Indiepalooza

It’s official: “Winter’s Bone” is this year’s indie darling. Last night, Debra Granik’s bleak little film came up big at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, winning both Best Feature and Best Ensemble Performance at a ceremony that is generally loathe to give repeat winners considering their small number of categories. And today, right on the heels of that honor, “Winter’s Bone” dominated the Independent Spirit Award nominations, snagging 7 nods compared to 5 for “The Kids Are All Right” and 4 each for “Black Swan,” “Rabbit Hole” and “Greenberg.” While the two don’t really have any effect on the other, success of that magnitude at the Indie Spirits has translated into a Best Pic nod at the Oscars in recent years: “Brokeback Mountain,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” “Juno” and “Precious” all cleaned up at the Indie Spirits before they took the big stage. Assuming several of the critics’ groups throw their support Granik’s way (I’m betting we’ll see at least a couple name Jennifer Lawrence Best Actress, and one major group will recognize Debra Granik and Anne Rosselini’s screenplay), and the chances that “Winter’s Bone” squeezes into the 10 are looking very good. I’ll be tickled pink if it does.

In general, the Indie Spirit nominations seem pretty good – I’m particularly pleased that “Greenberg” won’t go the entire awards season without a little love. I find it funny but disconcerting that the Best Female Lead exactly mirrors my current predictions for the Oscars (plus a very deserving Greta Gerwig), which of course means that I’ll need to go change those right away. These people just gave an Oscar to “The Blind Side,” after all – they’re not leaping straight to a slate of indie nominees a year after that.

This year’s Indie Spirit ceremony will be hosted by Joel McHale, known to viewers of “Community” and “The Soup” – as always, I’m much looking forward to it. Guaranteed to be the most laid-back awards show you watch all season. And the nominees are:

Best Feature:

• 127 Hours
• Black Swan
• Greenberg
• The Kids Are All Right
• Winter’s Bone

Best Director:

• Darren Aronofsky, “Black Swan”
• Danny Boyle, “127 Hours”
• Lisa Cholodenko, “The Kids Are All Right”
• Debra Granik, “Winter’s Bone”
• John Cameron Mitchell, “Rabbit Hole”

Best Screenplay:

• Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, “The Kids Are All Right”
• Debra Granik, Anne Rosselini, “Winter’s Bone”
• Nicole Holofcener, “Please Give”
• David Lindsay-Abaire, “Rabbit Hole”
• Todd Solondz, “Life During Wartime”

Best First Feature (given to director and producer):

• Everything Strange and New
• Get Low
• Night Catches Us
• The Last Exorcism
• Tiny Furniture

Best First Screenplay:

• Diane Bell, “Obselidia”
• Lena Dunham, “Tiny Furniture”
• Nik Fackler, “Lovely, Still”
• Bob Glaudini, “Jack Goes Boating”
• Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener, “Monogamy”

John Cassavetes Award (best feature made for under $500,000):

• Daddy Longlegs
• Lovers of Hate
• Obselidia
• The Exploding Girl

Best Female Lead:

• Annette Bening, “The Kids Are All Right”
• Greta Gerwig, “Greenberg”
• Nicole Kidman, “Rabbit Hole”
• Jennifer Lawrence, “Winter’s Bone”
• Natalie Portman, “Black Swan”
• Michelle Williams, “Blue Valentine”

Best Male Lead:

• Ronald Bronstein, “Daddy Longlegs”
• Aaron Eckhart, “Rabbit Hole”
• James Franco, “127 Hours”
• John C. Reilly, “Cyrus”
• Ben Stiller, “Greenberg”

Best Supporting Female:

• Ashley Bell, “The Last Exorcism”
• Dale Dickey, “Winter’s Bone”
• Allison Janney, “Life During Wartime”
• Daphne Rubin-Vega, “Jack Goes Boating”
• Naomi Watts, “Mother and Child”

Best Supporting Male:

• John Hawkes, “Winter’s Bone”
• Samuel L. Jackson, “Mother and Child”
• Bill Murray, “Get Low”
• John Ortiz, “Jack Goes Boating”
• Mark Ruffalo, “The Kids Are All Right”

Best Cinematography:

• Adam Kimmel, “Never Let Me Go”
• Matthew Libatique, “Black Swan”
• Jody Lee Lipes, “Tiny Furniture”
• Michael McDonough, “Winter’s Bone”
• Harris Savides, “Greenberg”

Best Documentary:

• Exit Through the Gift Shop
• Marwencol
• Sweetgrass
• Restrepo
• Thunder Soul

Best Foreign Film:

• Kisses (Ireland)
• Mademoiselle Chambon (France)
• Of Gods and Men (Morocco)
• The King’s Speech (United Kingdom)
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand)

Robert Altman Award (given to a film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast):

• Please Give