BuzzSugar

Rainn Wilson Gets Schooled in Indie Film

BuzzSugar — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:35:16 -0800

At Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards, host Rainn Wilson joked that with his background as a TV star, he couldn't possibly understand the intense, edgy world of indie film. The solution: Hook him up with indie mentor Dennis Hopper, who schooled him in the ways of knuckle tattoos, drug smuggling, and getting pummeled on the street. Between all those sucker punches and kicks to the head, our little Rainn may never be the same. To check out the clip of Rainn's indie hazing, just read more.

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Announcing the Winners: The 2008 Independent Spirit Awards

BuzzSugar — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:02:53 -0800

Juno, I'm Not There, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly were big winners at Saturday's beachy, laid-back Independent Spirit Awards, which recognized the year's best independent films. Juno won awards for Best Feature, Best Actress, and Best First Screenplay, while Diving Bell won awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography - a precursor to tomorrow's Oscars?

Meanwhile, Cate Blanchett won an acting award for I'm Not There, and the film also received the Robert Altman Award, which recognizes an outstanding ensemble cast. That award led to a touching tribute to Heath Ledger from director Todd Haynes, who said he still has a hard time imagining the film world without Ledger in it.

To see the full list of winners, just read more.

BEST FEATURE
Juno

BEST DIRECTOR
Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
The Lookout
Director: Scott Frank
Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark, Walter Parkes

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
August Evening

BEST SCREENPLAY
Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody (Juno)

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Ellen Page (Juno)

BEST MALE LEAD
Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages)

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Chiwetel Ejiofor (Talk To Me)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Janusz Kaminski (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Crazy Love

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Once
(Ireland)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast)
I'm Not There
Director: Todd Haynes
Casting Director: Laura Rosenthal
Ensemble Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bruce Greenwood

Rainn Wilson's Spirit Awards Monologue: Love It or Leave It?

BuzzSugar — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 16:07:38 -0800

Rainn Wilson definitely brought the funny to his Independent Spirit Awards hosting gig this afternoon, nicknaming Philip Seymour Hoffman "The Hoff," poking fun at indie film stereotypes, and even calling Sienna Miller a drunk. What do you think of his opening monologue?

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Movie Preview: Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park

BuzzSugar — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:29:40 -0800

There's something about the tone of director Gus Van Sant's work that gives me a deep uneasiness in the belly. His previous indie movie dealing with teens and violence, Elephant, won a bunch of awards at Cannes (including the Palm d'Or) in 2003 and it was certainly effective in delivering this dark queasiness I now feel again having watched the trailer for his newest film Paranoid Park.

Nominated for Best Feature and Best Director at this year's Independent Spirit Awards, Paranoid Park again focuses on troubled teenagers. This time there's a mystery involving a kid who dies on train tracks and another kid, a skater boy, who seems to be struggling with his role in the death. Also, Jenny from Gossip Girl is in it in what looks like a decidedly un-Jenny-ish role.

The movie has already screened at a variety of film festivals, and will open in limited release March 7. To check out the creepy trailer, read more.

Clipta - new video wave: Paranoid Park - Trailer 2

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Announcing the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards Nominees

BuzzSugar — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:31:02 -0800

Last year it was all Sunshine all the time when Little Miss Sunshine took home the majority of the Independent Spirit Awards, given out yearly by Film Independent. This year, the nominations are dominated by Juno, the teen pregnancy dramedy opening December 14, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and to a lesser degree I'm Not There.

Some of the nominations have me squealing with delight: Chiwetel Ejiofor nominated for Best Supporting Male for his outstanding performance in Talk to Me, Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris nominated for Best First Feature, and the Irish musical Once nominated for Best Foreign Film. Yet then there's the heartbreaking nomination of Waitress for Best Screenplay, which (if it wins) would have been given to Adrienne Shelly had she not tragically died last year.

For the full list of nominees - and there are some greats on there - read more

BEST FEATURE
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
I'm Not There
Juno
A Mighty Heart
Paranoid Park

BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes (I'm Not There)
Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)
Jason Reitman (Juno)
Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
Gus Van Sant (Paranoid Park)

BEST FIRST FEATURE (Award given to the director and producer)
2 Days in Paris
Director: Julie Delpy
Producers: Julie Delpy, Christophe Mazodier, Thierry Potok

Great World of Sound
Director: Craig Zobel
Producers: Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel

The Lookout
Director: Scott Frank
Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark, Walter Parkes

Rocket Science
Director: Jeffrey Blitz
Producers: Effie T. Brown, Sean Welch

Vanaja
Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli
Producer: Latha R. Domalapalli

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000)
August Evening
Owl and the Sparrow
The Pool
Quiet City
Shotgun Stories

BEST SCREENPLAY
Ronald Harwood (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)
Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)
Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner (Starting Out in the Evening)
Adrienne Shelly (Waitress)
Mike White (Year of the Dog)

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Jeffrey Blitz (Rocket Science)
Zoe Cassavetes (Broken English)
Diablo Cody (Juno)
Kelly Masterson (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)
John Orloff (A Mighty Heart)

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart)
Sienna Miller (Interview)
Ellen Page (Juno)
Parker Posey (Broken English)
Tang Wei (Lust, Caution)

BEST MALE LEAD
Pedro Castaneda (August Evening)
Don Cheadle (Talk To Me)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Savages)
Frank Langella (Starting Out in the Evening)
Tony Leung (Lust, Caution)

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There)
Anna Kendrick (Rocket Science)
Jennifer Jason Leigh (Margot at the Wedding)
Tamara Podemski (Four Sheets to the Wind)
Marisa Tomei (Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Chiwetel Ejiofor (Talk To Me)
Marcus Carl Franklin (I'm Not There)
Kene Holliday (Great World of Sound)
Irrfan Khan (The Namesake)
Steve Zahn (Rescue Dawn)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Mott Hupfel (The Savages)
Janusz Kaminski (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Milton Kam (Vanaja)
Mihai Malaimare, Jr. (Youth Without Youth)
Rodrigo Prieto (Lust, Caution)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Crazy Love
Lake of Fire
Manufactured Landscapes
The Monastery
The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair

BEST FOREIGN FILM
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
(Romania)

The Band's Visit
(Israel)

Lady Chatterley
(France)

Once
(Ireland)

Persepolis
(France)