Friday, February 22, 2008

Jake and the Spirit Awards

Every year since 1986 on the day before the Oscar ceremony, Film Independent's Spirit Awards are held on the beach in Santa Monica.

Keeping with its roots and L.A. location, the Spirit Awards take place each year inside a beachfront tent in Santa Monica, California. The Spirit Awards is a celebration of independent filmmakers who bring a unique vision and a spirit of independence to filmmaking.

While nominated in the Lead Actor category in 2002 for his role in Donnie Darko, Jake Gyllenhaal didn't attend the Spirit Awards that year. He was in London at the time performing in and winning accolades for This Is Our Youth. The award went to Tom Wilkinson for his role in In The Bedroom.

The following year, 2003, Jake DID attend the Spirit Awards with Maggie as his date.


Along with Minnie Driver, Jake presented the John Cassavetes award to Rebecca Miller for her work on Personal Velocity: Three Portraits.


In 2004, even though he wasn't nominated, Jake had the good fortune to be associated with two films nominated in several categories and winning in two - The Good Girl and Lovely & Amazing. Emily Mortimer, his co-star in Lovely & Amazing won in the Best Supporting Female category and Mike White, his co-star in The Good Girl won the Best Screenplay award. Maggie Gyllenhaal was also nominated that year for Secretary.


Jake and Emily Mortimer presenting the Best First Feature award to the producers and director of Monster.


In 2005, while in the midst of filming Jarhead, Jake made an appearance at the Spirit Awards looking squeaky clean and freshly shorn.


He and Bridget Moynahan were on hand to give out the Special Distinction Award to the cast of Mean Creak.


Later, Bridget and Selma Blair fought over Jake in the Green Room.


In 2006, while Ang Lee was winning a Spirit Award for Best Director and Diana Ossana and James Schamus were winning for Best Feature for Brokeback Mountain, at that very same time Jake was across town rehearsing for the Oscars.


Jake wasn't nominated at the Spirit Awards that year, but Heath and Michelle were.


Due to a rigorous east coast Zodiac publicity tour, Jake didn't make it to either the Spirit Awards or the Oscars in 2007. That year, Michelle Williams was nominated for a Spirit Award in the Best Female Lead category for her work in Land of Plenty, a movie she had made several years before. She and Heath were there.


I don't know if Jake plans to be on the beach in Santa Monica for the 23rd Annual Film Independent's Spirit Awards, but I do know the eight-member ensemble of I'm Not There will be receiving the inaugural Robert Altman Award. Announced at the Spirit Awards last year, the honor is given to the director, casting agent and cast of an outstanding indie movie. How I wish the entire cast of the movie were going to be there.




Photos courtesy of IHJ, HLL and WI

34 comments:

UltraViolet said...

I love this post. Love Indie It Boy Jake. I can't believe he didn't win for DD. Sure, Tom Wilkinson was good, but that movie was so overrated. And DD is exactly the kind of movie these awards shold reward!

That last line of yours is a killer, though. It's so sad that Heath won't be there. "I'm Not There" is far too ironic a title now.

Oh, and FYI - on the East Coast, E! is currently airing a half hour special about Heath. I'm not sure if it will be repeated, though E! tends to show these things over and over. I'll post if I see other times for it. I can't believe it's been a month :(

Anonymous said...

Great post, FL. I wish the whole cast of I'm Not There could be there too.

It was fun seeing Jake change in the three years at the awards. And I love the picture of Bridget and Selma.


The second picture with Minnie Driver, Jake looked like he was perfecting his smolder.:)

Anonymous said...

What a great post FL, I too can't believe Jake didn't win for Donnie Darko, he gave such a great performance in that and it will always be a cult classic I think.

Anonymous said...

Love this post FL! And yes Jake should have won the the award that year for DD, he was incredible in that movie.

Thanks for the heads up on the E/Heath special U.

Anonymous said...

I will be watching the Indie Spirit awards tonight on IFC and thinking about Heath.

