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« What did you see this week... or are you waiting for Thanksgiving like Hollywood? | Main | Almost There: Paul Dano in "Love & Mercy" »
Tuesday
Nov222022

'Everything Everywhere' and all over the Spirit Award Nominations

by Nathaniel R

A24's restless inventive sleeper hit Everything Everywhere All At Once continues to win. It's now the leader at the 38th annuel Independent Spirit Awards with 8 nominations and all four of its principal actors were nominated. In second place is Tár with seven nominations. Aftersun missed a couple categories we thought it might hit but it still did very well with five nominations overall.  Love for the rest of the eligible movies was more measured but Bones and All, The Inspection, The Cathedral, and Women Talking also showed up in a few places. 

Since the Spirit Awards have a budget cap ($30 million now) many key potential Oscar players weren't eligible including most Netflix titles as well as presumed Oscar players like The Fabelmans, Banshees of Inisherin, Empire of Light   and naturally all of the spectacle blockbusters. The Spirit Awards rule also deny international cinema the chance to compete in major categories, relegating them to a single "international" category... 

Best Feature

ABOUT THAT SEPARATION OF INTERNATIONAL FEATURES / AMERICAN FEATURES AGAIN...

Here's one of the reasons the rules separating international from main categories are so silly. The lines are way too gray to do this in contemporary very global cinema. AMPAS eventually realized they had to loosen their own rules about specific countries in their "Best International Feature Film" category by allowing for non-indigenous languages and then loosening up further and making it slightly more vague about constituted enough creative input from that country specificially. But they always allowed international films in the normal categories as long as they played in the US (totally fair). The Globes also got into a little media trouble classifying The Farewell and Minari as "foreign" despite both being from American directors.

Somehow Film Independent Spirit Awards and Gotham Awards have never been taken to similar task for the arbitrary-ness of separating these things. For example this year Our Father the Devil (which only shows up in this top category) is directed by a Cameroonian American (hence eligible in all the main categories and NOT considered "international") and yet it has some of its funding from France and takes place in France and is in the French-language. Meanwhile Aftersun, from a Scottish director is considered American (due to partial US funding) but The Wonder (also in English) from Ireland with a Chilean director is considered International but wasn't nominated (it's best bet was always going to be Florence Pugh but she wasn't eligible due to that "international" tag. 

 

Best Director

After Yang 

Thrilled about the Kogonada nomination. After Yang is officially 2022's most underrated beauty. For those who liked Halina Reijn's work on Bodies Bodie Bodies, we recommend checking out her Dutch Oscar submission Instinct (2019)

 

Best First Feature

Aftersun

Aftersun is looking to sweep "first feature" and "debut director" style prizes, isn't it? It's interesting that Palm Trees and Power Lines did so well with the Spirit Awards. It's played at lots of small festivals since Sundance but is still waiting on a release date. It's looking like it will be sometime in 2023 from the ironically named Momentum Pictures. (Just kidding. We know budges for small indie distributors are always a challenge as the market is not in their favor) 

 

Best Lead Performance

 

It'll be interesting to see if Cate Blanchett can triumph here. She already has three Spirit Awards (two individual acting prizes (Blue Jasmine, I'm Not There) and one Robert Altman prize (I'm Not There) or if the Spirits go in a more "independent" direction.

Paul Mescal and Jeremy Pope are the only men competing in this newly gender neutral category. (Young rising male stars have long been a fixture at the Spirit Awards though Oscar voters don't tend to be enthused.)

 

Best Supporting Performance 

The big surprise here is surely Trevante Rhodes from Bruiser. The film has played just three festivals (TIFF, AFI, and Stockholm) and hasn't garnered much buzz.

The Women Talking cast members are all honored together in the non-competitive annual "Robert Altman Award" 

 

Breakthrough Performance

Stephanie Hsu in "Everything Everywhere All At Once"

With Hsu's placement here, the entire central quartet of Everything Everywhere All At Once is nominated! That table is going to be having a time at the Spirit Awards. 

 

Best Screenplay 

GORGEOUS LINEUP, don'cha think? 

 

Best First Screenplay

Fun to see Fire Island here. "First" categories often have interesting lineups because it forces awards bodies to think out of the primary lines drawn. 

 

Best Cinematography

Neptune Frost

  • Aftersun
  • “Murina”
  • “Neptune Frost”
  • “Pearl”
  • TÁR

TÁR is the only film in the top category to appear here. But that's a relatively fun thing about the Spirits is that the Best Film category doesn't tend to monopolize the other categories. 

 

Best Editing

 

Robert Altman Award

 

Best Documentary

 

Best International Film

Saint Omer 

  • Corsage” (Austria)
  • Joyland” (Pakistan)
  • “Leonor Will Never Die” (Phillipines)
  • “Return to Seoul” (Cambodia)
  • Saint Omer” (France)

All but Leonor Will Never Die are Oscar submissions this year. 

 

Someone to Watch Award

  • Adamma Ebo, “Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul”
  • Nikyatu Jusu, “Nanny”
  • Araceli Lemos, “Holy Emy”

The nominees here make you wonder why they don't just expand the Best First Feature category to 10 nominees? These are all also first features for their directors who previously made short films. 

 

Truer Than Fiction Award

  • Isabel Castro, “Mija”
  • Reid Davenport, “I Didn’t See You There”
  • Rebeca Huntt, “Beba (Bayba)”

 

John Cassavetes Award

A Love Song

This prize is for films that were made for under $1 million (it used to be a $500k cap)

 

Producers Award

  • Liz Cardenas
  • Tory Lenosky
  • David Grove Churchill Viste

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Reader Comments (12)

Go get that Oscar Jamie Lee,the closer we get to the big night the bigger feeling I get that Curtis might win in a career honour type way.

November 22, 2022 | Registered CommenterMr Ripley79

I still wish they had male/female categories but both are strong lists.

November 22, 2022 | Registered CommenterMr Ripley79

Very happy with these overall.

November 22, 2022 | Registered Commentereurocheese

If we had 8 men and 2 women Twitter would be in flames. Winning best supporting anything feels more like a lottery now than ever. I don't like at all.

November 22, 2022 | Registered CommenterPeggy Sue

Theo Rossi, Trevante Rhodes, Jeremy Pope, Jonathan Tucker - could this be the sexiest group of nominees?

November 22, 2022 | Registered CommenterTony L

Considering Women Talking couldn't get its actors nominated, it did amazing as well.

November 22, 2022 | Registered CommenterLucky

So very happy for the cast and crew of EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE. So glad its momentum has kept up so well.

November 22, 2022 | Registered CommenterRyan T.

Looking good for Jamie Lee Curtis.

November 22, 2022 | Registered CommenterPeggy Sue

The idea of gender neutral acting categories is such a letdown.

I really really hope Oscars never go that route.
Can't imagine many people liking the move either.
Oscar fanatics, actors and even casual watchers would be up in arms, for sure.

November 22, 2022 | Registered CommenterLuca Rizotto

Luca -- i hope so too. It flattens everything. and less awards for actors (the most visible part of a movie and the one the public understands the best) just makes it all less glamorous and less exciting.

Peggy/mrripley -- i'm not quite convinced about a nomination but i'm still hoping!

November 23, 2022 | Registered CommenterNATHANIEL R

Nat : I am not convinced either - I think she JUST misses at the end - but I can't help but feel that the industry owes her this.

November 23, 2022 | Registered CommenterMichael R

I don't mind the non-gendered categories. I just wish they would still give out 2 lead and 2 supporting prizes.

November 25, 2022 | Registered CommenterJulian
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