Podcast: Spirited Spirit Discussion
Sunday, December 1, 2013 at 10:00PM 
In this week's episode, Nick channels that THR Hollywood Actress Roundtable (previously live-blogged) and Nathaniel, Katey, and Joe join in but eventually it comes around to this week's topic: Spirit Award nominations.
We haven't seen all the films but the best thing about the Spirit Awards is advocacy for smaller titles you might not be familiar with. Are they shirking that privilege and responsibility with the focus on so many future Oscar nominees in the last few years? The discussion includes but is not limited to: Inside Llewyn Davis, Afternoon Delight, Mud, Upstream Color, Frances Ha, Fruitvale Station, All is Lost, Computer Chess, Short Term 12, Blue Caprice, and Spring Breakers.
You can listen at the bottom of the post or download it on iTunes. Join in the conversation in the comments.
Reader Comments (11)
As an Auburn fan who was at the game, I appreciated the shout out from the rest of the team, wasn't expecting that!
Shame no love for The Bling Ring, especially when that was one of the last things Harris Savides ever did. I was expecting that getting a Cinematography nod.
Can Megan Ellison really 'push' a movie as a person in production and not in the distributing business? She has Her and American Hustle, and I remember hearing whispers about whether she was passively favoring one over the other. I was always under the assumption the Spring Breakers work was in A24's hands and maybe she just never agreed with them on certain things.
I follow her on Twitter but I remember her constantly tweeting about the soundtrack (FYC: Cliff Martinez and Skrillex) even weeks after the film's release and there was talk in the trades she was going to do another project with Harmony Korine.
I feel like Joe's joke didn't get the proper reception in the 'cast, maybe cuz it was near the end and y'all were tuckered out, but the thing about The Spirit being about an Indie Spirit voter who rights wrongs bears repeating. I just about died (from laughing.)
I totally support Nathaniel's defense of Gloria, Mud, and James Franco. Now I see you as my own personal defense attorney. You're my Julianna Margulies.
@CMG: But she was sitting right here, talking to me!
I wish I could verify a source -- I think it was in the same article I mentioned in a previous Ellison-related conversation, about the pro's and con's of her deep-pocketed producing style -- but I remember reading that she was less than fully enchanted with Spring Breakers as it took shape and ultimately took more of a backseat role and/or purposely distributed producing duties among a wider group of people. But as with any "I read this on the internet..." memory, I don't blame you for taking this with a grain of salt if you remember something more concrete that suggested otherwise. I do imagine one could have reservations about the film and still promote the soundtrack actively, especially as the producer. I'll ask her at the next brunch, or Brad will.
Clearly none of you have been paying attention to my box office columns, where I've been championing Wadjda almost on a weekly basis ;)
It's a sure bet for best foreign film nomination, which will be richly deserved, and it also features one of the best child/female performances of the year.
Re: pronunciation, the first D is silent. It's the little girl's name in the film.
Nick- Actually I heard this today from other critics so either it has spread or it is verifiably true. The thing is she is pretty super private and close to the vest that it seems like news whenever she comments on her movie, publicly or privately. There also oddly seems to be a bullseye on her, for what you mentioned in an earlier podcast, with not a lot of people liking her business model. I can see why something of a sleeper hit (Who ever thought Harmony Korine could make a movie that for a weekend was in the Box Office Top Ten?) might have her doubters try to take wind out of her sails. That said, I don't think she'll ever bankroll a movie that gets distributed from a house as green or small-ish as A24 (they seem too alike to work together if that makes sense) again. The rest of her movies have been TWC/Sony/WB.
Also, tell Ms. Ellison to make Brad the DP on her next film. Even the Rogen/Goldberg one.
I love the way Nick worded what he said about Frances Ha and its relative lack of nominations -- for all its merits, it absolutely is one of those instances where the sum is greater than its (admittedly outstanding) parts. Everything comes together in a near-perfect little film, but I don't know that its cinematography, for example, is so great it would deserve a top-5 mention, or that any one performance outside of Gerwig's needs a top-5 citation. The Gerwig exclusion hurts, particularly when the film's initial showings in late 2012 seemed to position this as her major breakthrough that just hasn't fully materialized.
In a perfect world, Debie would take the cinematography prize in a walk, though I'm sure the populist-leaning (read: Oscar-watching) voting body of the Spirits will default to 12 Years or Llewyn Davis for that particular award.
I've seen four of the five International Film releases (missing only A Touch of Sin) and I'd recommend all four to varying degrees. You've discussed Blue/Gloria and the Hunt is well-known, but I'll also put in a little word for The Great Beauty, which is a gorgeous meditative look at life in the big city, success and its discontents, and the way that people and cities change over time.
Watching it, I'm reminded of the line from Sondheim's Company, which I'll paraphrase (and which, fear not, is not a spoiler), "I think there's a time to come to [Rome] and a time to leave."
A big thank you to Nathaniel for finally putting words to my thoughts re the performances in 12 Years a Slave: the Quadrangle! The film works because of the dynamics between those four actors. outside of Lupita, the performances were good but not stand-outs. Hope it wins Best PIc and Director.