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“Mudbound” is not a multi-character film in the spirit of director Robert Altman, or 2006 Oscar-winner “Crash.” Instead of being a sprawling tapestry, the intertwined stories of two very different farming families (one black, one white) unfolds into one increasingly cohesive narrative.

“It’s almost like one story [that is] being handed off and everyone is [unaware] they are having similar conversations with themselves,” said director Dee Rees when she was a guest on IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast. “At one point [cinematographer] Rachel [Morrison] was like, ‘When has this ever worked?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, but this will be the film where it works.’”

To accomplish this, Rees grounds the audience in the subjectivity of six different protagonists, each with their own internal monologue. It’s something a novel — like Hillary Jordan’s “Mudbound,” which Rees and co-writer Virgil Williams’ adapted — can do effortlessly by accessing the internal thoughts of various characters,...

Perhaps forever to be known as “The Best Don Quixote Who Never Was,” French actor Jean Rochefort has died at age 87, according to Afp.

Rochefort was hospitalized in August and died overnight on Sunday, Afp reported, according to Deadline.

One of the most loved, iconoclastic figures of French cinema in the last 70 years, Rochefort first began appearing in films in 1955.

Both a romantic leading man and character actor, Rochefort was a three time César honoree equally skilled in dramatic and comedic roles. He starred in a number of successful, critically praised French films which attracted international audiences including Ridicule and The Hairdresser’s Husband.

A killer book (Dog Soldiers) must hide behind a Credence Clearwater tune. Karel Reisz’s killer movie about the moral residue of Vietnam scores as both drama and action, as disillusioned counterculture smugglers versus corrupt narcotics cops. Just don’t expect it to really have much to say about the Vietnam experience. But hey, the cast is tops — Nick Nolte, Richard Masur, Anthony Zerbe — and the marvelous Tuesday Weld is even better as a pill-soaked involuntary initiate into the pre- War On Drugs smuggling scene.

Who’ll Stop the Rain

Blu-ray

Twilight Time

1978 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 126 min. / Street Date May 16, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store 29.95

Starring: Nick Nolte, Tuesday Weld, Michael Moriarty, Anthony Zerbe, Richard Masur, Ray Sharkey, Gail Strickland, Charles Haid, David Opatoshu, Joaquín Martínez, James Cranna, Timothy Blake.

Cinematography: Richard H. Kiline

Supervising Film Editor: John Bloom

Original Music: Laurence Rosenthal

Written by Judith Rascoe, Robert Stone...

My guest for this month is Herb van der Poll, and he’s joined me to discuss the film he chose for me, the 1992 American-British satirical mockumentary film Bob Roberts. You can follow the show on Twitter @cinemagadfly.

Show notes:

The cast is seriously insane, with Tim Robbins, Giancarlo Esposito, Ray Wise, Gore Vidal, John Cusack, Peter Gallagher, Alan Rickman, and Susan Sarandon Oh and also James Spader, Helen Hunt, Jack Black, Jeremy Piven and his sister Shira, and Bob Balaban Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know we have an election happening The film shows some strong parallels to the presidency of George W. Bush Ray Wise, of course, was famously Laura Palmer’s dad on one of my all time favorite shows, Twin Peaks In this film, he and Alan Rickman play Dick Cheney and Karl Rove type figures Folk music is often in the service of liberal causes,...

I have the full rundown on the notorious spacey alternate ending to this sci-fi winner by design specialist Saul Bass. The ants are taking over, and they mean business. World conquest begins at a research lab in Arizona, where Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy and Lynne Frederick try to hold out against super-intelligent hormigas that cut them off, build sophisticated weapons and instantly adapt to any chemical attempt to stop them. Phase IV Blu-ray Olive Films 1974 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 84 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98 Starring Michael Murphy, Nigel Davenport, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford Cinematography Dick Bush Insect sequences Ken Middleham Art Direction John Barry Film Editor Willy Kemplen Original Music Brian Gascoigne Written by Mayo Simon Produced by Paul B. Radin Directed by Saul Bass

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Olive Films Blu-ray of the intriguing Sci-Fi curiosity Phase IV appears to be a newer, cleaner transfer than the older DVD.

With 23 films over the last 38 years, Ridley Scott has barely had time to slow down and he’s already planning to shoot his Prometheus sequel, Alien: Paradise Lost, early next year. As for his latest, The Martian, it’s shaping up to be his biggest success yet with a $100 million-plus opening weekend worldwide and widespread acclaim from audiences and critics. For those that are looking to go behind the scenes of the the making of the film, as well as his entire career, we’re featuring a batch of extensive conversations he’s taken part in.

“Matt [Damon] called me ‘Two Take Charlie,'” Scott told EW with a laugh, revealing he shot the film in a brisk 72 days. “The key is to know what you’re doing. If you do 90 takes it means you don’t really know what you want. Also, the key in doing my job is to...

Do you enjoy special-effects laden blockbusters? How about gritty crime dramas? Or biting comedies? The New Hollywood movement helped to make all of these possible in mainstream cinema.

