Referring to the Oscar nominees he said, “Their handsome good looks will fade in time, while our independent personalities will shine on forever.”. All of the nominees for best supporting performance by a female actor were women of color. But hey, you say, Whiplash was one of those! SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- At a Film Independent Spirit Awards that often stood in stark contrast to Sunday's Academy Awards, Lulu Wang's family drama “The Farewell” took the top prize, while Adam Sandler and the Safdie brothers' “Uncut Gems” also landed awards. The film premiered at Sundance in January, where it collected rave reviews and landed a distribution deal with taste-making A24 (who had an excellent year all around, with horror smash Midsommar and another ultimately disappointed awards-hopeful Uncut Gems) for around $6 million. Olivia Wilde won best first feature for her high-school comedy “Booksmart.” A recently created grant for mid-career female filmmakers dubbed the Bonnie Award was also given to Kelly Reichardt ("Wendy and Lucy," “First Cow”). Rather than delivering an inauthentic version of her personal history, she stepped away from trying to make a feature and wound up sharing the tale on an episode of This American Life — where the right producers heard it and were inspired to help her make exactly the movie she wanted to. With Shuzhen Zhao, Awkwafina, X Mayo, Hong Lu. Once in Changchun, Billi struggles to keep the secret, the values and customs of her American upbringing at odds with those of her Chinese heritage. “They are as major as anything.”. ), In his second speech of the afternoon, Baumbach dismissed the idea that independent film and the Spirit Awards are “the minor leagues.”, “To me the movies we’re celebrating here today, they are the movies,” said Baumbach. And just one movie up for best picture on Sunday was nominated for the Spirit Awards’ top prize: Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story." Nobody says it better than Wang herself: “It means so much to receive this honor from AFI, the AMERICAN Film Institute,” the filmmaker tweeted when AFI named the film one of its top 10 of the year. To everyone else: Onward. Though Greta Gerwig's “Little Women” was ineligible, her partner, Baumbach, thanked her from the stage. The ceremony honored two movies that were overlooked by the Oscars in a big way, with The Farewell winning Best Feature and Adam Sandler taking home Best Male Lead for Uncut Gems… “As I look around this room, I realize the Independent Film Spirit Awards are the Best Personality Awards,” Sandler joked. 'The Farewell,' Adam Sandler triumph at Spirit Awards, Senator's mispronunciation of Kamala Harris' name called 'incredibly racist', Melania Trump strikes back at former friend who secretly recorded conversations, Neo-Nazi and Proud Boys groups push Trump campaign poll watching online: Reports, Company faces investigation for allegedly exaggerating role in Operation Warp Speed. Wang referenced the conversation around the dearth of female filmmaker nominated by the Academy Awards in … Writer/director Lulu Wang finds a rich vein of humor in the dark mines of mortality, a rare feat illuminated by the sparkling star turn of Awkwafina, whose performance looks to the future as a bond between East and West, comedy and drama, and generations young and old. But above all, it speaks directly to the experience of so many immigrants who belong to two different places, which can feel like belonging to neither of them. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. THE FAREWELL (A24) Each year, there are movies that I feel were overlooked by major awards bodies. The Farewell may have missed out at this year's Oscars, but Lulu Wang's movie has won two awards including best film at the Independent Spirit Awards. With just days to go until the Academy Awards ceremony, we're breaking down this year’s front-runners, dark horses, and big performances. Why history will remember it better than the Academy did: The Academy has some catching up to do with Hollywood, which in turn has a lot of catching up to do with the human race, but the industry is finally — finally — opening itself up, the tiniest bit more, to artists other than white men.The Farewell will be remembered not only as another step toward greater Asian-American representation onscreen, for which 2018’s smash Crazy Rich Asians was a watershed release, but also as a breakout moment for both Awkwafina and Wang, both major talents who are now poised to launch their careers to new heights. For being relevant in this regard to such an enormous swath of the population, it’s remarkable that there have been so few films, relatively speaking, that address the contemporary American experience in this way — and despite taking place primarily in China and being spoken largely in Mandarin, the film is deeply, distinctly American. Baumbach thanked “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho — the category's expected co-winner on Sunday — for not being nominated for best screenplay. Why