Behind-the-Scenes at the Spirit Awards

As promised, here is my wrap-up of the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards that were heldyesterday on a sunny and thankfully warm day for early March in a tent at the beach in Santa Monica. As in years past, the Spirit Awards (presented by Film Independent) was a casual affair with most celebs and industry insiders clad in jeans and sunglasses with the requisite cocktail accessory. The paparazzi was in full force and the fans who line up "outside the ropes" seem to have tripled in size hoping to catch a glimpse of indie film veterans and stars like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and of course, the Olsen twins. Yes, my friends, the Olsen twins have become the biggest stars on the indie film circuit. Clad in some sort of waif-like wispy fabric, these two young ladies were the talk of backstage. Everywhere you went, you heard someone asking in hushed reverent tones, "Did you see the Olsen twins?" No matter that standing right next to that person was Sean Penn having a smoke break or the fact that the unbelievably great David Strathairn did not seem that interested in the Gift Lounge (unlike another nominee who was beside himself hustling all the free swag). This year's Spirit Awards was also a little anti-climatic in the sense that looking at the nominees, everyone sort of knew who was going to win before the winner was actually announced. The fact that for the first time (possibly ever) the Spirit Award nominees and the Oscar nominees are almost mirror images of each other put a rather subdued tone on this year's show. Though Film Independent is an organization that in the words of Executive Director Dawn Hudson is all about""providing access" to indie filmmakers with "75% of the Spirit Award nominees not nominated by the Academy," the winners (listed below) were all pretty much what will most likely happen at the Academy Awards tonight. On a positive note, I would like to think that perhaps this is a sign towards the beginning of a new revolution in the indie film industry as I think that we all need to start re-examining what truly defines independent. The old definition doesn't exactly fit anymore. Perhaps host Sarah Silverman put it best in her very funny (and very blue) monologue, "The Spirit Awards are here to support struggling artists like Ang Lee and George Clooney."

The awards will be re-telecast on IFC over the course of the next week so check you local listings. If you are looking for a clean version of the show, check it out on AMC as I believe they will be editing out the many many "fucks" that seemed prevalent in not only winner Felicity Huffman's acceptance speech but a number of others.

Here is a complete list of the winners:

Best Feature: "Brokeback Mountain"
Producers: Diana Ossana and James Schamus

Best Director: Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"

Best Screenplay: Dan Futterman, "Capote"

Best First Feature: "Crash"
Director: Paul Haggis
Producers: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Bobby Moresco, Paul Haggis

Best First Screenplay: Duncan Tucker, "Transamerica"

John Cassavetes Award: "Conventioneers"
(For the Best Feature made for under $500,000)
Director: Mora Stephens
Writers: Mora Stephens and Joel Viertel
Producer: Joel Viertel

Best Supporting Female: Amy Adams, "Junebug"

Best Supporting Male: Matt Dillon, "Crash"

Best Female Lead: Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"

Best Male Lead: Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"

Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit, "Good Night, and Good Luck"

Best Foreign Film: "Paradise Now"
Director: Hany Abu-Assad

Best Documentary: "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room"
Director: Alex Gibney

AMC/American Express Producers Award: Caroline Baron, "Capote", "Monsoon Wedding"
($25,000 unrestricted grant -- honors producers who, despite highly limited resources, demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality independent films.)

IFC/Acura Someone To Watch Award: Ian Gamazon and Neill Dela Llana, "Cavite"
($25,000 unrestricted -- honors a director of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition.)

Truer Than Fiction Award: Ian Olds and Garrett Scott, "Occupation: Dreamland"
($25,000 unrestricted -- presented to an emerging director of non-fiction features.)