Nominees for the 33rd annual Film Independent Spirits Awards were feted over brunch at BOA Steakhouse in Los Angeles on January 6. Guests included talent from “Beach Rats,” “Beatriz at Dinner,” “Call Me by Your Name,” “Crown Heights,” “Get Out,” “The Disaster Artist,” “The Florida Project,” “Marjorie Prime,” “Patti Cake$” and more. Film Independent and returning hosts Nick Kroll and John Mulaney will distribute the honors beachside in Santa Monica on March 3 — one day before the Oscars.
“The Disaster Artist” star, director and producer had a jampacked Saturday, stopping by both the BAFTA Tea Party and the Gold Meets Golden event post-brunch.
It’s been nearly a year since the writer-director released his low-budget, history-making debut, “Get Out,” now a serious contender for a Best Picture Oscar nomination and the recipient of $254 million in worldwide box office sales. While awards season campaigning can be tiring, Peele told IndieWire that he’s trying to savor the experience, as a success of such magnitude “can never happen again” and “will never happen again.”
The actress is a 2018 Independent Spirit Award nominee for “Beatriz at Dinner,” which premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. On Tuesday night, Hayek presented an award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival’s gala to “The Shape of Water” director Guillermo del Toro, who also hails from Mexico. “I’m so sad,” her speech began. “I don’t get to tell a story about how fabulous it is working with [del Toro]…because he’s never hired me.” However, Hayek revealed that she had plenty of memories of “getting drunk in his house in Guadalajara” and “singing with mariachis.”
The British actor earned one of two “Get Out” Golden Globe nominations, plus many compliments on his accent from mimosa-drinkers (“It all sounds better when you say it!”
The spouses are nominated for the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay after adapting their real-life romance for the screen (“The Big Sick”). When Nanjiani introduced Gordon to “our competition” — “Donald Cried” co-writer Kyle Espeleta — Gordon turned around and briefly walked away in jest. A new superstition is being observed in the Nanjiani-Gordon household: when they woke up early to watch the Golden Globe announcements live, they were disappointed to learn that they’d been shutout. They’ve had recent, better luck securing SAG and PGA Award kudos for the film, and they will definitely sleep through Oscar nomination announcements on January 23.
A Golden Globe nominee for “Call My by Your Name,” Chalamet posed for a photo with “Get Out” co-star Howery and stayed close to his director, Luca Guadagnino, at the brunch. But he spent most of the event chatting animatedly with Salma Hayek, who tugged on his suede jacket with approval.
The “Search Party” and “Arrested Development” star hosted the brunch with John Cho and helped award filmmakers five grants totaling $150,000.
“Call Me by Your Name” is nominated for three Golden Globes awards. Its director attended the brunch alongside Amazon’s head of movie marketing and distribution, Bob Berney, whose 2018 slate includes new projects from both Guadagnino (“Suspiria”) and his “Call Me” lead, Chalamet (“Blue Boy”).
Cho starred in last year’s Sundance Film Festival hit “Columbus” directed by Kogonada. After North Carolinian producer Summer Shelton claimed she was experiencing “a dance party in my heart” while accepting the $25,000 Piaget Producers Award at the brunch, Cho joked, “So stuck up.”
The “Get Out” actress escaped the East Coast’s “bomb cyclone” snowstorm following the New York Film Critics Circle Awards earlier this week, making in back to LA in time for the Golden Globes and brunchtime bonding with her castmates Daniel Kaluuya and Lil Rel Howery, plus their director, Jordan Peele.
“The Florida Project” mastermind is up for Film Independent Spirit Awards for directing and producing the film, which did not receive recognition on Friday’s PGA Awards shortlist, dwindling its chances for a Best Picture nomination.
The actor won a Golden Globe in 2015 for “The Normal Heart.”
A Best Director Film Independent Spirit Award nominee for “The Rider,” Zhao also left the brunch $50,000 richer, thanks to the first ever Bonnie Award, presented to a mid-career female filmmaker by Film Independent and American Airlines. The award’s namesake, Bonnie Tiburzi — the first woman to pilot a plane for a major American airline — was also in attendance.
Seen here with her “A Fantastic Woman” director, Vega could become the first trans actress to earn an Oscar nomination, thanks to her well-reviewed performance in the Chilean film.
The actress and 2018 Film Independent Spirit Award nominee for “Marjorie Prime” was greeted warmly at the brunch by Salma Hayek
The filmmaker and TV director may have lost out on a $50,000 grant to Chloé Zhao, but she told IndieWire she has several cable series in development.
The Landmark Theatres president and CEO told IndieWire that his chain’s outposts are packed with awards movies right now and business couldn't be better.
The former NFL player is a Film Independent Spirit Award nominee for “Crown Heights.” He’ll likely be joined at the ceremony by his wife, Kerry Washington.
The New Jersey native earned a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for his debut feature, “Patti Cake$.”
The actor is a Film Independent Spirit Award nominee for his performance in “Beach Rats.”
The documentarians caught up while discussing their upcoming projects.
The actress won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar for her leading role in the 1987 film “Anna.”
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