The 2011 Awards Season Has Started!

[MacGuffin]

'Winter's Bone' tops Spirit Award nominations
Best feature noms also include 'Kids,' '127 Hours,' 'Black Swan'
Source: Variety

Building its awards season momentum, Roadside Attractions' rural drama "Winter's Bone" has dominated the Spirit Awards nominations with seven.

Focus Features' comedy-drama "The Kids Are All Right" led the rest of the pack with five. "Black Swan," "Rabbit Hole" and "Greenberg" scored four each while "127 Hours," "Jack Goes Boating" and "Tiny Furniture" snagged three apiece.

"Daddy Longlegs," "Get Low," "Life During Wartime," "Marwencol," "Mother and Child," "Sweetgrass" and "The Last Exorcism" each took two noms.

Tuesday's announcement of the Spirit noms came a day after "Winter's Bone" won the top feature trophy at the Gotham Awards and another for its acting ensemble led by Jennifer Lawrence.

Along with a nod for best feature and for Lawrence in the best actress categories, "Winter's Bone" received Spirit nominations for director Debra Granik, screenplay by Granik and Anne Rosellini, supporting actress Dale Dickey, supporting actor John Hawkes and cinematographer Michael McDonough.

The other best feature nominations went to "127 Hours," "Black Swan," "Greenberg" and "The Kids Are All Right."

"The Kids Are All Right" also scored nominations in the best actress category for Annette Bening, in the supporting actor slot for Mark Ruffalo, Lisa Cholodenko for director and Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg for screenplay.

Along with Lawrence and Bening, the other best actress noms went to Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," Greta Gerwig for "Greenberg," Nicole Kidman for "Rabbit Hole" and Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine." The category had six nominees instead of the usual five.

Best actor noms went to James Franco for "127 Hours," Ben Stiller for "Greenberg, Ronald Bronstein for "Daddy Longlegs," Aaron Eckhart for "Rabbit Hole" and John C. Reilly for "Cyrus."

Besides Granik and Cholodenko, directors in contention are Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," Danny Boyle for "127 Hours" and John Cameron Mitchell for "Rabbit Hole.

"I'm very pleased about how eclectic the nominations are from 'Black Swan' to 'Last Exorcism' to 'The Kids Are All Right,' and I love that there are two women directors nominated" said Dawn Hudson, exec director of Film Independent.

"Winter's Bone" won the top prize in January at the Sundance Film Festival.

Focus and Fox Searchlight titles received nine nods each.

"The King's Speech," which has received significant awards season buzz, received a foreign film nomination but wasn't eligible in other categories.

The noms were announced at the London West Hollywood by Eva Mendes and Jeremy Renner. Film Independent culled the nominations from 220 submissions for movies with budgtes of less than $20 million.

The Spirit Awards ceremonies will be held Feb. 26 at the traditional location in a beachside tent in Santa Monica. The event was held this year in downtown Los Angeles to herald the 25th anniversary of the awards and "Precious" dominated with five trophies.


And the nominees are:


FEATURE
(Award given to the producer; executive producers are not listed)
"127 Hours" - Producers: Danny Boyle, Christian Colson, John Smithson
"Black Swan" - Producers: Scott Franklin, Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Brian Oliver
"Greenberg" - Producers: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Scott Rudin
"The Kids Are All Right" - Producers: Gary Gilbert, Philippe Hellmann, Jordan Horowitz, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Celine Rattray, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
"Winter's Bone" - Producers: Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Anne Rosellini


MALE LEAD
Ronald Bronstein - "Daddy Longlegs"
Aaron Eckhart - "Rabbit Hole"
James Franco - "127 Hours"
John C. Reilly - "Cyrus"
Ben Stiller - "Greenberg"


FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening - "The Kids Are All Right"
Greta Gerwig - "Greenberg"
Nicole Kidman - "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence - "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman - "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams - "Blue Valentine"


SUPPORTING MALE
John Hawkes - "Winter's Bone"
Samuel L. Jackson - "Mother and Child"
Bill Murray - "Get Low"
John Ortiz - "Jack Goes Boating"
Mark Ruffalo - "The Kids Are All Right"


SUPPORTING FEMALE
Ashley Bell - "The Last Exorcism"
Dale Dickey - "Winter's Bone"
Allison Janney - "Life During Wartime"
Daphne Rubin-Vega - "Jack Goes Boating"
Naomi Watts - "Mother and Child"


DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky - "Black Swan"
Danny Boyle - "127 Hours"
Lisa Cholodenko - " he Kids Are All Right"
Debra Granik - "Winter's Bone"
John Cameron Mitchell - "Rabbit Hole"