New Hollywood is less a trend about the kinds of films that were produced and more about the people making them. The New Hollywood movement was about a new generation of filmmakers who came of age in the 60’s and went on to define filmmaking in the 70’s. These are filmmakers who went against tradition to push film to new heights and explore new genres and ideas. New Hollywood is the passing of the torch from the classic era of filmmaking to the modern era. It showed us both how great intimate character-focused dramas could be, but it also expanded the possibilities of what film could be, giving birth to the blockbuster. The New Hollywood movement is the foundation upon which current cinema is based.

Director/producer Ron Howard, Teamsters Local 817 President Thomas J. O’Donnell, director Tyler Perry, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and film editor/Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker will be honored at the 2015 DGA Honors, to be held at the Directors Guild of America Theater in New York City on Thursday, October 15, 2015. The red-carpet event fetes individuals and institutions that have made distinguished contributions to American culture through film and television, while recognizing the diversity required to produce entertainment. Past DGA Honors recipients have included Nora Ephron, Robert Altman, Jonathan Demme, Milos Forman, Curtis Hanson, Spike Lee, Mike Nichols, Arthur Penn, Sydney Pollack, and Martin Scorsese. Read More: How Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker Restored the Luster of Michael Powell and 'The Tales of Hoffmann'...

And the Independent Spirit Awards have revealed the winners and it's looking a lot like the Academy Awards! "Birdman" beat "Boyhood" for the Best Feature trophy but Richard Linklater took away the Best Director award from Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu.

Is this a sign of what's going to happen at the Oscars tonight?

Stay tuned...

2015 Film Independent Spirit Award Winners (Highlighted) And Nominees

Best Feature

(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

Winner: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole

Boyhood

Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland

Love is Strange

Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy

Selma

Producers: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey

Whiplash

Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster, Michael Litvak

Best Director

Winner: Richard Linklater

Boyhood

Damien Chazelle

Whiplash

Ava DuVernay...

Richard Linklater won for Best Director and Patricia Arquette won the Best Supporting actress for team Boyhood, while Iñárritu’s Birdman claimed Best Picture, Best Actor (Michael Keaton) and Cinematographer (Emmanuel Lubezki) at the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards last night. The split might foreshadow how the Oscars play out tonite, as the Middleweight Saturday ceremony and Heavyweight Sunday gig are more or less interchangeable. The two films that might gain a little further traction from the tent spotlight include Nightcrawler (which picked up Best First Feature and Best Screenplay) and Whiplash, Damien Chazelle’s deservedly won for Best Supporting Actor and Editing categories. Also worth pointing out is a Land Ho! win in the category we love the most: the John Cassavetes Award. Here are the winners and noms.

Best Feature:

“Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)” *Winner

“Boyhood”

“Love is Strange”

“Selma”

“Whiplash”

Best Director

Damien Chazelle,...

Just one night before the Oscars take over town, stars flocked to the 2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards on the Santa Monica Beach on Saturday (February 21).

Fred Armisen and Kristen Bell joined forces for co-hosting duties and put on a fabulous show as actors and actresses including Scarlett Johansson, Ethan Hawke, Jessica Chastain, Cate Blanchett, Jared Leto and Emma Stone turned up to lend their star power to the IFC airing ceremony.

As for this year's cream of the crop, Michael Keaton (Birdman), Julianne Moore (Still Alice), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) took home top honors in the lead and supporting acting categories.

Meanwhile, in what very well may be an indicator for what's to come tomorrow at the Academy Awards, "Birdman" was recognized as Best Feature while Richard Linklater nabbed Best Director accolades for "Boyhood".

Check out the full list of winners from the 2015 Spirit Awards below!

Best...

The 2015 Spirit Awards were handed out today and it was Birdman taking Best Feature and Best Actor (Michael Keaton) while Boyhood went home a double winner taking Best Director (Richard Linklater) and Best Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette). However, while that's the result for the two big guns that will be going head-to-head at tomorrow night's Oscars, Nightcrawler was also a double winner taking Best Screenplay and Best First Feature, both awarded to writer/director Dan Gilroy. Otherwise, no big surprises with Julianne Moore (Still Alice) taking Best Actress and J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) taking Supporting Actor, Citizenfour took Best Documentary and Birdman scored a third win for Emmanuel Lubezki for Best Cinematography. Justin Simien (Dear White People) took home Best First Screenplay and, whoa!, Look!, Whiplash was also a double winner, with Tom Cross winning for Best Editing (well deserved!) and anticipated Oscar winner in the same category, Ida won Best Foreign Language Film.

