Well, here they are. The nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards have arrived. Last year, I got 9/14, or 64%. I’m gonna try to do better this year.

BEST FEATURE

Birdman
Boyhood
Love is Strange
Selma
Whiplash

Of the three that I’ve seen, I prefer Birdman, which will probably win.

BEST DIRECTOR

Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Ava DuVernay, Selma
Alejandro G. Iñårritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
David Zellner, Kumiko, Treasure Hunter

Iñarritu has this hands down.

BEST SCREENPLAY

Big Eyes
A Most Violent Year
Nighcrawler
Only Lovers Left Alive
Love is Strange

Fun fact: All 5 screenplays are original. I think it will either be A Most Violent Year or Nightcrawler. I’m leaning towards the former.

FIRST FEATURE

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Dear White People
Nightcrawler
Obvious Child
She’s Lost Control

Nightcrawler is my prediction.

FIRST SCREENPLAY

Appropriate Behavior
Dear White People
Little Accidents
The One I Love
She’s Lost Control

Not sure. Um, maybe She’s Lost Control. And I’m assuming ‘She’ is Amy Adams finding out she’s no longer the frontrunner for Best Actress

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (AKA BEST MOVIE MADE REAL CHEAP):

Blue Ruin
It Felt Like Love
Land Ho!
Man From Reno
Test

Uh, probably Blue Ruin. I’ve heard good things about it.

BEST FEMALE LEAD:

Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi, Kumino, The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Jenny Slate, Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton, Only Lovers Left Alive

Moore is the only now who’s really in the Oscar conversation, so I’m voting for her.

BEST MALE LEAD:

André Benjamin, Jimi: All is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
John Lithgow, Love is Strange
David Oyelowo, Selma

I’m rooting for Keaton, but Oyelowo or Gyllenhaal

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE:

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo, Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz, Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone, Birdman

Arquette all the way.

BEST SUPPORTING MALE:

Riz Ahmed, Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Alfred Molina, Love is Strange
Edward Norton, Birdman
J. K. Simmons, Whiplash

Here’s hoping nobody saw Simmons in the movie and later told him, ‘Good job’. Simmons for the win.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Birdman
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
The Immigrant
It Felt Like Love
Selma

No Roger Deakins, so Birdman is the easy winner.

BEST EDITING:

Boyhood
The Guest
A Most Violent Year
Nightcrawler
Whiplash

Having seen Whiplash, I’m rooting for that to win.

BEST DOCUMENTARY:

20,000 Days on Earth
CITIZENFOUR
Stray Dog
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga

Heard to was good.

INTERNATIONAL FILM:

Force Majeure
Ida
Leviathan
Mommy
Norte, the End of History

Ditto what I said for Documentary.

FINAL PREDICTIONS:

Feature: Birdman

Director: Alejandro G. Iñårritu, Birdman
Screenplay: A Most Violent Year

First Feature: Nightcrawler
First Screenplay: She’s Lost Control

John Cassavetes Award: Blue Ruin

Actress: Julianne Moore, Still Alice

Actor: Michael Keaton, Birdman

Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Supporting Actor: J. K. Simmons, Whiplash

Cinematography: Birdman
Editing: Whiplash

Documentary: CITIZENFOUR

Foreign Film: Leviathan

And before I go, just know that I have a lot of blogging to do over Thanksgiving break. For one, I recently saw Whiplash and Noah, and both need reviews. I may see Foxcatcher and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 at some point, too. Plus, there’s the hassle of Thanksgiving Day, and then there’s that insignificant thing, what’s it called? Ah yes, homework. So, I’ve got a busy break, but I was recently looking on Netflix and I saw two movies that caught my attention. The Immigrant and Ida. Both are nominated here, and both are supposed to be good. But, just assuming that I only get the