Cate Blanchette is favored to win best s. actress tomorrow for I'm Not There.

Anonymous said...

OT: carried over from the previous post and Rendition: Waterboarding and the Justice Dept.:


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/23/washington/23justice.html?th&emc=th

Anonymous said...

Hey all.

Love Indie Spirit Awards and Indie Spirit Jake! ;)

I wonder if he will show up this year. I know he and Reese are doing the Night Before Party tonight. I watch the Indies on IFC so we will see then. I don't think he will attend the Oscars but I bet he will doing the rounds at some of the private parties.

Anonymous said...

The LA Times on this years Indie Awards:

http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/spirit/env-noindieoscar-pg,0,5342060.photogallery

Anonymous said...

And the nomminee's for this yers Indies are:


2008 Spirit Awards nominations
'I'm Not There' earns inaugural Robert Altman Award, mulitiple noms
Los Angeles Times Staff WritersNovember 27, 2007
The Film Independent 2008 Spirit Award nominees include:

BEST FEATURE

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Producers: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik

I'm Not There
Producers: Christine Vachon, John Sloss, John Goldwyn, James D. Stern

Juno
Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith

A Mighty Heart
Producers: Dede Gardner, Andrew Eaton, Brad Pitt

Paranoid Park
Producers: Neil Kopp, David Cress

BEST DIRECTOR

Todd Haynes
I'm Not There

Tamara Jenkins
The Savages

Jason Reitman
Juno

Julian Schnabel
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Gus Van Sant
Paranoid Park

BEST FIRST FEATURE

2 Days in Paris
Director: Julie Delpy Producers: Julie Delpy, Christophe Mazodier, Thierry Potok

Great World of Sound
Director: Craig Zobel Producers: Melissa Palmer, David Gordon Green, Richard Wright, Craig Zobel

The Lookout
Director: Scott Frank Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, Laurence Mark, Walter Parkes

Rocket Science
Director: Jeffrey Blitz Producers: Effie T. Brown, Sean Welch

Vanaja
Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli Producer: Latha R. Domalapalli

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
(Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)

August Evening
Writer/Director: Chris Eska Producers: Connie Hill, Jason Wehling

Owl and the Sparrow
Writer/Director: Stephane Gauger Producers: Nguyen Van Quan, Doan Nhat Nam, Stephane Gauger

The Pool
Director: Chris Smith Producer: Kate Noble Writer: Chris Smith & Randy Russell

Quiet City
Director: Aaron Katz Producers: Brendan McFadden, Ben Stambler Writers: Aaron Katz, Erin Fisher, Cris Lankenau

Shotgun Stories
Writer/Director: Jeff Nichols Producers: David Gordon Green, Lisa Muskat, Jeff Nichols

BEST SCREENPLAY

Ronald Harwood
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Tamara Jenkins
The Savages

Fred Parnes & Andrew Wagner
Starting Out in the Evening

Adrienne Shelly
Waitress

Mike White
Year of the Dog

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY

Jeffrey Blitz
Rocket Science

Zoe Cassavetes
Broken English

Diablo Cody
Juno

Kelly Masterson
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

John Orloff
A Mighty Heart

BEST FEMALE LEAD

Angelina Jolie
A Mighty Heart

Sienna Miller
Interview

Ellen Page
Juno

Parker Posey
Broken English

Tang Wei
Lust, Caution

BEST MALE LEAD

Pedro Castaneda
August Evening

Don Cheadle
Talk To Me

Philip Seymour Hoffman
The Savages

Frank Langella
Starting Out in the Evening

Tony Leung
Lust, Caution

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE

Cate Blanchett
I'm Not There

Anna Kendrick
Rocket Science

Jennifer Jason Leigh
Margot at the Wedding

Tamara Podemski
Four Sheets to the Wind

Marisa Tomei
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

BEST SUPPORTING MALE

Chiwetel Ejiofor
Talk To Me

Marcus Carl Franklin
I'm Not There

Kene Holliday
Great World of Sound

Irrfan Khan
The Namesake

Steve Zahn
Rescue Dawn

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Mott Hupfel
The Savages

Janusz Kaminski
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Milton Kam
Vanaja

