Why did the Spirit Awards nominations ignore Melissa McCarthy‘s quaking, straight-from-within, note-perfect performance in Will You Ever Forgive Me?? Seriously — whats up with that? Are they nuts?
Best Feature: Eighth Grade, First Reformed, If Beale Street Could Talk, Leave No Trace, You Were Never Really Here. HE fave: tie between First Reformed and You Were Never Really Here. Will win: First Reformed.
Best Director: Debra Granik, Leave No Trace; Barry Jenkins, If Beale Street Could Talk; Tamara Jenkins, Private Life; Lynne Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here; Paul Schrader, First Reformed. HE fave: Paul Schrader. Will win: Paul Schrader.
Best First Feature: Hereditary, Sorry to Bother You, The Tale, We The Animals, Wildlife. HE fave: Tie between Hereditary and We The Animals.
Best Female Lead: Glenn Close, The Wife; Toni Collette, Hereditary, Elsie Fisher, Eighth Grade; Regina Hall, Support The Girls; Helena Howard, Madeline’s Madeline; Carey Mulligan, Wildlife. HE fave: Four-way tie between Melisaa McCarthy not nominated but should have been), Glenn Close, Toni Collette and Carey Mulligan. Will win: Glenn Close.
Best Male Lead: John Cho, Searching; Daveed Diggs, Blindspotting; Ethan Hawke, First Reformed; Christian Malheiros, Socrates; Joaquin Phoenix, You Were Never Really Here. HE fave: Ethan Hawke. Will win: Ethan Hawke.
Best Supporting Female: Kayli Carter, Private Life; Tyne Daly, A Bread Factory; Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk; Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Leave No Trace; J. Smith-Cameron, Nancy. HE fave: Kayli Carter. Will win: Regina King.
Best Supporting Male: Raúl Castillo, We the Animals, Adam Driver, BlacKkKlansman, Richard E. Grant, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Josh Hamilton, Eighth Grade; John David Washington, Monsters and Men. HE fave: Richard E. Grant. Will win: Richard E. Grant.
Best Screenplay: Richard Glatzer (Writer/Story By), Rebecca Lenkiewicz & Wash Westmoreland, Colette; Nicole Holofcener & Jeff Whitty, Can You Ever Forgive Me?; Tamara Jenkins, Private Life; Boots Riley, Sorry to Bother You; Paul Schrader, First Reformed. HE fave: Tie between First Reformed and Can You Ever Forgive Me?. Will win: First Reformed.