Lance Hammer‘s Ballast, Jonathan Demme‘s Rachel Getting Married and Courtney Hunt’s Frozen River each scored six nominations among the 2009 Film Independent’s Spirit Award noms, announced this morning.
HE winner picks are as follows.
HE’s Un-Nominated Best Feature Choice: The Visitor HE Runners-up: Frozen River, Rachel Getting Married, The Wrestler, Wendy and Lucy and Ballast.
HE’s Best Director Award: Tom McCarthy, The Visitor. Runners-Up: Jonathan Demme, Rachel Getting Married; Courtney Hunt, Frozen River; Ramin Bahrani, Chop Shop; Lance Hammer, Ballast.
No call on Best First Feature as I haven’t seen all of these : Afterschool (Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, Josh Mond); Medicine for Melancholy (Barry Jenkins, Justin Barber); Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, Anthony Bregman, Spike Jonze, Sidney Kimmel); Sleep Dealer (Alex Rivera, Anthony Bregman); and Sangre De Mi Sangre (Christopher Zalla, Per Melita, Benjamin Odell). Charlie Kaufman deserves respect for throwing caution to the wind and reaching for the sky.
HE’s John Cassavettes Award winner: In Search of a Midnight Kiss (Alex Holdridge, Seth Caplan, Scoot McNairy). Runner-ups: Prince of Broadway (Sean Baker, Darren Dean); Take Out (Sean Baker, Shih-Ching Tsou); The Signal (David Bruckner, Dan Bush, Jacob Gentry, Alexander Motlagh); Turn the River (Chris Eigeman, Ami Armstrong).
HE’s Best Screenplay Award: tie between Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York) and Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Runners-up: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (Sugar); Howard A. Rodman (Savage Grace); Christopher Zalla, (Sangre De Mi Sangre)
HE’s Best First Screenplay Award: Dustin Lance Black (Milk). Runners-up: Jenny Lumet, Rachel Getting Married; Lance Hammer (Ballast); Courtney Hunt (Frozen River); Jonathan Levine (The Wackness).
HE’s Best Best Female Lead: Melissa Leo, Frozen River. Runners-Up: Summer Bishil, Towelhead; Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married; Tarra Riggs, Ballast; Michelle Williams, Wendy and Lucy.
HE’s Best Best Male Lead: Richard Jenkins, The Visitor. Special Surprise Merit Badge: Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker. Runners-up: Javier Bardem, Vicky Cristina Barcelona; Sean Penn, Milk; Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler.
HE’s Best Best Supporting Female Lead: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Runners-up: Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married; Rosie Perez, The Take; Misty Upham, Frozen River; Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married.
HE’s Best Best Supporting Male Lead: tie between James Franco, Milk, and Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker. Runners-up: Charlie McDermott, Frozen River; JimMyron Ross, Ballast; Haaz Sleiman, The Visitor.
HE’s Best Cinematography Award: Harris Savides, Milk. Runners-up: Maryse Alberti, The Wrestler; Lol Crawley, Ballast; James Laxton, Medicine for Melancholy; Michael Simmonds, Chop Shop.
HE’s Best Documentary Award: Man on Wire, James Marsh. Runners-up: The Order of Myths, Margaret Brown; Up the Yangtze, Yung Chang; Encounters at the End of the World
Werner Herzog; The Betrayal, Ellen Kuras & Thavisouk Phrasavath
HE’s Foreign Film Award: Gomorra, Matteo Garrone. Runners-up: The Class, Laurent Cantet; Secret of the Grain; Abdellatif Kechiche; Hunger, Steve McQueen; Silent Light, Carlos Reygadas.
I can’t do anymore…that’s it.
