Independent Spirit Award Nominations

The Indepedendent Spirit Award nominations came out yesterday, and I found out I have to catch up. I've seen "Little Miss Sunshine," "Bubble," "The Illusionist," "Friends With Money," "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Thank You For Smoking," all of which were good except "Thank You For Smoking," which I found to be quite square. "The Road to Guantanamo" is available on DVD, as "Half Nelson," Ryan Fleck's film that I desperately sought out to no avail, arrives February 13 on DVD. I badly want to grab a ticket to "Man Push Cart" and "Pan's Labyrinth," as well. So, for what it's worth, a list (below) of the nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards.

Best Feature
"American Gun"
"The Dead Girl"
"Half Nelson"
"Little Miss Sunshine"
"Pan's Labyrinth"

Best First Feature
"Day Night Day Night"
"Man Push Cart"
"The Motel"
"Sweet Land"
"Wristcutters: A Love Story"

Best Director
Robert Altman for "A Prairie Home Companion"
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris for "Little Miss Sunshine"
Ryan Fleck for "Half Nelson"
Karen Moncrieff for "The Dead Girl"
Steven Soderbergh for "Bubble"

The John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature made for under $500,000)
"Chalk"
"Four-Eyed Monsters"
"Old Joy"
"Quinceanera"
"Twelve and Holding"

Best Screenplay
Neil Burger for "The Illusionist"
Nicole Holofcener for "Friends With Money"
Ron Nyswaner for "The Painted Veil"
Jason Reitman for "Thank You For Smoking"
Jeff Stanzler for "Sorry, Haters"

Best First Screenplay
Michael Arndt for "Little Miss Sunshine"
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck for "Half Nelson"
Goran Dukic for "Wristcutters: A Love Story"
Dito Montiel for "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints"
Gabrielle Zevin for "Conversations With Other Women"

Best Female Lead
Shareeka Epps, "Half Nelson"
Catherine O'Hara, "For Your Consideration"
Elizabeth Reaser, "Sweet Land"
Michelle Williams, "Land of Plenty"
Robin Wright Penn, "Sorry, Haters"

Best Male Lead
Aaron Eckhart, "Thank You For Smoking"
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
Edward Norton, "The Painted Veil"
Ahmad Razvi, "Man Push Cart"
Forest Whitaker, "American Gun"

Best Supporting Female
Melonie Diaz, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints"
Marcia Gay Harden, "American Gun"
Mary Beth Hurt, "The Dead Girl"
Frances McDormand, "Friends With Money"
Amber Tamblyn, "Stephanie Daley"

Best Supporting Male
Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Raymond J. Barry, "Steel City"
Daniel Craig, "Infamous"
Paul Dano, "Little Miss Sunshine"
Channing Tatum, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints"

Best Cinematography
Arin Crumley, "Four-Eyed Monsters"
Anthony Dod Mantle, "Brothers of the Head"
Guillermo Navarro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Aaron Platt, "Wild Tigers I Have Known"
Michael Simmonds, "Man Push Cart"

Best Documentary
"A Lion in the House"
"My Country, My Country"
"The Road to Guantanamo"
"The Trials of Darryl Hunt"
"You're Gonna Miss Me"

Best Foreign Film
"12:08 East of Bucharest" (Romania)
"The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" (Philippines)
"The Chronicle of an Escape" (Argentina)
"Days of Glory" (France/Morocco/Algeria/Belgium)
"The Lives of Others" (Germany)