The 30th Independent Spirit Awards was held in Santa Monica Saturday afternoon, and "Birdman" and "Boyhood" were the ceremony's big winners. Hosted by Kristen Bell and Fred Armisen, the more casual Oscar precursor honored the best in independent filmmaking from the past year. Only three films -- "12 Years a Slave," "Platoon," and "The Artist" -- have won best feature at the Spirits and gone on to nab the Best Picture Oscar. Time will tell if this year's Spirit winner will follow in their footsteps. Get a complete list of the nominees with the winners in bold, below:

Best Feature

"Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" - Winner

"Boyhood"

"Love is Strange"

"Selma"

"Whiplash"

Best Director

Richard Linklater, "Boyhood" - Winner

Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"

Ava DuVernay, "Selma"

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)"

David Zellner, "Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter"

Best Screenplay

Dan Gilroy, "Nightcrawler" - Winner

Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski,...

As the awards show season ramps up into full intensity, the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards just unveiled their list of hopefuls.

And not surprisingly, “Birdman” has received a whopping six mentions, followed closely behind by “Boyhood, “Selma” and “Nightcrawler,” each with five chances for glory.

Meanwhile, “Whiplash” and “Love is Strange” nabbed four nominations and “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” and “A Most Violent Year” scored three times.

The Film Independent Spirit Awards puts a budget cap of $20 million on movies, and therefore “Foxcatcher,” “Inherent Vice” and “Grand Budapest Hotel” were not up for consideration.

Slated to take place on February 21st in a tent on Santa Monica Beach, the 30th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards is going to be an exciting event.

And the nominees are:

2015 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Best Feature

(Award given to the producer. Executive producers are not awarded.)

“Birdman (or The...

As 2014 winds down, the film industry is kicking into awards season once again, with today revealing nominations for the 2015 Spirit Awards. As many predicted, Birdman is leading the pack with six nominations, including one for Best Picture. Other big winners at the moment include Selma, Nightcrawler and Whiplash.

The Spirit Awards will be held on February 21st, 2015, just one day before the Oscars. Below is a detailed listing of the nominees, check them out and let us know what you think in the comments section.

2015 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Best Feature

(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) – Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole

Boyhood – Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland

Love is Strange – Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy

Selma – Producers: Christian Colson,...

Film Independent announced nominations for the 2015 Spirit Awards this morning.

Film Independent President Josh Welsh presided over the press conference held at the W Hollywood, with actors Rosario Dawson and Diego Luna presenting the nominations. Watch Here.

Nominees for Best Feature included Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), Boyhood, Love is Strange, Selma and Whiplash.

“As we celebrate 30 years of great independent film,” said Josh Welsh, President of Film Independent, “this year’s nominees are an astonishingly strong group of films and filmmakers which demonstrate the uniqueness of vision we honor at this show.”

Inherent Vice was selected to receive the Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. The Altman Award was created in 2008 in honor of legendary director Robert Altman who was known for creating extraordinary ensemble casts.

“Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice is a testament to the...

Alejandro G. Iñárritu's "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" received the most nods from the Independent Spirit Awards! Nominations were announced today, and "Birdman" got 6 noms including Best Feature, Director, Editing, Male Lead (Michael Keaton), Supporting Female (Emma Stone), and Supporting Male for Edward Norton.

Richard Linklater's "Boyhood," Dan Gilroy's "Nightcrawler," and Ava Duvernay's "Selma" each received 5 nominations.

We'll find out the winners on Saturday, February 21st.

Here's the full list of nominees for the

2015 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Best Feature

(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole

Boyhood

Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland

Love is Strange

Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy

Selma

Producers: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey

Whiplash

Producers: Jason Blum,...

The nominations for the 30th Film Independent Spirit Awards have been announced.

Birdman leads with six nominations including Best Feature, as well as nods for stars Michael Keaton and Emma Stone and director Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Boyhood, Nightcrawler and Selma have each received five nominations, which were announced by Rosario Dawson and Diego Luna in Hollywood.

The Best Female Lead category sees Marion Cotillard take on Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, Jenny Slate and Rinko Kikuchi. Meanwhile, Jake Gyllenhaal, John Lithgow, David Oyelowo, André Benjamin and Michael Keaton will battle it out in the Best Male Lead category.

The awards will be handed out on February 21, the day before the Oscars takes place.

The full 2015 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations:

Best Feature

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Boyhood

Love is Strange

Selma

Whiplash

Best Director

Damien Chazelle - Whiplash

Ava DuVernay - Selma

Alejandro G. Iñárritu - Birdman or...

The Independent Spirit Awards have revealed the full list of contenders for their 2015 awards which celebrate the best in independent movies. The Michael Keaton-led "Birdman" leads the list with six nominations. "Boyhood," "Nightcrawler" and "Selma" are in a three-way fight for second with three nominations each.

Two awards have already been announced with the Robert Altman award given to Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice" and a Special Distinction Award handed out to Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" which was ineligible for other awards due to its budget. Notable snubs include "The Imitation Game," "The Theory of Everything," "Wild," "St. Vincent," "Cake," "The Homesman," "Black or White" and major studio films like "Unbroken".

Other notable inclusions this year are "Whiplash,""Love is Strange," "A Most Violent Year," "The Immigrant," "Mommy," "Under the Skin," "Obvious Child," "Still Alice," "Force Majeure," "Only Lovers Left Alive," "Blue Ruin," "Ida," "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,...