SCREENPLAY
Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko - "The Kids Are All Right"
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini - "Winter's Bone"
Nicole Holofcener - "Please Give"
David Lindsay-Abaire - "Rabbit Hole"
Todd Solondz - "Life During Wartime"


FIRST FEATURE
(Award given to the director and producer)
"Everything Strange and New" - Director: Frazer Bradshaw; Producers: A.D. Liano, Laura Techera Francia
"Get Low" - Director: Aaron Schneider; Producers: David Gundlach, Dean Zanuck
"Night Catches Us" - Director: Tanya Hamilton; Producers: Sean Costello, Jason Orans, Ronald Simons
"The Last Exorcism" - Director: Daniel Stamm; Producers: Marc Abraham, Tom Bliss, Eric Newman, Eli Roth
"Tiny Furniture" - Director: Lena Dunham; Producers: Kyle Martin, Alicia Van Couvering


FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diane Bell - "Obselidia"
Lena Dunham - "Tiny Furniture"
Nik Fackler - "Lovely, Still"
Bob Glaudini - "Jack Goes Boating"
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener - "Monogamy"


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 listed
"Daddy Longlegs" - Writer/Directors: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie; Producers: Casey Neistat, Tom Scott
"Lbs." - Director: Matthew Bonifacio; Writer/Producers: Matthew Bonifacio, Carmine Famiglietti
"Lovers of Hate" - Writer/Director: Bryan Poyser; Producer: Megan Gilbride
"Obselidia" - Writer/Director: Diane Bell; Producers: Chris Byrne, Mathew Medlin
"The Exploding Girl" - Writer/Director: Bradley Rust Gray; Producers: Karin Chien, Ben Howe, So Yong Kim


CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adam Kimmel - "Never Let Me Go"
Matthew Libatique - "Black Swan"
Jody Lee Lipes - "Tiny Furniture"
Michael McDonough - "Winter's Bone"
Harris Savides - "Greenberg"


DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)
"Exit Through the Gift Shop" - Director: Banksy
"Marwencol" - Director: Jeff Malmberg
"Restrepo" - Directors: Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
"Sweetgrass" - Directors: Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor
"Thunder Soul" - Director: Mark Landsman


FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
"Kisses" - (Ireland) Director: Lance Daly
"Mademoiselle Chambon" - (France) Director: Stéphane Brizé
"Of Gods and Men" - (Morocco) Director: Xavier Beauvois
"The King's Speech" - (United Kingdom) Director: Tom Hooper
"Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" - (Thailand) Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul


ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
(The 17th annual Acura Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Acura.)
Hossein Keshavarz - "Dog Sweat"
Laurel Nakadate - "The Wolf Knife"
Mike Ott - "Littlerock"


PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
(The 14th annual Piaget Producers Award 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.)
In-Ah Lee - "Au Revoir Taipei"
Adele Romanski - "The Myth of the American Sleepover"
Anish Savjani - "Meek's Cutoff"


AVEENO TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
(The 16th annual Aveeno Truer Than Fiction Award 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 Aveeno.)
Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor - "Sweetgrass"
Jeff Malmberg - "Marwencol"
Lynn True, Nelson Walker - "Summer Pasture"


ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film's director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)
"Please Give"
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele

[Fernando]

AFI Names Top 10 Films of 2010

The American Film Institute announced its annual list of the ten best American films of the year. The complete list of this year's winners are below (as well as two films honored in special prizes), with "Blue Valentine," "Rabbit Hole," "Shutter Island" and "Somewhere" some of the most notable exclusions in a generally unsurprising list.

AFI Films of the Year
"Black Swan," directed by Darren Aronofsky
"The Fighter," directed by David O. Russell
"Inception," directed by Christopher Nolan
"The Kids Are All Right," directed by Lisa Cholodenko
"127 Hours," directed by Danny Boyle
"The Social Network," directed by David Fincher
"The Town," directed by Ben Affleck
"Toy Story 3," directed by Lee Unkrich
"True Grit," directed by Joel & Ethan Coen
"Winter's Bone," directed by Debra Granik

AFI Special Awards
"The King's Speech," directed by Tom Hooper
"Waiting For 'Superman,'" directed by Davis Guggenheim

[modage]

The Producers Guild Awards just announced its nominees, which should match up closely with the ten Best Picture Oscar nominees: 127 Hours, Black Swan, Inception, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech, The Social Network, The Town, Toy Story 3, True Grit.

I'll be happy if these are the 10 Best Picture noms.

[Stefen]

It's a pretty good list, but I'd like to see a dark horse in there. All of those are so safe and predictable. Maybe something like a Blue Valentine in place of The Town or something.

