2014 Indie Spirit Award Nominations

     The 2014 Independent Spirit Awards nominations were announced today and the nominees really represent a wonderful year in film. Many of the nominees will most likely mirror the Oscar nominations, but there are always some "big" movie differences. Steve McQueen's slavery drama 12 Years a Slave led the pack with seven nominations and Alexander Payne's Nebraska received six. It appears that 12 Years a Slave is on track for accolades and attention throughout the award season and deservedly so. It also looks good for Nebraska and I really will be happy if Bruce Dern gets a Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards. He and Robert Redford for All Is Lost will be an amazing story if both get Oscar nominations. Legendary actors with such heralded track records. Really love that Shane Carruth got a Best Director nomination for his trippy Upstream Color. I wish there would have been more love for Jeff Nichols superb Mud with Matthew McConaughey and Tye Sheridan, although Nichols received a Best Director nod and it is receiving the Robert Altman award. I also am surprised that the Coen brothers did not receive a best director nod for Inside Llewyn Davis, even though the film and star Oscar Isaac got nominations. Also surprised that Greta Gerwig did not get a Best Female Lead nominee for Frances Ha and why did Short Term 12 not get more love? The biggest snub for me is David Lowery's wonderful Ain't Them Bodies Saints. Did they even see that movie? What the hell! The awards will be handed out on March 1, 2014, the Saturday before Oscar Sunday. Here is a complete list of nominees after the jump:



BEST FEATURE

• 12 Years a Slave   d. Steve McQueen
• All Is Lost   d. J.C. Chandor
• Frances Ha   d. Noah Baumbach
• Inside Llewyn Davis   d. Joel & Ethan Coen
• Nebraska   d. Alexander Payne

BEST DIRECTOR

• Shane Carruth (Upstream Color)
• J.C. Chandor (All Is Lost)
• Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave)
• Jeff Nichols (Mud)
• Alexander Payne (Nebraska)

BEST SCREENPLAY

• Woody Allen (Blue Jasmine)
• Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater (Before Midnight)
• Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said)
• Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (The Spectacular Now)
• John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)

BEST FIRST FEATURE

• Blue Caprice   d. Alexandre Moors
• Concussion   d. Stacie Passon
• Fruitvale Station   c. Ryan Coogler
• Una Noche   d. Lucy Mulloy
• Wadjda   d. Haifaa Al-Mansour

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

• Lake Bell (In a World...)
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Don Jon)
• Bob Nelson (Nebraska)
• Jill Soloway (Afternoon Delight)
• Michael Starrbury (The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete)

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD

• Computer Chess   d. Andrew Bujalski
• Crystal Fairy   d. Sebastian Silva
• Museum Hours   d. Jem Cohen
• Pit Stop   d. Yen Tan
• This is Martin Bonner   d. Chad Hartigan

BEST FEMALE LEAD

• Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)
• Julie Delpy (Before Midnight)
• Gaby Hoffmann (Crystal Fairy)
• Brie Larson (Short Term 12)
• Shailene Woodley (The Spectacular Now)

BEST MALE LEAD

• Bruce Dern (Nebraska)
• Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
• Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis)
• Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station)
• Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club)
• Robert Redford (All Is Lost)

BEST EDITING

• Shane Carruth & David Lowery (Upstream Color)
• Jem Cohen & Marc Vives (Museum Hours)
• Jennifer Lame (Frances Ha)
• Cindy Lee (Una Noche)
• Nat Sanders (12 Short Term 12)

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

• Melonie Diaz (Fruitvale Station)
• Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
• Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)
• Yolonda Ross (Go For Sisters)
• June Squibb (Nebraska)

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

• Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave)
• Will Forte (Nebraska)
• James Gandolfini (Enough Said)
• Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)
• Keith Stanfield (Short Term 12)

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Sean Bobbitt (12 Years a Slave)
• Benoit Debie (Spring Breakers)
• Bruno Delbonnel (Inside Llewyn Davis)
• Frank G. Demarco (All Is Lost)
• Matthias Grunsky (Computer Chess)

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• 20 Feet from Stardom   d. Morgan Neville
• After Tiller   d. Martha Shane & Lana Wilson
• Gideon's Army   d. Dawn Porter
• The Act of Killing   d. Joshua Oppenheimer
• The Square   d. Jehane Noujaim

BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

• A Touch of Sin   d. Zhangke Jia
• Blue Is The Warmest Color   d. Abdellatif Kechiche
• Gloria   d. Sebastián Lelio
• The Great Beauty   d. Paolo Sorrentino
• The Hunt   d. Thomas Vinterberg

17TH ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD

• Toby Halbrooks & James M. Johnston, Jacob Jaffke, Andrea Roa, Frederick Thornton

20TH ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD

• Aaron Douglas Johnston (My Sister's Quinceañera)
• Shaka King (Newlyweeds)
• Madeline Olnek (The Foxy Merkins)

STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD

• Kalyanee Mam (A River Changes Course)
• Jason Osder (Let the Fire Burn)
• Stephanie Spray & Pacho Velez (Manakamana)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD

• Mud   d. Jeff Nichols

Photo credit by IMDB.