Birdman earned six nods and Boyhood, Nightcrawler and Selma five apiece as Rosario Dawson and Diego Luna unveiled the 2014 Spirit Award nominations in Los Angeles on November 25.Scroll down for full list of nominations

Birdman, Boyhood and Selma are in contention for best feature alongside Love Is Strange and Whiplash, which earned four nominations.

Richard Linklater and Alejandro G Iñárritu join Whiplash’s Damien Chazelle, Selma’s Ava DuVernay and David Zellner for Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter on the directors list.

Much-fancied Michael Keaton is nominated for his lead performance in Birdman and will compete against Nightcrawler’s Jake Gyllenhaal and Selma’s David Oyelowo, a late arrival to the awards banquet who has earned high praise in recent weeks for his role as Martin Luther King Jr.

The best actress category is populated by Julianne Moore for Still Alice — arguably the awards season front-runner in this race — as well as Marion Cotillard for The Immigrant, which...

Odd how a live announcement is beat by the complete rundown of all the awards from a major trade, but here are the complete nominations for the 3oth anniversary edition. Fox Searchlight’s 18 million bet proved to be a good one as Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) leads Boyhood, Nightcrawler and Selma by a busted up nose in the number of most nominations with six, while Linklater, Gilroy and DuVernay’s latest secured five noms a piece. Looking at the final five, we have a Best Feature category with a breakdown that resembles two parts Hollywood and three parts 4-5 million dollar indie range in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and Selma being joined by Boyhood, Love is Strange, Whiplash. Here are the complete noms.

Best Feature

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Boyhood

Love is Strange

Selma

Whiplash

Best Director...

The 2015 Film Independent Spirit Award nominations came out this morning and unsurprisingly there are a lot of names here that won’t be on an Oscar handicappers list. Birdman is arguably the biggest film on this list – and it leads the field with nominations for Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male, Best Supporting Male and Female, and Best Cinematography – but there is a lot of love present for the real indies here as well. Below is the full list of contenders for the 2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards airing February 21, 2015 on IFC.

2015 Sprit Award Nominations

Best Feature

‘Birdman’

‘Boyhood’

‘Love is Strange’

‘Selma’

‘Whiplash’

Best Director

Damien Chazelle, ‘Whiplash’

Ava DuVernay, ‘Selma’

Alejandro G. Iñárritu, ‘Birdman’

Richard Linklater, ‘Boyhood’

David Zellner, ‘Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter’

Best Screenplay

Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, ‘Big Eyes’

J.C. Chandor, ‘A Most Violent Year’

Dan Gilroy, ‘Nightcrawler’

Jim Jarmusch, ‘Only Lovers Left Alive’

Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias,...

Fox Searchlight’s Birdman leads the 30th Film Independent Spirit Award nominations with six nods — best actor for Michael Keaton, director Alejandro G. Inarritu, supporting actress Emma Stone, supporting actor Edward Norton and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. Boyhood, Nightcrawler and Selma follow with five noms each and Love Is Strange and Whiplash round out the Best Feature list. See the complete list of nominees below:

2015 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations

Best Feature

(Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.)

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Producers: Alejandro G. Iñárritu, John Lesher, Arnon Milchan, James W. Skotchdopole

Boyhood

Producers: Richard Linklater, Jonathan Sehring, John Sloss, Cathleen Sutherland

Love is Strange

Producers: Lucas Joaquin, Lars Knudsen, Ira Sachs, Jayne Baron Sherman, Jay Van Hoy

Selma

Producers: Christian Colson, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Oprah Winfrey

Whiplash

Producers: Jason Blum, Helen Estabrook, David Lancaster, Michael Litvak

Best Director

Damien Chazelle, Whiplash

Ava DuVernay,...

The 2014 Independent Spirit Award nominations were just announced with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Birdman leading the charge with six nominations followed by Boyhood, Nightcrawler and Selma with five each. Of those four films, Birdman, Boyhood and Selma were nominated for Best Feature, joined by Love is Strange and a personal favorite of 2014, Whiplash, both of which earned four nominations each. Also earning nominations were Dear White People, A Most Violent Year, Obvious Child and The Immigrant. The awards will be handed out on February 21, check out the complete list of nominees below. Best Feature Award given to the Producer. Executive Producers are not awarded. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) Boyhood Love is Strange Selma Whiplash Best Director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash) Ava DuVernay (Selma) Alejandro G. Inarritu (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)) Richard Linklater (Boyhood) David Zellner (Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter) Best Screenplay Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski (Big Eyes...

Nominees for the 30th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards were announced Tuesday, with films such as "Birdman," "Selma," "Boyhood," and "Whiplash" racking up multiple nods.

"Birdman" led the pack with six nominations, including Best Feature, Best Director, and nods in all four acting categories. "Selma" and "Boyhood" tied at five nominations apiece, while "Whiplash" scored four.