it wasn’t nominated: Indies from little-known second-time filmmakers are always a tough sell. While this year’s Oscars only feature one acting nominee of color, the Spirits nominees — including nominations for Alfre Woodard ("Clemency"), Octavia Spencer ("Luce"), Taylor Russell ("Waves") and Jonathan Majors ("The Last Black Man in San Francisco") — were notably more diverse. Metacritic Reviews, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Outstanding Achievement in Casting - Studio or Independent Feature - Comedy, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Film Performance of the Year - Supporting Actress, Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical. Sandler, who received a standing ovation, compared his Oscar “snub” to losing best looking in high school. But the winners — including “Moonlight,” “Spotlight" and “Birdman” — have often lined up. Give them the freaking job!”. A Chinese family discovers their grandmother has only a short while left to live and decide to keep her in the dark, scheduling a wedding to gather before she dies. “The Independent Spirit Awards are always cooler than the Oscars,” said Plaza of the awards put on by Film Independent, a nonprofit group of about 7,000 film enthusiasts. Awkwafina, previously known as a comedic actress and rapper, made her dramatic range clear to the world with her performance in The Farewell (for which she was also named one of EW’s 2019 Entertainers of the Year); her various projects in development include a Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Disney’s live-action Little Mermaid. It stars Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, Zhao Shuzhen, Lu Hong, and Jiang Yongbo. “Though she made a movie too expensive for the Spirit Awards, she’s no less independent than anyone here,” he said. Wang's win came a year after her boyfriend, Barry Jenkins, won best feature at the Spirit Awards for “If Beale Street Could Talk.”, Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP, 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. FAQ The film will also be remembered for having pierced the hearts of all its viewers who have ever loved a wonderful grandmother, or occupied that strange place of pre-grieving that comes with a terminal diagnosis, or not known what they’re doing next in their life. Let the organization play catch-up (and maybe learn how to use Twitter). Ahead of Sunday’s 92nd Oscars ceremony, EW is breaking down the year’s best movies, performances, and directorial achievements that were nominated for nothing. "What women need is just the job. | Awkwafina stars as Billi, a young Chinese American woman struggling to find her way in New York when she finds out that her beloved Chinese grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Shuzhen) has received a terminal cancer diagnosis. The Academy has been making efforts to diversify its membership, but change won’t happen overnight. | The win Saturday for “The Farewell” was a surprise, but also a fitting finale to a Spirit Awards that exalted female filmmakers and put forth a far more diverse field of nominees than the film academy. Wang referenced the conversation around the dearth of female filmmaker nominated by the Academy Awards in her speech. “The Farewell” was shutout by the film academy, which instead heaped nominations on bigger-budget epics including “1917,” “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" and “The Irishman.” The Spirits, the premier awards ceremony for indie film, cap nominees at a budget of $22.5 million. In adherence with Chinese custom, Billi’s family conceals the bad news from Nai Nai herself; to provide themselves with an excuse to gather together in China one last time and say goodbye to the oblivious, ailing matriarch, they hastily plan a wedding for Billi’s cousin. The boutique studio A24 dominated the Spirits, winning trophies for “The Farewell,” “Uncut Gems” and “The Lighthouse.” “Uncut Gems” led all films with three awards, including best performance by a male actor for Sandler, best director for Josh and Ben Safdie, and best editing. Writer/director Lulu Wang finds a rich vein of humor in the dark mines of mortality, a rare feat illuminated by the sparkling star turn of Awkwafina, whose performance looks to the future as a bond between East and West, comedy and drama, and generations young and old. 30 essential albums from the last 30 years, How Awkwafina got in touch with her dramatic side for, Nominated for Nothing: Adam Sandler gave his all in, Nominated for Nothing: Was the Academy scared of, Nominated for Nothing: The Academy should’ve made it rain on. | Offers may be subject to change without notice. "It's the daytime, we're on the beach, we recognize female directors.”. “The Farewell” also won best supporting performance by a female actor for Zhao Shuzhen, the grandmother ("Nai Nai") in the film. This … EW is breaking down the best movies, performances, and directorial achievements that were nominated for nothing at the 2020 Oscars.
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