[Fernando]

2011 Writers Guild Nominations

Original Screenplay

Black Swan
Screenplay by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin; Story by Andres Heinz

The Fighter
Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story byKeith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson

Inception
Written by Christopher Nolan

The Kids Are All Right
Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg

Please Give
Written by Nicole Holofcener

Adapted Screenplay

127 Hours
Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy; Based on the book Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston

I Love You Phillip Morris
Written by John Requa & Glenn Ficarra; Based on the book by Steven McVicker

The Social Network
Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich

The Town
Screenplay by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard; Based on the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan

True Grit
Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; Based on the novel by Charles Portis

Documentary Screenplay

Enemies of the People
Written, Directed, Filmed and Produced by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath

Freedom Riders
Written, Produced and Directed by Stanley Nelson

Gasland
Written and Directed by Josh Fox

Inside Job
Produced, Written and Directed by Charles Ferguson; Co-written by Chad Beck, Adam Bolt

The Two Escobars
Written by Michael Zimbalist, Jeff Zimbalist

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?
Written and Directed by John Scheinfeld

[RegularKarate]

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?
Written and Directed by John Scheinfeld

This is NEW?  I just thought everyone was latching onto this old documentary from the 90s all of a sudden.

I love Nilsson and it was nice to see some footage, but what a boring doc.

[modage]

The Directors Guild have announced their 2011 nominees. Winners announced on January 29.

    * Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
    * David Fincher, The Social Network
    * Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
    * Christopher Nolan, Inception
    * David O. Russell, The Fighter

That's kind of amazing.  Besides Hooper, thats like a completely Xixax approved slate of dudes.  How did this happen?  Or will it all go back to boring next year?

[polkablues]

Tom Who-per?

[Fernando]

2010 BAFTA NOMINATIONS

BEST FILM
BLACK SWAN Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
INCEPTION Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
THE KING'S SPEECH Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin
TRUE GRIT Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
127 HOURS Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, Christian Colson, John Smithson
ANOTHER YEAR Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe
FOUR LIONS Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Mark Herbert, Derrin Schlesinger
THE KING'S SPEECH Tom Hooper, David Seidler, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
MADE IN DAGENHAM Nigel Cole, William Ivory, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
THE ARBOR Clio Barnard (Director), Tracy O'Riordan (Producer)
EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP Banksy (Director), Jaimie D'Cruz (Producer)
FOUR LIONS Chris Morris (Director/Writer)
MONSTERS Gareth Edwards (Director/Writer)
SKELETONS Nick Whitfield (Director/Writer)

DIRECTOR
127 HOURS Danny Boyle
BLACK SWAN Darren Aronofsky
INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
THE KING'S SPEECH Tom Hooper
THE SOCIAL NETWORK David Fincher

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BLACK SWAN Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, John McLaughlin
THE FIGHTER Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
THE KING'S SPEECH David Seidler

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
127 HOURS Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Aaron Sorkin
TOY STORY 3 Michael Arndt
TRUE GRIT Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
BIUTIFUL Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik, Fernando Bovaira
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Søren Stærmose, Niels Arden Oplev
I AM LOVE Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi D'Eril, Marco Morabito, Massimiliano Violante
OF GODS AND MEN Xavier Beauvois
THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES Mariela Besuievsky, Juan José Campanella

ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
TOY STORY 3 Lee Unkrich

LEADING ACTOR
JAVIER BARDEM Biutiful
JEFF BRIDGES True Grit
JESSE EISENBERG The Social Network
COLIN FIRTH The King's Speech
JAMES FRANCO 127 Hours

LEADING ACTRESS
ANNETTE BENING The Kids Are All Right
JULIANNE MOORE The Kids Are All Right
NATALIE PORTMAN Black Swan
NOOMI RAPACE The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
HAILEE STEINFELD True Grit

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTIAN BALE The Fighter
ANDREW GARFIELD The Social Network
PETE POSTLETHWAITE The Town
MARK RUFFALO The Kids Are All Right
GEOFFREY RUSH The King's Speech

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS The Fighter
HELENA BONHAM CARTER The King's Speech
BARBARA HERSHEY Black Swan
LESLEY MANVILLE Another Year
MIRANDA RICHARDSON Made in Dagenham

ORIGINAL MUSIC
127 HOURS AR Rahman
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Danny Elfman
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON John Powell
INCEPTION Hans Zimmer
THE KING'S SPEECH Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY
127 HOURS Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak
BLACK SWAN Matthew Libatique
INCEPTION Wally Pfister
THE KING'S SPEECH Danny Cohen
TRUE GRIT Roger Deakins

EDITING
127 HOURS Jon Harris
BLACK SWAN Andrew Weisblum
INCEPTION Lee Smith
THE KING'S SPEECH Tariq Anwar
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