The Independent Spirit Awards are seen as an alternative to the Oscars, and are given out to films that are made for less than $20 million. They also hand out a special statuette to a film made for less than $500,000.

This year, "Foxcatcher" (starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo) and "Inherent Vice" were cited for a special distinction award and the Robert Altman Award, respectively. Oscar hopefuls including Jake Gyllenhaal ("Nightcrawler"), Julianne Moore ("Still Alice"), Michael Keaton ("Birdman"), and Patricia Arquette ("Boyhood") also received nominations.

The awards will be handed out on February...

Ioncinema.com’s Ioncinephile of the Month feature focuses on an emerging filmmaker from the world of cinema. This September, we put the spotlight on the writer-director of The Skeleton Twins. After exploring the thirtysomething slackerhood with the 2009 SXSW Film Festival preemed True Adolescents, Craig Johnson’s sophomore feature visits a paralleled (re)union of sibling spirits where the pursuit of happiness is challenged by the skeletal remains of what was left in one’s past. An examination of the sometimes vacuous, sometimes endearingly noir phases that the psyche tends to visit, the Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award winning film mowed down Park City auds with the versatile Kristin Wiig and Bill Hader proving that comedy and drama do mix.

Johnson’s delicate empathetic portrait of the misfits carries some vintage moments, and was instantly picked up by Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions for distribution and is landing in theatres September 12th.

Have you ever wondered what are the films that inspire the next generation of visionary filmmakers? As part of our monthly Ioncinephile profile (read this September), we ask the filmmaker the incredibly arduous task of identifying their top ten list of favorite films. Craig Johnson (who sees his The Skeleton Twins receive its theatrical release on September 12th) put together this top 10 (as of September 2014).

Carrie - Brian De Palma (1976)

“Freaky, funny, arty, beautiful, … and fucking scary. Sissy Spacek breaks your heart. And that seventies split screen action? Badass. This movie delivers on all levels at all times.”

Election – Alexander Payne (1999)

“Every moment of this movie rings true. Painfully funny, painfully smart and so perfectly constructed. My sister and I quote it whenever we see each other. Might be a perfect film.”

The Graduate – Mike Nichols (1967)

“The look on Mrs. Robinson’s face when Benjamin leaves her in the hallway.

Honorary Award: Gloria Swanson, Rita Hayworth among dozens of women bypassed by the Academy (photo: Honorary Award non-winner Gloria Swanson in 'Sunset Blvd.') (See previous post: "Honorary Oscars: Doris Day, Danielle Darrieux Snubbed.") Part three of this four-part article about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Honorary Award bypassing women basically consists of a long, long — and for the most part quite prestigious — list of deceased women who, some way or other, left their mark on the film world. Some of the names found below are still well known; others were huge in their day, but are now all but forgotten. Yet, just because most people (and the media) suffer from long-term — and even medium-term — memory loss, that doesn't mean these women were any less deserving of an Honorary Oscar. So, among the distinguished female film professionals in Hollywood and elsewhere who have passed away without...

Richard Lester’s directing career has had a rather tortured epilogue. His last completed film was the dreadful, unloved Return of The Musketeers (1989), during the making of which his long-time friend and troupe-member Roy Kinnear died after a freak accident. To add insult to injury, the Comic-Con crowd has been burning Lester in effigy ever since Richard Donner’s cut of Superman II was released in 2006. Donner had been fired as director of the 1980 sequel half way through filming and Lester was hired to finish the job. Since the release of the Donner cut, expressing a preference for the original, jokier version is rather like suggesting that Cesar Romero was a better Joker than Heath Ledger.

I do wonder sometimes whether the fanboys realise what an important, highly influential and iconoclastic director they’re dismissing when they’re kicking sand into Lester’s face. Martin Scorsese would certainly correct them (sternly,...

In The Immigrant, Marion Cotillard plays Ewa, a Polish woman whose American Dream is hijacked almost as soon as she lands on Ellis Island in 1921. All alone, she’s threatened with deportation until she’s rescued by Bruno (Joaquin Phoenix) — a schemer as dastardly as Pinocchio’s Stromboli, who forces her into a hard life of servitude and prostitution.

Bruno’s cousin, a magician named Orlando (Jeremy Renner), offers Ewa a ray of hope. And in this exclusive clip from the film, Orlando demonstrates a feat as wondrous as the American Dream itself — as long as you’re willing to...

For Earth Day, Hit Me With Your Best Shot returns to Disney's long neglected Pocahontas (1995). Can you sing with all the colors of the wind? The movie uses a lot of them and not shyly: blues, greens, pinks, oranges, yellows, and that glorious raven hair of Disney's most beautiful heroine.

Pocahontas's Best Shot(s)

13 savages chimed in. Click on their best shot selections to read the corresponding article

One of the greatest marriages of image and melody in the entire Disney canon...

- Three Pounds Lost

She's still dwarfed by the majesty of the earth...

-Film Actually

The best scene in the movie is a silent one...