Mihai Malaimare, Jr.
Youth Without Youth

Rodrigo Prieto
Lust, Caution

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director)

Crazy Love
Director: Dan Klores

Lake of Fire
Director: Tony Kaye

Manufactured Landscapes
Director: Jennifer Baichwal

The Monastery
Director: Pernille Rose Grønkjær

The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Kill Tony Blair
Directors: Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director)

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Director: Cristian Mungiu (Romania)

The Band's Visit
Director: Eran Kolirin (Israel)

Lady Chatterley
Director: Pascale Ferran (France)

Once
Director: John Carney (Ireland)

Persepolis
Directors: Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi (France)

ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD (Given to one film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast)

I'm Not There
Director: Todd Haynes
Casting Director: Laura Rosenthal
Ensemble Cast: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, Ben Whishaw, Marcus Carl Franklin, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Bruce Greenwood

Fourty-five nomination committee members watched 200 submitted films this year. The committee chairs were Bingham Ray, who oversaw the foreign group; Greg Laemmle, who supervised documentary submissions; and Mary Sweeney, who oversaw the narrative committee.


http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/spirit/env-spirit-noms-27nov27,0,4014045.htmlstory

Anonymous said...

One of the best articles I have read on Heath:

http://www.advocate.com/issue_story.asp?id=52310&page=1

Anonymous said...

This thread on imdb mentions that Reese has been sick all last week and was sent home from the set of Four Christmases on 2/22.

On Leno on Monday she mentioned she was getting over the flu and she looked fine at the premiere of Penelope on Wednesday.

I mention this because if she isn't feeling well, she may skip the event tonight, actuall I can see both Jake and Reese skipping.

Angelina is also not feeling well and may be a no-show.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0369436/board/thread/98322252?d=98486983&p=1#98486983

Anonymous said...

IFC starts showing the awards at
5 PM DST. So I will pop back in later. This was a great post, FL!!! Truly.

Anonymous said...

Of to watch the awards on IFC as well, will post about it later.

Anonymous said...

The Spirit award winners so far:



Best Supporting Male

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Talk To Me
Bests First Screenplay

Diablo Cody, Juno
Best First Feature

The Lookout
Best Supporting Female

Cate Blanchett
John Cassavetes Award

August Evening
Best Foreign Film

Once
Best Male Lead

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages
Best Screenplay
Tamara Jenkins, The Savages

Anonymous said...

The Robert Altman Award : I'm not there. Todd Haynes honored heath in his speech, very moving.

sass said...

Evening Sarah and peeps:)

I just finished watching ISA. It was so much fun this year. I should have come here earlier.

The tributes to Heath from Todd Haynes and from the other actors were moving and heartfelt.
I had a blast watching it and plan to watch again. It was fun this year because Rainn is really funny; that helps a lot.

The tussle at the end between Rainn and PSH cracked me up:)
back later,
xoxoxo
s

Anonymous said...

There were parts of the program that were genuinely funny. But by the time Cate and then Todd Haynes finished his tribute I couldn't stop the tears. He said Heath had already been circulating his Queen's Gambit script for casting, that he was so much more than an actor,on the set of INT, he was a collaborative partner, a true filmmaker and had created exquisite music videos already. He said they were shattered. That Heath not being here is inconceivable. I feel the same way. I am so angry, outraged really; a not at Heath, but that "They" allowed this to happen. I know. I'm making no sense.

Anonymous said...

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Jake and Reese don't show up for the event tonight. It won't be the first time a famous person allows their name to be used as part of a host committee, but doesn't actually make an appearance. If she and the kids have been sick, they might "disappear" for a few days of R&R and just cuddle.

sass said...

bobbyanna,

I feel awful. Heath's passing will be with me, with all of us, for a long long time.

