OSCAR WATCH: Indie Spirit Nominations

By now this is incredibly stale news but I couldn't let the week go by without acknowledging this year's nominations for the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards. Indeed, as the big studios have all but abandoned the low to mid-budget dramas (aka "Oscar bait"), the Indie Spirits continue to have increased relevance to the Oscar race. That's therefore good news for "Carol" and "Beasts of No Nation" as they lead the field with 6 and 5 nominations each. Not far behind was "Spotlight", with 4 nods to go along with the Robert Artman ensemble prize it already won. Overall, it was a strong lineup of films this year, including my personal faves "Tangerine" and "Embrace of the Serpent". Both films will surely be in serious contention when I submit my own ballots for these awards come February 2015.

Here's the full list of nominees:

Best Feature
Anomalisa
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
Spotlight
Tangerine

Best Director
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, Anomalisa
David Robert Mitchell, It Follows
Sean Baker, Tangerine
Todd Haynes, Carol
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

Best Male Lead
Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation
Ben Mendelsohn, Mississippi Grind
Christopher Abbott, James White
Jason Segel, The End of the Tour
Kudos Seihon, Mediterranea

Best Female Lead
Bel Powley, Diary of a Teenage Girl
Brie Larson, Room
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Tangerine
Rooney Mara, Carol

Best Supporting Male
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Kevin Corrigan, Results
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk

Best Supporting Female
Cynthia Nixon, James White
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anomalisa
Marin Ireland, Glass Chin
Mya Taylor, Tangerine
Robin Bartlett, H.

Best Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa
Donald Margulies, The End of the Tour
Phyllis Nagy, Carol
S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, Spotlight

Best Cinematography
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
Ed Lachman, Carol
Joshua James Richards, Songs My Brothers Taught Me
Michael Gioulakis, It Follows
Reed Morano, Meadowland

Best Documentary
(T)error
Best of Enemies
Heart of a Dog
Meru
The Look of Silence
The Russian Woodpecker

Best Film Editing
Julio C. Perez IV, It Follows
Kristan Sprague, Manos Sucias
Nathan Nugent, Room
Ronald Bronstein & Benny Safdie, Heaven Knows What
Tom McArdle, Spotlight

Best First Feature
James White
Manos Sucias
Mediterranea
Songs My Brothers Taught Me
The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Best First Screenplay
Emma Donoghue, Room
Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh, and Myna Joseph, The Mend
Jonas Carpignano, Mediterranea
Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Best International Film
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Embrace of the Serpent
Girlhood
Mustang
Son of Saul

John Cassavetes Award
Advantageous
Christmas, Again
Heaven Knows What
Krisha
Out of My Hand

Robert Altman Award
Spotlight