-Coco Hits New York

...not one without its wonders. The main two of which for me are its use of long lens widescreen framing and the music.

- Best Shot in the Dark

It’s not that the film isn’t beautiful, it...

Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" was the big winner at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards taking home 5 trophies including Best Picture, Director, Supporting Female for Lupita N'Yongo, Screenplay for John Ridley, and Cinematography for Sean Bobbitt.

The pair of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto of "Dallas Buyers Club" continued to top their respective categories of Best Actor and Supporting Actor.

Cate Blanchett took home the Best Actress trophy for Woody Allen's "Blue Jasmine."

Here's the complete list of winners of the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards:

Best Feature:

Winner: "12 Years A Slave"

"All Is Lost"

"Frances Ha"

"Inside Llewyn Davis"

"Nebraska"

Best Lead Female:

Winner: Cate Blanchett - "Blue Jasmine"

Julie Delpy - "Before Midnight"

Gaby Hoffman - "Crystal Fairy"

Brie Larson - "Short Term 12"

Shailene Woodley - "The Spectacular Now"

Best Lead Male:

Bruce Dern - "Nebraska"

Chiwetel Ejiofor - "12 Years A Slave"

Oscar Isaac - "Inside Llewyn Davis"

Michael B.

The night before the 2014 Oscars was a big one for 12 Years a Slave as it took home five wins at the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards including Best Picture, Director (Steve McQueen), Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong'o), Screenplay (John Ridley) and Cinematography (Sean Bobbitt). However, don't take this to mean 12 Years is a lock at the Oscars as its strongest competition in categories such as Picture and Director, those being Gravity and American Hustle, weren't among the "independent" nominees. Some likely Oscar winners were among the list of winners as Dallas Buyers Club co-stars Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto took home Best Actor and Supporting Actor respectively. Cate Blanchett took home yet another Best Actress prize for her work in Blue Jasmine and 20 Feet from Stardom won Best Documentary, proving even the Spirit Awards weren't going for The Act of Killing, though that doesn't diminish the impact of Joshua Oppenheimer's film. Some...

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave pulled a five finger discount at the 2014 Indie Spirit Awards grabbing hardware in the Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography categories. Apart from the larceny in the Best Doc category, the winners in the above mention category (excluding Bobbitt’s work) and the double win pairing of Leto and McConaughey along with Cate Blanchett’s perf win in Blue Jasmine will likely repeat itself less than 24 hours later at tomorrow’s Academy Awards celebrations obviously begging many to ponder the following: who needs the 86th Academy Awards when we have the Indie Spirit Awards? While today’s most pleasurable wins come from the truly indie kudos for Best First Feature (Ryan Coogler for Frutivale Station) the John Cassavetes award for Chad Hartigan’s This is Martin Bonner, and the Piaget Producers Award to Ain’t Them Bodies Saints...

12 Years a Slave and Dallas Buyers Club were among the major winners at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Steve McQueen took the Best Director Award for his slavery-themed movie, and also earned the coveted Best Feature prize.

The night also saw 12 Years a Slave's Lupita Nyong'o collect Best Supporting Female, as well as John Ridley winning for his screenplay.

Dallas Buyers Club's Matthew McConaughey received the Best Male Lead prize, while his co-star Jared Leto was named Best Supporting Male.

Cate Blanchett was honoured as Best Female Lead for her performance as a manic housewife in director Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine.

Other major developments included director Ryan Coogler winning Best First Feature for Fruitvale Station, and the music-themed film 20 Feet from Stardom taking Best Documentary.

The 29th Independent Spirit Awards were hosted by comic Patton Oswalt on the Santa Monica beach in California.

Digital Spy presents a full list...

The Independent Spirit Awards were handed out on the beach in Santa Monica, California, on Saturday, and 12 Years a Slave emerged the big winner, taking home five awards, including the top prize of Best Feature.

Dallas Buyers Club dominated the acting categories, with Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto both winning, while Cate Blanchett continued her apparent path to the Best Actress Oscar, collecting yet another prize for Blue Jasmine.

Read below for all the winners, and watch the show at 10 p.m Et on IFC:

Best Feature

Winner: 12 Years a Slave

All Is Lost

Frances Ha

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Best Director

Upstream Color,...

The Oscars are uncomfortably close. We’re less than three weeks away from the big moment where Judi Dench will (hopefully) cackle menacingly as her Notes on a Scandal costar Cate Blanchett picks up a second statue. “You’re a vampire!” Cate will holler from the stage. And I’ll jump into the TV.

The point is it’s time to think about actresses in a big way. Today’s topic: the 10 greatest losing Best Actress nominees of the past 10 years. Forget “winning performances” like Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side or Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line. These are the runners-up whose work also deserved formal, fabulous recognition. (Keep in mind I’m not necessarily saying these actresses should’ve won, but I will tell you who they were up against.)

10. Annette Bening, The Kids are All Right

Lost to: Natalie Portman in Black Swan

Natalie Portman’s win...

