4:38 pm Film Independent’s new tag line: Our show ends on time! 4:35 pm Bye, Kristen!
4:30 pm Birdman cast and crew come into the press room. Keaton jokes that when Iñárritu and Lubezki were speaking Spanish to eachother, he understood everything! 4:24 pm 4:20 pm Iñárritu gets choked up: “I think all these films were an act of love.” (Perhaps he didn’t hear Lubezki call him “a pain in the ass.”) 4:18 pm Best Feature goes to… Birdman! 4:13 pm Julianne tells the press room: “We wanted to make a movie about living with something, not about dying from it.” 4:08 pm 4:07 pm Best Male Lead goes to… Michael Keaton! 4:04 pm Julianne gets choked up, talks about how indie Still Alice truly was: “I brought my own bras and my own food.” 4:03 pm Best Female Lead goes to… Julianne Moore. No-one is surprised. 3:56 pm Laura Poitras sums up the state of government surveillance in one word: dire. 3:56 pm Ethan Hawke on behalf of Linklater gives a shout out to radical vision. 3:54 pm Best Director goes to… Richard Linklater! 3:53 pm Scar-Jo! 3:49 pm Bennet Miller pulls a Marshawn Lynch in the press room. That’s okay, he’s still an amazing director. 3:46 pm Best Doc goes to… CITIZENFOUR! 3:43 pm Bennett Miller reads supposed note from PTA: “I feel bad… My apologies to American Airlines. It was actually United.” Spirit Award sponsors laugh especially loud. 3:40 pm The press room gets unexpectedly serious when Dan Gilroy answers a question about the film’s larger themes: “We live in a time of hyper capitalism, where the strong are exploiting the weak. I think that’s where we are at the moment, and it’s a dangerous place to be.” Where’s Jared Leto’s funny jacket when you need it? 3:36 pm Special Distinction Award goes to… Foxcatcher. Yay for the most under-appreciated film of awards season! 3:33 pm J.K. arrives in the pressroom. Q: Given your roles in Spiderman and Whiplash, are fans terrified of you? J.K.: “Sometimes. Which I enjoy.” 3:26 pm Best Screenplay goes to… Dan Gilroy! Nightcrawler: 2. 3:25 pm Inner Monologue Cam kills in the press room. Best lines: Emma Stone: “I told Oprah I saw Selma, but didn’t and she can totally tell…” and Kristen Wiiig, “Usually I’m the most talented Kristen in the room.” 3:25 pm Jared Leto makes a surprise appearance in the press room! “You guys miss me this year?” Bloggers Mary and Pamela giggle and cheer. 3:20 pm 3:15 pm Best Supporting Male… J.K. Simmons! 3:13 pm Jared Leto’s jacket is amazing, but we miss the hair. 3:08 pm 3:10 pm Nightcrawler co-director Aaron Katz, taking the press room stage with his producers, says, “We wish our actors could have been here today, because they’re way more entertaining than we are.” 3:05 pm First tears of the day: Rene Russo. 3:04 pm Best First Feature goes to … Dan Gilroy for Nightcrawler! 3:02 pm Cassavetes Award goes to… Land Ho! Kudos to film Independent Fellow Mynette Louie! 3:01 pm Pawlikowski tells the press his film “made no commercial sense whatsoever, so these awards are great encouragement to others to take risks.” 2:53 pm Ida Director Pawel Pawlikowski: “I realize were’re at independent event when we were queueing up for toilet. There were 15 people in front of me. I felt very at home! 2:51 pm Best International Film goes to… Ida. Yay, Poland! 2:39 pm Inherent Vice wins Robert Altman Award. Inexplicably, on stage, Joaquin tries desperately to hide behind the rest of the cast. 2:38 pm Happy/Sad 30th anniversary montage. Happy: “I like this independent thing,” says Bill Murray. Sad: Phillip Seymour Hoffman. 2:34 pm The press asks Justin about that state of race relations since the movie: “incrementally better but not terribly different? We still have a long way to go. He reveals that he’s rather make Dear White People, the TV show, than a sequel. “So if you know anybody, pass the word on.” 2:31 pm 2:28 pm Dear Not White Filmmaker People: “I started writing this movie 10 years ago bcause did not see myself relected in the culture. I tried to put myself in the culture. That can be difficult. There’s nothing there to tell you that your belong there. This means so much to me because I feel like I do belong…. If you don’t see yourself in the culture, please put yourself there because we need you. We need to see world through your eyes.” 2:26 pm Best First Screenplay… Justin Simien! Yay Project Involve! 2:17 pm Patricia smartly points out that distributors are the ones who deserve an award. 2:16 pm “Was that God?”—Patricia’s riff on audio glitch. “She sounds great!” 2:13 pm Best Supporting Female… Patricia Arquette! 2:07 pm Biggest laugh so far: Goofing on Birdman’s full title by revealing the full names of other nominated films: Dear White People (Or Attention Whole Foods Shoppers.) Boyhood (Or I Hope That Kid Doesn’t Grow Up Fat). 2:05 pm 2:04 pm Love the Birdman spoof that starts the show—rumor has it they shot it yesterday! 1:51 pm Kudos to Common for Tux of the Day.