My heart goes out to his family, his loved ones and his friends.
We are still shaken, bewildered, and saddened by what happened to this wonderful man one month ago.

Anon, I did read on IMDB, that Reese went home from the set ill yesterday. She had mentioned that her children, everyone in her household, were sick with flu on Leno.
I can't imagine her attending this affair either, but maybe she will recover in time:)
nitenite

sass said...

I had a larger pic of Heath and Michelle at the 2007?//Independent Spirit awards. One of their pics look other worldly and I saved it...and can't find it. I did find it on LJ Heath daily. There is some beautiful work done there.

This is a beautifully back lit shot of the two of them. The original shot had much more white light behind them, especially around Heath. I think there is one more photo back lit with white light which I saved.
I may extend my account for a month to find the original for us.


My reason for so much attention to this shot, is that the last day I saw my dad alive, I ran into him unexpectedly on the sidewalk, as I was coming home.
He called me and when I turned to face him, his entire face and body was framed and bathed in white light. I was almost blinded looking at him but I wasn't afraid of him in that strange light because he was so happy to see me; he had a big smile on his face and gave me my last hug.

He died that night from a ruptured brain aneurysm.

When I saw a similar light in Heath's pic, I thought about my dad, but of course I had no thoughts about Heath and death, just that he was snapped in that white light and reminded me of my dad.
There was one more l pic with that white light around him. I saved all the pics.
talk to you soon,
sass

Heath and Michelle at ISA 2007?

sass said...

Hi again,
It always good when Jake and Zodiac are mentioned. Blogger wishes they were nominated...good thoughts.


Oscar predictions

I had many fun Oscar night with my peeps in other cities and would love to do this with NY babblers..even knowing that we don't have...most of us anyway huge apts... so, when either Jake or any of the family gets nominated again, let's plan to hang out.
nitenite
s

UltraViolet said...

No idea if this was pre-scripted as with many press releases, but it's written as after the event: "Night Before" Fundraiser Raises Millions:

The roster of celebrities attending the Night Before benefit brought out the world's biggest stars from film, television, music and sports. Seen at this year's party were: George Clooney, Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes, Kate Beckinsale, Steven Spielberg & Kate Capshaw, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Harrison Ford & Calista Flockhart, Ben Stiller, Jake Gyllenhaal, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, Don Cheadle, Orlando Bloom, David & Courtney Cox Arquette, Donald Sutherland, Casey Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Elton John, Spike Lee, James McAvoy, Robert Duvall, Christian Slater, Heather Locklear, Tilda Swinton, Ron Howard, Warren Beatty, Josh Duhamel & Fergie, Tobey Maguire, Matt Dillon, Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson, George Lopez, Christina Applegate, Cher, Jaime Pressly, Meg Ryan and Josh Hartnett.

So Jake but no Reese, if this is accurate.

UltraViolet said...

Also I guess the Brangelina/Jennifer showdown was averted!

And sass, what a beautiful post about your father. I'm so happy for you that you have that last memory of him.

The Heath tributes at the ISA were really heartfelt. Loved what Cate Blanchett and what Todd Haynes had to say.

I have no interest in the Oscars except to see the In Memoriam segment and to see Jon Stewart.

UltraViolet said...

One last link, from the Santa Fe New MExican:

All wrapped: The big-name flick Brothers ended its filming with a party at the College of Santa Fe, where much of the movie was shot at the college's Garson Studios. Jake Gyllenhaal, one of the movie's three stars, stopped by the event. Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman, however, were no-shows.

This paper has the worst gossip column ever. Clearly not current, there's no date, no detail. Just the facts is fine, but give us some interesting ones.

Anonymous said...

Reese was so sick that she had to be sent home from the set of her movie on Friday, so no surprise.

No Brangelina! Also no Jaime Foxx, DeCaprio, Matt Damon, Sam Mendes and Kate Winslet, J. Timberlake and Renee Zwegeller, all listed on the original list.

