Aubrey Plaza hosted the Film Independent Spirit Awards again this year. I think she’s a fun host. She opened with a Judy Garland inspired sketch bemoaning the death of independent cinema.thanks to streaming sites It wasn’t as good as last year’s Suspiria parody, but it was cute.
Plaza entered belting out the Judy Garland standard “Get Happy” and delivered the opening monologue. She teased the head of Netflix, Reed Hastings. And she said,“We recognize female directors.”
Scarlett Johansson and Laura Dern presented the award for Best Supporting Male to Willem Dafoe for The Lighthouse. It was his second win and his fourth nomination. He previously won for Shadow of he Vampire. He thanked Robert Eggers for and spoke about the beautiful, elevated language of the script and the fierce experimentation of the filming process. He also said, “I share this with Rob Pattinson.” After all my griping, you know I’m glad to see Dafoe get an award.
Director Olivia Wilde and Beanie Feldstein and Caitlin Deaver from Booksmart presented Best Editing to Uncut Gems. Ronald Bronstein thanked Adam Sandler for never giving a bad take.
Giancarlo Esposito and Bob Odenkirk presented Best Documentary to American Factory. It was produced by the Obamas’ production company, Higher Ground Productions. Co-director Julia Reichert said,“Our film tries to ask questions about working people around the world.”
During a segue to commercial, Aubrey Plaza said, “I promise I won’t sing again. I might pole dance, but only to show J. Lo how it’s done.”
America Ferrera presented the Bonnie Award to Kelly Reichardt. The Bonnie Award is named after Bonnie Tiburzi Caputo who became the first female pilot to fly for a major U.S. airline (American). According to the official website, the award “recognizes female directors with a remarkable body of work that demonstrates their uniqueness of vision and groundbreaking approach to film.” Reichardt’s filmography includes Wendy and Lucy, Certain Women, Meek’s Cutoff, and Old Joy.
St. Vincent and Carrie Brownstein presented Best Cinematography to The Lighthouse. It was the first nomination and win for Jarin Blaschke. This was a category where I loved all the nominees.
John M. Chu and Alfre Woodard presented he Truer Than Fiction Award to Jaddoland.
Margaret Qualley and Joey King presented the John Cassevetes Award. Named after filmmaker John Cassavettes, this award goes to the best picture made for less than $500,000. Give Me Liberty was the winner. The movie was based on the director’s own experiences as a van driver for people with disabilities. He mostly used non-actors from his own Russian-American community. Kirill Mikhanovsky said,“Everything we do...It’s important that it’s personal. That’s the only way to do good work.”
Taylor Russell and Noah Jupe presented Best First Screenplay to See You Yesterday.
Elisabeth Moss and Jim Gaffigan spoke about the first films they appeared in (she was in Suburban Commando with Hulk Hogan!) before presenting Best First Feature. Booksmart won, which makes me very happy. Beanie Feldstein and Caitlin Deaver became roommates for 2 months and developed a relationship for the film.
Aubrey Plaza starred in a Lighthouse parody featuring Michael Shannon that was hilarious.
Zazie Beetz and John M. Chu presented Best International Film. Chu said, “The beauty of cinema knows no boundaries.” Parasite won, which made me happy. It was the second nomination and first win for Bong Joon-ho.
Aubrey Plaza introduced the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles to celebrate LGBTQ moments in films that were not primarily LGBTQ. It’s kind of a weird gag that becomes inspired by the end.
Alfre Woodard and John M. Chu presented the Producers Award to Mollye Asher.
Mindy Kaling and Nick Kroll presented Best Screenplay to Marriage Story. It was Noah Baumbach’s first win. He said,“Writing is hard. It’s agony. And i’m in awe of all the screenwriters here and elsewhere who essentially devoted their lives to something that gives us no pleasure and makes us feel bad.”
Idina Menzel and Alfre Woodard presented Best Supporting Female. It was the first time at the Spirit Awards in an acting category that all five nominees were women of color. Shuzhen Zhao won for The Farewell. Director Lulu Wong accepted on her behalf.
Nicholas Cage presented the Robert Altman award to Marriage Story. He said that the “award is about honoring ensemble work that captures the truth. And this cast comes together in an extraordinary way to tell the truth about how families sometimes fall apart yet somehow find a way to move forward.”
In a film clip, director Noah Baumbach said, “There’s a point where the actor knows more about the character than you do and those are the best moments.”
Rashadd Ernesto Green won the Someone to Watch Award for Premature.
Don Cheadle presented Best Director. He quoted the late, great John Singleton who said, “Any fool can point a camera but you’ve got to have a story to tell.” The Safdie Brothers won for Uncut Gems. They read their acceptance speeches simultaneously.
Rachel Brosnahan and Octavia Spencer presented Best Male Lead to Adam Sandler for Uncut Gems. It was his first nomination and win. He shadowed jewelers in their personal and professional lives for the role. Sandler gave the most Sandler-esque speech imaginable even doing a kooky voice for much of the speech.
Naomi Watts presented Best Female Lead to Renée Zellweger for Judy. It was her first win and third nomination.
Robert De Niro presented the final award of the afternoon, Best Feature. The Farewell won. It was Lulu Wong’s first nomination and win.
I enjoy the Spirit Awards for several reasons. The love is spread around to several different films. Movies that Oscar ignored often get recognized here. And I usually end up with a lot of new movies on my “to watch” list, films that were not on my radar before.
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