Spirit Awards 2008

2008 Spirit Awards
Film Independent’s 2008 Spirit Award nominations: November 27, 2007
2008 Spirit Award winners: February 23, 2008
("*" denotes the winner in each category)
 

Ellen Page in Juno
 

BEST FEATURE (Award given to the Producer)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik
I’m Not There, Producers: Christine Vachon, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, James D. Stern
* Juno, Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith
A Mighty Heart, Producers: Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton, Brad Pitt
Paranoid Park, Producers: Neil Kopp, David Cress
BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Director: Cristian Mungiu (Romania)
The Band’s Visit, Director: Eran Kolirin (Israel)
Lady Chatterley, Director: Pascale Ferran (France)
* Once, Director: John Carney (Ireland)
Persepolis, Directors: Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi (France)
BEST FIRST [...]

by Andre Soares | February 23, 2008   
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Oscar 2008 Predictions: Best Cinematography, Editing, Music

Best Cinematography
There Will Be Blood, Robert Elswit
Robert Elswit won the American Society of Cinematographers award, beating Roger Deakins for two films, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and No Country for Old Men. Though Deakins does have a chance to win the Oscar for either film, this is one instance where the much overused — and almost invariably absurd — "votes are split; a third party wins" logic actually makes sense. That’s why I predict that Elswit will take home the Oscar.
 

Best Film Editing
No Country for Old Men, "Roderick Jaynes" (Joel and Ethan Coen)
An atmospheric suspense thriller that wins the best film Oscar will most likely also win for best film editing. If, however, Academy-ites feel [...]

by Andre Soares | January 30, 2008   
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Oscar 2008: “Falling Slowly” Remains in the Shortlist

Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová’s ballad "Falling Slowly," from John Carney’s Irish-made romantic musical Once, remains in the running in the Best Original Song category of the 2008 Academy Awards.
Several days ago, questions had arisen about the song’s eligibility because before Once came out different versions of "Falling Slowly" had been featured in two music albums and in the trailer of the Czech movie Beauty in Trouble, as reported by Una Mullally in the Dublin Sunday Tribune.
However, last night the Academy’s music branch declared that "Falling Slowly" qualified as an "original song" written specifically for Once.
As reported in the New York Times, Charles Bernstein, Chairman of the Music Branch Executive Committee, stated that "the Academy’s music branch [...]

by Andre Soares | January 30, 2008   
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Oscar 2008: “Falling Slowly” from ONCE Possibly Ineligible

Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová in Once

In The Vast Picture Show, the [Dublin] Sunday Tribune’s film critic Paul Lynch reports that "Falling Slowly," from the Irish romantic musical Once, may be ineligible for the best original song Oscar. The Academy has been apparently investigating the issue.
Lynch quotes a piece by the Sunday Tribune’s music critic Una Mullally:
"The Sunday Tribune understands that the Academy query relates to whether the song, from the John Carney-directed movie Once, was written specifically for the film, as the eligibility rules for the Best Original Song category demand. ‘Falling Slowly’ was originally recorded by the film’s co-stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova when Czech director Jan Hrebejk asked the two musicians to contribute songs to his 2006 [...]

by Andre Soares | January 26, 2008   
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BAFTA 2008 Longlists: Screenplay, Animated Film

Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova in Once (top); Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men (middle); Ulrich Mühe in The Lives of Others (bottom)

BAFTA 2008 Longlists
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
American Gangster
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Eastern Promises
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Hot Fuzz
In the Valley of Elah
Juno
Knocked Up
The Lives of Others
Michael Clayton
Once
Ratatouille
Things We Lost in the Fire
This is England
La Vie en Rose
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
3:10 to Yuma
Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Brick Lane
Charlie Wilson’s War
Control
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Into the Wild
The Kite Runner
Letters from Iwo Jima
Lust, Caution
No Country for Old Men
Sweeney Todd: [...]

by Andre Soares | January 5, 2008   
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Critics’ Influence on the Oscars

Kevin Spacey, Mena Suvari in American Beauty

Critics and Awards Season: Part I
It’s too bad that U.S. film critics have such short memories — see Jack Mathews‘ top comment in the previous page — as Once is the type of small, foreign film that needs year-end critics’ awards so Academy members can a) become aware of its existence b) check it out. Here’s wondering if voting "compromises," as mentioned by Mathews in his second comment, ended up leaving Once almost totally shut out of the myriad U.S. critics’ lists.
Both Stephen Witty’s and Scott Foundas‘ articles are well worth a read. I do, however, disagree with Foundas’ statement that the Oscar’s "golden luster" has been badly tarnished in recent years. After all, [...]

by Andre Soares | December 31, 2007   
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Critics and Awards Season

Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova in Once

Jack Mathews‘ "Next Up in Oscar Race: Voters Who Matter" in the New York Daily News:
"It’s been fun watching the evolution of the awards, as critics’ groups narrowed the field with their collective awards while breaking the hearts of many of the individual members. Movies that will end up on many top 10 lists didn’t even get a nod of collective approval. When the small Irish musical Once opened in May, it received almost universal praise and with an 88 (out of 100) score on the review collating site metacritic.com, it’s the year’s third best-reviewed film. Only No Country for Old Men and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly rank higher, yet Once is completely [...]

by Andre Soares | December 31, 2007   
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