Really exciting news, fellow Maria fans – Ms Bello has been nominated for a Film Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Downloading Nancy! This came as a bit of a shock to me, seeing as despite the fact that her performance looks to be incredible and has got great reviews, it didn’t seem like the type of film that would be readily acknowledged come awards time. So for her to get nominated at the Spirit Awards is fantastic. Congratulations to Maria for this honour.
“The Last Station,” which looks at Russian author Leo Tolstoy’s final days, and “Precious,” the portrait of a troubled inner-city teenager, led the 2010 Spirit Award nominations, with five each.
Both movies were nominated Tuesday morning for best feature along with “(500) Days of Summer,” “Amreeka” and “Sin Nombre.”
The Coen brothers’ “A Serious Man” was awarded the group’s Robert Altman Award, which goes to the film’s cast and its casting director. And the indie horror hit “Paranormal Activity” even made an appearance with a nomination as best first feature.
“The Hurt Locker,” one of the higher-profile indie films of the year, did not figure in the nominations, since the Spirit Awards nominated it in two categories last year.
Among distributors, Fox Searchlight and Sony Pictures Classics led the parade with seven nominations each.
Presented by the indie film organization Film Independent, the Spirit Awards, celebrating their 25th anniversary, will be handed out March 5 at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles at ceremonies that will be broadcast live by IFC.
The awards show airs live on IFC on March 5th at 11pm EST.
The full list of nominees:
Best Feature
“(500) Days of Summer”
“Amreeka”
“Precious”
“Sin Nombre”
“The Last Station”
Best Director
Ethan and Joel Coen, “A Serious Man”
Lee Daniels, “Precious”
Cary Fukunaga, “Sin Nombre”
James Gray, “Two Lovers”
Michael Hoffman, “The Last Station”
Best First Feature
“A Single Man”
“Crazy Heart”
“Easier With Practice”
“The Messenger”
“Paranormal Activity”
Best Lead Female
Maria Bello, “Downloading Nancy”
Nisreen Faour, “Amreeka”
Helen Mirren, “The Last Station”
Gwyneth Paltrow, “Two Lovers”
Gabourey Sidibe, “Precious”
Best Lead Male
Jeff Bridges, “Crazy Heart”
Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, “(500) Days of Summer”
Souleymane Sy Savane, “Goodbye Solo”
Adam Scott, “The Vicious Kind”
Best Supporting Female
Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Dina Korzun, “Cold Souls”
Samantha Morton, “The Messenger”
Natalie Press, “Fifty Dead Men Walking”
Mia Wasikowska, “That Evening Sun”
Best Supporting Male
Jemaine Clement, “Gentlemen Broncos”
Woody Harrelson, “The Messenger”
Christian McKay, “Me and Orson Welles”
Ray McKinnon, “That Evening Sun”
Christopher Plummer, “The Last Station”
Best Screenplay
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, “The Messenger”
Michael Hoffman, “The Last Station”
Lee Toland Krieger, “The Vicious Kind”
Greg Mottola, “Adventureland”
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, “(500) Days of Summer”
Best First Screenplay
Sophie Barthes, “Cold Souls”
Scott Cooper, “Crazy Heart”
Cherien Dabis, “Amreeka”
Geoffrey Fletcher, “Precious”
Tom Ford, “A Single Man”
Best Foreign Film
“A Prophet”
“An Education”
“Everlasting Moments”
“Mother”
“The Maid”
Best Documentary Feature
“Anvil! The Story of Anvil”
“Food, Inc”
“More Than A Game”
“October Country”
“Which Way Home”
Best Cinematography
Roger Deakins , “A Serious Man”
Adriano Goldman, “Sin Nombre”
Anne Misawa, “Treeless Mountain”
Andrij Parekh, “Cold Souls”
Peter Zeitlinger, “The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans”
John Cassavetes Award
“Big Fan”
“Humpday”
“The New Year Parade”
“Treeless Mountain”
“Zero Bridge”
Robert Altman Award
“A Serious Man”
Acura Someone to Watch Award
Kyle Patrick Alvarez, “Easier With Practice”
Tariq Tapa, “Zero Bridge”
Asiel Norton, “Redland”
Piaget Producers Award
Karin Chien, “Santa Mesa” and “The Exploding Girl”
Larry Fessenden, “I Sell the Dead” and “House of the Devil”
Dia Sokol, “Beeswax,” “Nights and Weekends”
Truer than Fiction Award
Natalia Almada, “El General”
Bill and Turner Ross, “45365″
Jessica Oreck, “Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo”
