The Independent Spirit Awards Stuck It To The Oscars

Saturday was not just the night of the best and most glamorous awards, the Razzies, it was also the Independent Spirit Awards. The Independent Spirit Awards, unlike the Oscars, were ALL about diversity. Hosts Kate McKinnon and Kumail Nanjiani joked in their opening:

“Tonight we’re going to do everything we can’t do at the Oscars, baby. We’re going to cuss, we’re going to flash some nip. We’re gonna nominate some people who aren’t white! Tonight’s nominees are more diverse than the cover of a brochure for a liberal arts college. While the Oscar nominees are as diverse as the actual student body of a liberal arts college.”

Here’s their opening, but be warned, it’s a long one!

The best part of that clip are the shots from the audience like Sean Penn looking like a dried mud creature while trying not to be amused at the jokes (at the 1:49 mark). And the camera person and Kate McKinnon both messed up by mistaking Tom Cruise for one of the stars of Anamolisa. That’s Little Tommy standing on the table at the 4:17 mark, right?

The main awards went to Abraham Attah (Best Male Lead) and Idris Elba (Best Supporting Male) for Beasts of No Nation, Mya Taylor (Best Supporting Female) for Tangerine, becaming the first transgender actress to win a major award, and Brie Larson (Best Female Lead) for Room. But Spotlight, the journalism thriller I thought working at DListed would be like, was the big winner. It picked up awards for Best Feature, Best Director for Tom McCarthy, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, and the Robert Altman Award for Best Ensemble.

And the list of the winners is after the cut (in bold, duh):

Best Feature
Anomalisa
Beasts of No Nation
Carol
Spotlight
Tangerine

Best Director
Sean Baker, Tangerine
Cary Joji Fukunaga, Beasts of No Nation
Todd Haynes, Carol
Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson, Anomalisa
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight 
David Robert Mitchell, It Follows

Best Screenplay
Charlie Kaufman, Anomalisa
Donald Margulies, The End of the Tour
Phyllis Nagy, Carol
Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer, Spotlight
S. Craig Zahler, Bone Tomahawk

Best First Feature
The Diary of a Teenage Girl  
James White
Manos Sucias
Mediterranea
Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Best First Screenplay
Jesse Andrews, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Jonas Carpignano, Mediterranea
Emma Donoghue, Room
Marielle Heller, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
John Magary, Russell Harbaugh & Myna Joseph, The Mend

Best Male Lead
Christopher Abbott, James White
Abraham Attah, Beasts of No Nation 
Ben Mendelsohn, Mississippi Grind
Jason Segel, The End of the Tour
Koudous Seihon, Mediterranea

Best Female Lead
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room 
Rooney Mara, Carol
Bel Powley, The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Tangerine

Best Supporting Male
Kevin Corrigan, Results
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation  
Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes

Best Supporting Female
Robin Bartlett, H.
Marin Ireland, Glass Chin
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anomalisa
Cynthia Nixon, James White
Mya Taylor, Tangerine  

Best Documentary
(T)error
Best of Enemies
Heart of a Dog
The Look of Silence 
Meru
The Russian Woodpecker

Best International Film
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Embrace of the Serpent
Girlhood
Mustang
Son of Saul 

Best Cinematography
Beasts of No Nation
Carol 
It Follows
Meadlowland
Songs My Brothers Taught Me

Best Editing
Heaven Knows What
It Follows
Manos Sucias
Room
Spotlight  

John Cassavetes Award (Best Feature Under $500,000)
Advantageous
Christmas, Again
Heaven Knows What
Krisha  
Out of My Hand

Here’s a thousand pictures from last night:

Pics: Wenn, Getty