It’s hard not to be happy if you receive an award, especially one so great as the Independent Spirit Award. Yesterday the annual awards show took place in Santa Monica where a mixture of the mainstream and independent cinema crowd all curled up together under one tent to honor all those movies that were voted the best of the year.
After some of the filmmakers and actors received their awards they were brought over to the press room where we talked to them about taking home the wonderfully crafted statue. Easily one of the happiest recipients of them all was screenwriter Will Reiser who won the award for Best First Screenplay for “50/50.” When asked about what was the best part of winning the Independent Spirit Award, he said, “I was looking over the list of writers who have won this award and it really is a prestigious list of names and writers who have had major influences in my work. To be listed is an honor.”
Another couple of recipients who won at this year’s awards show for the first time includes writer/director Dee Rees and producer Nekisa Cooper for their breakout film “Pariah.” Of course the two were honored to be winning the award, but Nekisa had her head held high before she even got the statue in her hands. “We were already winners walking in, us and the rest of the nominees. When you make a film for half a million dollars you’re already a winner so we feel really grateful that our film is being recognized.”
Then we go to Christopher Plummer, a person in the awards race that’s a force to be reckoned with. Ever since the season began he’s been plowing through all the ceremonies, winning almost every nomination he’s received for his role in the touching film “Beginners.” Although he wouldn’t speak about how he felt the day before the 84th annual Academy Awards, but he’s happy to see how much recognition the movie is getting in general because it wasn’t a mega-box office hit like some of the other films. Though the role may have been challenging to take on, playing a widower who comes out of the closet before being diagnosed with a fatal disease, he has writer/director Mike Mills to thank for it all. “He had written him with such affection, with such lack of self-pity that it was fun to do. It made me feel relaxed.”
We can’t talk about this year’s Independent Spirit Awards without touching upon “The Artist” who unsurprisingly walked home with a total of four statues. When they were asked about why the movie was so successful, producer Thomas Langmann joked that it was due to Harvey Weinstein’s weight. A short amount of words were spoken by “The Artist” director Michel Hazanavicius, perhaps having to do with the fact that he’s possibly saving his big speech for later on today. We’ll just have to wait and see when the 84th Annual Academy Awards are shown this evening.
