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.
Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey Launch Production House 34North
Executive producers Ron Cicero and Bo Clancey have teamed to launch 34North. The shop opens with a roster which includes accomplished directors Jan Wentz, Ben Nakamura Whitehouse, David Edwards and Mario Feil, as well as such up-and-coming filmmakers as Glenn Stewart and Chris Fowles. Nakamura Whitehouse, Edwards, Feil and Fowles come over from CoMPANY Films, the production company for which Cicero served as an EP for the past nearly five years. Director Wentz had most recently been with production house Skunk while Stewart now gains his first U.S. representation. EP Clancey was freelance producing prior to the formation of 34North. He and Cicero have known each other for some 25 years, recently reconnecting on a job directed by Fowles. Cicero said that he and Clancey “want to keep a highly focused roster where talent management can be one on one--where we all share in the directors’ success together.” Clancey also brings an agency pedigree to the new venture. “I started at Campbell Ewald in accounts, no less,” said Clancey. “I saw firsthand how much work agencies put in before we even see a script. You have to respect that investment. These agency experiences really shaped my approach to production--it’s about empathy, listening between the lines, and ultimately making the process seamless.” 34North represents a meeting point--both literally and creatively. Named after the latitude of Malibu, Calif., where the idea for the company was born, it also embraces the power of storytelling. “34North118West was the first GPS-enabled narrative,” Cicero explained. “That blend of art and technology, to captivate an audience, mirrors what we do here--create compelling work, with talented people, harnessing state-of-the-art... Read More