1:50 pm Mingling music brought to you by the Silversun Pickups. 1:45 pm Lubezki to Iñárritu: “You’re a pain in the ass but one of the greatest directors I’ve ever worked with.” 1:41 pm Birdman’s Emmanuel Lubezki takes the cinematography award. No-one is surprised. 1:37 pm First award of the day: Best Editing goes to Tom Cross for Whiplash. 1:35 pm The pre-show awards are about to be handed out. Fred warns winners to limit speeches to Twitter length. 1:31 pm Oh wait, the swooning was for David Oyelowo. Sorry, Jon Hamm.
1:26 pm Oprah!
1:25 pm Best Female Lead front-runner Julianne Moore looks so happy to be here!
1:22 pm Ladies swoon. Jon Hamm must be here. 1:20 pm Oprah and David Oyelowo meet up. Chaos ensues. 1:18 pm OPRAH sighting! 1:16 pm A debate breaks out in the press room over who’s style is coolest: Andre or Ana Lily Amirpour.
1:04 pm Calm, cool and smiley nominee J.K. Simmons—looking the polar opposite of Fletcher—says everyone here at the Spirit Awards is here for the right reasons.
1:01 pm “This time last year we weren’t even green lit,” Selma writer/director Ava DuVernay tells someone on the carpet. 1:00 pm Jena Malone is not taking this seriously.
12:58 pm Boyhood’s first arrival: Patricia Arquette.
12:52 pm Blogger Mary’s roommate Anna swears Michael Keaton just waved at her. 12:51 pm Cate Blanchett is radiant in her Blue Jasmine-inspired gown.
12:43 pm The prettiest member of Team Birdman: Best Supporting Female nominee Emma Stone.
12:41 pm Birdman in the house. Do we have an award for Most Rakish Director? 12:36 pm Aaron seems to have put that little playoff loss thing behind him.
12:32 pm Here’s one for Awesome People Hanging Out Together: Andre Benjamin (Best Male Lead nominee for Jimi: All Is By My Side) and Adrien Brody.
12:24 pm Team Obvious Child: Funny lady Jenny Slate (Best Female Lead nominee) helps her writer/director Gillian Robespierre (Best First Feature nominee) navigate the carpet.
12:17 pm Fred jokes that his biggest plan for the show is a half hour long In Memoriam. 12:15 pm Fred does not want to be late. 11:56 am Newsflash! Newsroom star Olivia Munn has arrived! Rumor has it, Packers QB/Munn Arm Candy Aaron Rogers will be by her side in a front-row seat.
11:53 Best First Screenplay nominee Desiree Akhavan (writer, director and star of Appropriate Behavior) glams up the carpet.
11:47 am So cool! Orlando von Einsiedel, director of Virunga, brought the film’s hero, the caretaker of the gorillas, Andre Bauma. 11:41 am Best Supporting Female Nominee for her work in A Most Violent Year, Jessica Chastain greets fans and signs autographs on the outskirts of the carpet. 11:38 am Our president is more dapper than your president. Josh Welsh exemplifies our ambiguous dress code.
11:33 am Man from Reno director Dave Boyle, nominated for the John Cassavetes Award, walks the carpet with one of the film’s stars Pepe Serna, wearing a resplendent purple suit. Boyle praises the Cassavetes Award as one of the only accolades out there recognizing really small movies. PS. Man from Reno, which premiered at the 2014 LA Film Fest, was picked up yesterday by Gravitas Ventures. 11:26 am Nominees are starting to trickle in. Ira Sachs, Love is Strange director, and Andrea Suarez Paz, Best Supporting Female (Stand Clear of the Closing Doors) stop by to chat with Ben Lyons, host of the official arrival show on Yahoo Screen. 11:25 am A sneak peek inside the tent 11:07 am The fans can’t wait to see their favorite stars walk down the magenta carpet!
11:00 am Welcome to the Film Independent Spirit Awards! The surfers are bobbing around in the Pacific, the tent is filled with fabulousness, and our team of bloggers are in their places and ready to rock. Live Blog Contributors: Cristhian Barron, Michelle Buchman, Diana Buendia, Chris Lombardi, Mary Sollosi, Pamela Miller, Hope Winsborough