‘Billy Jack’: Tom Laughlin helped to revolutionize Hollywood’s film distribution system (See previous post: “Tom Laughlin: ‘Billy Jack’ Actor and Director, Robert Altman Difficult Star Dead at 82.”) Featuring the titular hero as a semi-mystical figure who, with a mixture of steely determination and purposeful violence, helps to rescue wild horses from becoming dog meat and allows an independent school to continue operating at an Indian reservation in Arizona — against the wishes of white reactionary bigots and ruthless capitalists — Billy Jack was a box office disappointment when released by Warner Bros. at, in Tom Laughlin’s words, "porno houses" (and drive-ins) in 1971. (Photo: Tom Laughlin in Billy Jack.) Unhappy with the studio’s handling of his film, Laughlin sued Warners. In May 1973, following a settlement with the studio, he began self-distributing Billy Jack at small-town movie theaters throughout the United States. He hired marketing expert, former United Artists honcho,...

March 2014 will be one of the biggest months for the industry next year, with the Oscars held on March 2nd. The day before is equally one of the biggest days for the independent side of the industry, playing host to the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards.

The full list of nominations was announced this week, and leading the charge with an impressive seven nods out of fifteen categories is Steve McQueen’s acclaimed 12 Years a Slave. Alexander Payne’s Nebraska is not far behind with six to its name, followed by J.C. Chandor’s All Is Lost with four nominations.

Given the independent nature of the awards, some of the films featuring below are inevitably very different to those you can expect to see come January’s Academy Awards nominations announcement, and it’s great to see such titles getting the recognition they deserve on a platform like this.

Equally inevitably, there...

12 Years a Slave is leading the nominations for the 2014 Independent Spirit Awards.

Steve McQueen's slavery drama has been shortlisted for seven awards in total, picking up nods in the Best Feature, Director, Screenplay and Cinematography categories, while stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Lupita Nyong'o were all among the acting nominees.

12 Years a Slave will compete for Best Feature alongside All Is Lost, Frances Ha, Inside Llewyn Davis and Nebraska, which earned six nominations in total.

The Spirit Awards will be held in Los Angeles on March 1, 2014, the day before the Academy Awards. The ceremony will be hosted by actor and comedian Patton Oswalt.

Nominees in the major categories are listed below:

Best Feature

12 Years A Slave

All Is Lost

Frances Ha

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

Best Director

J.C. Chandor (All Is Lost)

Jeff Nichols (Mud)

Alexander Payne (Nebraska)

Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave)

Shane Carruth (Upstream Colour)

Best...

Steve McQueen's acclaimed drama tops nominations in the annual awards ceremony celebrating lower-budget movies, while Nebraska and Short Term 12 also perform well

Its criteria of a budget less than $15m rules out the likes of Gravity, but it was still always likely 12 Years a Slave - Steve McQueen's acclaimed drama set in 1840s Louisiana - would sweep the board at the nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards. The film ended up with seven nominations, including nods for feature, director and actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o and Michael Fassbender.

Coming in second was Alexander Payne's Nebraska, with six, followed by Jc Chandor's All Is Lost with four. Inside Llewyn Davis, Short Term 12, Fruitvale Station and Blue Jasmine all took three.

The lead actor category was expanded to six nominees from the usual five, and James Gandolfini is up for a posthumous supporting prize for Enough Said.

Film Independent announced nominations for the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards this morning.

Film Independent President Josh Welsh presided over the press conference held at the W Hollywood, with actresses Octavia Spencer and Paula Patton presenting the nominations.

Nominees for Best Feature included 12 Years a Slave, All Is Lost, Frances Ha, Inside Llewyn Davis and Nebraska.

Mud was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, which is bestowed upon one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast.

In its commitment to recognizing the importance of below the line contributions to the art of filmmaking, Film Independent has now introduced, for the first year, the Best Editing category in the Spirit Awards.

Winners will be announced at the Spirit Awards on Saturday, March 1, 2014. The awards ceremony will be held as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica, with the premiere broadcast airing later that evening...

Adding to the awards show season buzz, the list of hopefuls for 2014 Film Independent’s Spirit Awards was just unveiled.

Hosted by Patton Oswalt, the much-anticipated event is slated to get underway on March 1st in Santa Monica, and there will be plenty of stars to be seen.

Bruce Dern, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Oscar Isaac, Michael B. Jordan, Matthew McConaughey, and Robert Redford will all compete in the Best Male Lead Category, while the Best Female Lead nominees are Cate Blanchett, Julie Delpy, Gaby Hoffman, Brie Larson, and Shailene Woodley.

The 29th Spirit Awards contenders are:

Best Feature

12 Years A Slave

All is Lost

Frances Ha

Inside Llewyn Davis

Nebraska

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 Female Lead

Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine

Julie Delpy, Before Midnight

Gaby Hoffmann, Crystal Fairy

Brie Larson, Short Term 12

Shailene Woodley,...

