Clients: Michelle Yeoh – Talent; Ke Huy Quan – Talent
The Independent Spirit Awards announced its nominations in film and television on Tuesday morning, where The Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once” led the tally with eight nominations. Right behind was Todd Field’s “Tár” with seven and Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” with five.
Some of the big surprises were a complete shutout of Darren Aronofsky’s “The Whale” and its best actor frontrunner Brendan Fraser. Will that hurt his Oscar chances? Notable names like Jake Gyllenhaal from “Brokeback Mountain” were also snubbed by the organization and went on to receive recognition.
Other notable omissions were Danielle Deadwyler’s stunning performance in Chinonye Chukwu’s “Till,” in addition to James Gray’s “Armageddon Time” and acting hopeful Jeremy Strong. Michael Grandage’s “My Policeman” wasn’t able to nab supporting noms for either Emma Corrin or Harry Styles.
“Women Talking” won the Robert Altman award which is given to one film’s director, casting director and ensemble cast. When awarded, the actors of the film cannot be nominated in the acting categories, which explains the omissions of contenders Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy and Rooney Mara.
Announced by last year’s best actress winner Taylour Paige (“Zola”) and former nominee Raúl Castillo (“We the Animals”), there were several hopefuls that were not eligible for this year’s awards, including several from Netflix (“Bardo,” “The Good Nurse” and “White Noise”). However, the streamer did miss out on a nomination for Germany’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” and France’s “Athena” (which isn’t the official submission for the country).
A24 led the tally for all studios with 24 total noms with Focus Features at a distant second with nine.
Some features, although spoken in the English language, were only eligible for best international feature as they were produced outside of the U.S., including “The Wonder” with Florence Pugh.
Now in its 38th year, the Spirit Awards honor independent voices working outside the major studio system. This also marked the Indie Spirits’ first lineup with gender-neutral acting categories.
409 films were submitted, a record number for the organization. This year the Spirit Awards Film Nominating Committees selected nominees from over 25 different countries. Of all nominated writers and directors, 61% are women and 34% are BIPOC. Of all nominated actors, 70% are women and 27% are BIPOC. And of all 2023 nominees, 51% are women and 33% are BIPOC.
The winners are chosen by members of Film Independent and will be announced on March 4, 2023. Television nominees will be announced on Dec. 13.
The full list of nominees are below.
Best Lead Performance
Michelle Yeoh – “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
Cate Blanchett – “Tár” (Focus Features)
Dale Dickey – “A Love Song” (Bleecker Street)
Mia Goth – “Pearl” (A24)
Regina Hall – “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.” (Focus Features)
Paul Mescal – “Aftersun” (A24)
Aubrey Plaza – “Emily the Criminal” (Roadside Attractions)
Jeremy Pope – “The Inspection” (A24)
Taylor Russell – “Bones and All” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
Andrea Riseborough – “To Leslie” (Momentum Pictures)
Best Supporting Performance
Ke Huy Quan – “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
Jamie Lee Curtis – “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (A24)
Brian Tyree Henry – “Causeway” (A24/Apple Original Films)
Nina Hoss – “Tár” (Focus Features)
Brian D’Arcy James – “The Cathedral” (Mubi)
Trevante Rhodes – “Bruiser” (Onyx Collective)
Theo Rossi – “Emily the Criminal” (Roadside Attractions)
Mark Rylance – “Bones and All” (MGM/United Artists Releasing)
Jonathan Tucker – “Palm Trees and Power Lines” (Momentum Pictures)
Gabrielle Union – “The Inspection” (A24)