,000 grant, presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant attention.
And Kyle David Patrick, who directed Easier With Practice, won the Acura Someone to Watch Award, which also carries a $25,000 grant and honors a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not otherwise received appropriate recognition.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More