Good things about today’s Spirit Awards nominations: (a) A Serious Man will get a special Robert Altman award (and not a Best Picture nomination?); (b) Sin Nombre was nominated for Best Picture, and Cary Fukunaga was nominated for Best Director; (c) Greg Mottola‘s Adventureland screenplay was nominated; (d) Tom Ford‘s A Single Man was nominated for Best First Feature (and is almost guaranteed to win in this category — trust me); (e) Big Fan and Humpday were nominated for the John Cassaevetes Award (i.e., best feature made for under $500,000); (f) Sacha Gervasi‘s Anvil! The Story of Anvil was nominated for Best Doc (and will almost certainly win).

Curious/weird things: (a) The Cove wasn’t nominated for Best Doc….what?; (b) Congrats to Ginsberg-Libby for scoring the p.r. gig but why, I’m wondering, did the Spirits jettison Mark Pogachefsky‘s MPRM after so many years of sterling service?; (c) The Hurt Locker is missing because it was nominated last year, and that happened because somebody on the team submitted it — go figure; (d) Yes, of course — A Serious Man lead Michael Stuhlbarg should have been nominated for Best Actor (and I’m starting to realize why people are cool to his performance — it’s because his character doesn’t stand up and get angry and fight against God’s wrath, and because he doesn’t make a move on the hot pot-smoking lady next door); (e) That Evening Sun‘s Hal Holbrook was denied a Best Actor nomination..why?