Team Fox Searchlight should be returning to the winner’s circle at the next edition of the Indie Spirits awards. After winning with Black Swan three years back, and losing out in the Best Feature category with Beasts of the Southern Wild and The Descendants, Fox Searchlight’s 12 Years a Slave leads all other films with seven nominations Best Feature, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography and three of the four acting categories. Alexander Payne’s Nebraska follows with six noms. Both Sundance (Fruitvale Station) and SXSW (Short Term 12) winners figure among the noms, but they weren’t as plentiful with only three noms a piece. Among our favorite titles for 2013 which were left off the scorecard, David Lowery’s Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and Andrew Dosunmu’s Mother of George Saints got no recognition, while Eliza Hittman’s It Felt Like Love would have got my vote for the Annual Someone To Watch Award.

Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" led the pack of the nominations for the 29th Annual Film Independent Spirit Award. The film received 7 nominations including best feature, director, and acting noms for Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o, and Michael Fassbender.

Winners of the 2014 Film Independent Spirit Awards will be announced on Saturday, March 1st at a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica with the premiere broadcast airing later that evening at 10:00 pm Et/Pt exclusively on IFC.

Congrats and good luck to all the nominees!

Here's the complete list of the nominees of the 2014 Spirit Awards:

Best Feature (Award given to the Producer, Executive Producers are not awarded)

12 Years a Slave

Producers: Dede Gardner, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad

All Is Lost

Producers: Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb

Frances Ha

Producers: Noah Baumbach, Scott Rudin, Rodrigo Teixeira, Lila Yacoub...

Steve McQueen’s 12 Years A Slave is in contention for seven Spirit Awards followed closely by Alexander Payne’s Nebraska on six as Film Independent top brass announced nominees on November 26.

McQueen earned a director nomination and will compete against Alexander Payne for Nebraska, Jc Chandor for All Is Lost, Jeff Nichols for Mud and Share Carruth for Upstream Color.

Not surprisingly given the strength and depth of this awards season, the categories are strong across the board.

Paolo Sorrentino’s The Great Beauty is among a mighty crop of international contenders that includes Abdellatif Kechiche’s Palme d’Or winner Blue Is The Warmest Colour, Sebastian Lelio’s Gloria, Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt and A Touch Of Sin from China’s Jia Zhang-Ke.

12 Years A Slave’s Chiwetel Ejiofor will contest the lead actor race with veterans Bruce Dern for Nebraska and Robert Redford for All Is Lost, as well as...

The Independent Spirit Awards are an annual award given in the name of independent film, featuring plenty of those little indies which deserve the honor and recognition that they won't necessarily be receiving at the Oscars - though we always hope they get something. The nominees for the 29th annual Film Indie Spirit Awards were announced today, and can be seen in full below. Jeff Nichols' Mud was selected to receive the annual Robert Altman Award, bestowed upon a film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast. The winners of the Indie Spirit Awards will be announced on March 1st in Santa Monica. Here is the complete list of 2013 nominees: Best Feature 12 Years a Slave All is Lost Frances Ha Inside Llewyn Davis Nebraska Best First Feature Blue Caprice Concussion Fruitvale Station Una Noche Wadjda Best Director Shane Caruth - Upstream Color J.C. Chandor - All is Lost Steve McQueen...

Film Independent's Independent Spirit Award nominations have just been announced and the films that didn't make the Best Feature list are as big of a story as those that did. Really it's a testament to the strong year in indie cinema that so many missing films feel like snubs. But there can be only five and that means favorites like Before Midnight, Short Term 12, The Spectacular Now, Dallas Buyers Club, and Ain't Them Bodies Saints are left out in the cold. While Jeff Nichols Mud was also left off the Best Feature list, it will be honored as this year's recipient of the prestigious Robert Altman award. Here is the full list of nominations:best Feature 12 Years a Slave All Is Lost Frances...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

The 2014 Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced this morning and it was a big day for 12 Years a Slave leading the way with seven nominations followed by Alexander Payne's Nebraska with six and All is Lost with four. Those three films were joined by Fruitvale Station and Frances Ha in the Best Feature category as I felt the nominations were nicely spread around with very worthy titles getting attention. I didn't notice too many surprises and Short Term 12 certainly had a nice showing with three nominations including noms for both Brie Larson and Keith Stanfield. I love seeing the nomination for Melonie Diaz for Fruitvale Station as it seems Octavia Spencer is going to get most of the Oscar attention for that film despite the fact Diaz is the more deserving of the two. I guess if you did want to say there was a surprise I would...

Neal Dodson knows how to come out of the gate strong. The first feature film he produced with partners J.C. Chandor and Zachary Quinto was Margin Call, which was made for a pittance with an incredibly timely script and a smack-your-head-great cast (including Quinto himself, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey, Demi Moore, and even Dodson’s wife, actress Ashley Williams). That film won the Robert Altman Award at the Indie Spirits, and its script was nominated for an Oscar. His followup film, again with Quinto and Chandor, is this month’s stunning All is Lost, which stars Robert Redford. And no...