Oh happy happy day!!!!!! The IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards were handed out last night. The Independent Spirit Awards nominations were announced this morning. Squeeee! You know what that means. Award Season has begun!
Hollywood starlets everywhere have stopped eating. Plastic surgeons and personal trainers are booked solid. Stylists are scratching each other's eyes out to get *the* perfect dress(es) for their clients. Political backstabbing f*ckery is in full force as production companies jostle to get their best shots front and centre in the minds of the voting panels. Most importantly though, I am ready to judge and judge and judge. Not only the outfits, but also the winners, losers and everyone in between. This is my favourite time of year. I much prefer this to Christmas! I make a concerted effort to see as many of the films that are touted as "award-worthy" so that when I rant about the winners and losers I know a little about what I am ranting about.
The 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards were handed out in New York City on Monday night. These awards have never really been on my radar before, probably because they only give out a few pieces of hardware. Apparently they are a good early indicator of possible Oscar nominations. I hope so cause one of my fave movies of the year - The Hurt Locker - took home Awards for both Best Feature and Best Ensemble Performance. Yay! I hope that the film ges continued recognition through award season. This was a very powerful movie about an Army bomb squad stationed in Iraq. Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie were fantastic. Soo good. The film's director - Kathryn Bigelow - was also honored at the festivities on Monday and I am hopeful that she will be one of only a handful of female directors to have received a Best Director Academy Award nomination, when the nominations are announced in the New Year.
One of my girl-crush's Natalie Portman was also honored at this Award Show, who, along with Stanley Tucci and Ralph Fiennes received Career Tribute Awards. Natalie is busy promoting her new movie - The Brothers - which could quite possibly result in yet another Academy Award nomination for this phenomenally talented young woman. I still think a Ryan Gosling - Natalie Portman coupling would be amazing and wonderful, unless Ryan get's back together with his one true love - Rachel McAdams. The incomparable Meryl Streep was on hand to honour her friend and frequent co-star Stanley Tucci. Her speech was fantastic and funny and made me love her even more. There is no-one like Meryl. Srsly. No-one. And did you see she is on the cover of January's Vanity Fair. Can't wait.
Nominations for the Indpendent Spirit Awards - held the day before the Oscars - normally in a tent on a beach in Malibu, where it is not unusual for attendees to stroll down the green carpet barefoot or in flip flops were announced today. They are seen as the anti-Oscars, but it is not unusual to see a number of nominees at both Award Ceremonies.
Leading the race is Precious - Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire with 5 nominations including acting nods for breakout star Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique. I saw this movie on the weekend it pretty much wrecked me. Such a hard movie to watch, and Mo'Nique for all her supposed diva attitude gives a performance that is phenomenal and gut wrenching. Mariah Carey has redeemed herself for the travesty that was Glitter, and Lenny Kravitz is some very welcome eye-candy in an otherwise depressing film. I don't think it helped that I saw The Road straight after Precious. The Road is probably the bleakest, most numbing film I have seen in a long time. Amazing (except for the boy always calling his dad "poppa" - that made me want the kid to be a victim of cannibalism), but bleak. Seeing both these films back to back was pretty silly on my part. Made me very depressed. Thankfully though I was to depressed to do anything about my depression. (Strange but true fact; that "too depressed to do anything" line is my bastardization of a line from Pump Up the Volume - starring Christian Slater... who I am watching in The Forgotten right now.)
I was happy to see my indie movie of the summer - 500 Days of Summer get both a best acotr nod for Joseph Gordon Levitt as well as a best picture nomination. Honestly not surpised that Zoeey Deschanel was excluded, while she was good, her perfroamcne was not earth shattering for me. I am perplexed that such a critically panned movie as Gentleman Broncos received any nominations, even if it is for the fabulously funny Jermaine Clement from Flight of the Concords. I would have expected this at the Razzies, not an actual award ceremony. You may think that The Hurt Locker was snubbed, but fear not - it was nominated for the Independent Spirit Awards last year.
Yay to award shows! Yay to red (or green) carpets. Yay to primped and polished starlets who do not know how to dress and do not have the balls to stand up to their handlers and stylists. Yay to me having my Oscar Party again! Boo Hiss to the Oscars being postponed until after the Olympics. Stupid Olympics ;)
XO
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