PRODUCTION DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara
BLACK SWAN Thérèse DePrez, Tora Peterson
INCEPTION Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
THE KING'S SPEECH Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
TRUE GRIT Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

COSTUME DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Colleen Atwood
BLACK SWAN Amy Westcott
THE KING'S SPEECH Jenny Beavan
MADE IN DAGENHAM Louise Stjernsward
TRUE GRIT Mary Zophres

SOUND
127 HOURS Glenn Freemantle, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Steven C Laneri, Douglas Cameron
BLACK SWAN Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan, Dominick Tavella
INCEPTION Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo, Ed Novick
THE KING'S SPEECH John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Paul Hamblin
TRUE GRIT Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F Kurland, Douglas Axtell

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Nominees TBC
BLACK SWAN Dan Schrecker
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicolas Ait'Hadi, Christian Manz
INCEPTION Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb
TOY STORY 3 Nominees TBC

MAKE UP & HAIR
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Nominees TBC
BLACK SWAN Judy Chin, Geordie Sheffer
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
THE KING'S SPEECH Frances Hannon
MADE IN DAGENHAM Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

SHORT ANIMATION
THE EAGLEMAN STAG Michael Please
MATTER FISHER David Prosser
THURSDAY Matthias Hoegg

SHORT FILM
CONNECT Samuel Abrahams, Beau Gordon
LIN Piers Thompson, Simon Hessel
RITE Michael Pearce, Ross McKenzie
TURNING Karni Arieli, Saul Freed, Alison Sterling, Kat Armour-Brown
UNTIL THE RIVER RUNS RED Paul Wright, Poss Kondeatis

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
GEMMA ARTERTON
ANDREW GARFIELD
TOM HARDY
AARON JOHNSON
EMMA STONE

[Fernando]

DGA 2011 Winner

Tom Hooper, The King's Speech


SAG 2011 Winners

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The King's Speech (2010)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale for The Fighter (2010)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Melissa Leo for The Fighter (2010)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
"Modern Family" (2009)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
"Boardwalk Empire" (2009)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin for "30 Rock" (2006)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Betty White for "Hot in Cleveland" (2010)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi for "Boardwalk Empire" (2009)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife" (2009)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Al Pacino for You Don't Know Jack (2010) (TV)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Claire Danes for Temple Grandin (2010) (TV)

[polkablues]

DGA 2011 Winner

Tom Hooper, The King's Speech

Doubleyou... Tee... Eff.

[Pas]

Hey guys you won't believe this! I stumbled onto a time machine! I went in the future and the most popular red-ray ever was the King's Speech. IT WAS BIZARRO WORLD THOUGH.

[Pubrick]

DGA 2011 Winner

Tom Hooper, The King's Speech

Doubleyou... Tee... Eff.

They're setting it up for the Oscar upset it's going to give us.

We know by now that the Oscars always find a way to ruin every year.

[polkablues]

Nolan, Aronofsky, Boyle, and Fincher could all make better versions of King's Speech.  Tom Hooper could not have made Inception, Black Swan, 127 Hours, or Social Network.

[MacGuffin]

'Inception,' 'Social Network' win at writer awards

LOS ANGELES -The sci-fi smash "Inception" and the Facebook drama "The Social Network" took top screenplay honors Saturday night at the Writers Guild Awards. "Inception" writer Christopher Nolan won for best original screenplay and "The Social Network" writer Aaron Sorkin won for best adapted screenplay. The awards were handed out by the Writers Guild of America in simultaneous ceremonies at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles and the AXA Equitable Center in New York. "The Social Network," which Sorkin adapted from the Ben Mezrich book "The Accidental Billionaires," was expected to win Saturday. But the original screenplay category was considered a toss-up between "Inception," the psychosexual thriller "Black Swan" and the boxing drama "The Fighter" because current awards-season darling "The King's Speech" was not eligible for a WGA award as it was not made under the writing union's contract guidelines. Other of the top films of 2010 like "Toy Story 3" and "Winter's Bone" were ineligible for the same reason. Sorkin will be the prohibitive favorite in the adapted category, and "The King's Speech" and "Inception" will vie for original screenplay honors at the Academy Awards on Feb. 27. "The Social Network," was also considered an early favorite for a best picture Oscar. But it has been trumped in recent award ceremonies including the Golden Globes and Producers Guild Awards by "The King's Speech," which features Colin Firth as the stammering father of Queen Elizabeth II and is expected to sweep several categories on Oscar night. In other WGA categories, Charles Ferguson, Chad Beck and Adam Bolt won best documentary screenplay honors for "Inside Job," a chronicle of the 2008 economic meltdown. And large teams of writers from AMC's "Mad Men" and ABC's "Modern Family" won for best drama and comedy series, respectively.