Anonymous said...

UV: I bet that Brothers wrap party happened a few weeks ago. remember that imdb sighting of Jake, Sheridan and crew at some bar in NM? If true, that bit of "gossip" is a bit old.

sass said...

Morning peeps, I'm sharing this from my mailbox then off to bed.


The Sixth Annual "Night Before" Fundraiser Raises Millions to Benefit the Motion Picture & Television Fund


quote


BEVERLY HILLS, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 02/24/08 -- It was all about giving back to their community, as the biggest names in show business gathered tonight for the sixth annual "Night Before" party to benefit the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF). This year's event raised $6 million, bringing the total amount of money raised since the event's inception to an impressive $31 million. The event is held every year the night before the Academy Awards®.
The first Night Before event was held in 2003, instantly becoming one of the most coveted invitations in town and kicking off what is now a much-anticipated awards season tradition.

The roster of celebrities attending the Night Before benefit brought out the world's biggest stars from film, television, music and sports. Seen at this year's party were: George Clooney, Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes, Kate Beckinsale, Steven Spielberg & Kate Capshaw, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston, Harrison Ford & Calista Flockhart, Ben Stiller, Jake Gyllenhaal, Will & Jada Pinkett Smith, Don Cheadle, Orlando Bloom, David & Courtney Cox Arquette, Donald Sutherland, Casey Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Elton John, Spike Lee, James McAvoy, Robert Duvall, Christian Slater, Heather Locklear, Tilda Swinton, Ron Howard, Warren Beatty, Josh Duhamel & Fergie, Tobey Maguire, Matt Dillon, Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson, George Lopez, Christina Applegate, Cher, Jaime Pressly, Meg Ryan and Josh Hartnett.

The Night Before benefit was produced for the sixth consecutive year by Robyn Leuthe Norris, with Silver Birches creating the décor for the party.

HP provided all party guests with a USB flash drive, which was brought to the HP experience zone for a chance to win an HP Blackbird gaming system, the 20-inch HP "Dragon" HDX entertainment notebook, several 47-inch high-definition HP MediaSmart televisions, numerous HP all-in-one printers and digital frames as well as several HP Artist Edition "Asian Odyssey" notebooks. One lucky guest had the chance to win a D-BOX GP Pro-200 Race car motion chair, taking home the true-to-life racecar cockpit experience

Target

Returning sponsor Target showcased limited-edition Converse One Star at Target sneakers at its cabana. Guests were invited to select from three styles designed specifically for this event.

L'Oréal Paris

L'Oréal Paris brought beauty to the party once again, returning for its third year as a sponsor. Each guest at the cabana was treated to their own customized Infallible Never Fail Lipcolour Compact. After selecting their shade of this breakthrough, longwearing lipcolour, L'Oréal monogrammed each compact in Swarovski crystals. Everyone at the party could also enter to win a diamond and gold version of the L'Oréal Paris Red Carpet Compact, valued at $4,900.

AOL

In its fourth year as a Night Before sponsor, AOL has developed a unique Moviefone trivia game celebrating 80 Years of Oscar where every correct answer results in an additional donation from AOL to the MPTF. All guests will receive a Pure Digital Flip Video Ultra Camcorder.

Variety

Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck spiced up the evening at the cabana of perennial Night Before presenting sponsor Variety, where guests lined up to sample an assortment of his signature dishes, created on the spot.

Panavision/Deluxe

The Night Before evening was capped, literally, by Panavision and Deluxe, with event staff sporting classic ball caps from the two companies and all guests receiving ball caps at the end of the evening. For film cast and crews around the world, these ball caps are de rigeur, and the Night Before guests were thrilled to join the elite company of those who bring the magical images of film to the cinemas.




Let's check Jake for his new caps maybe.
quote

Anonymous said...

Reese had a crazy busy week last week.

She filmed straight from Feb 15th, 16th, 17th (Fri, Sat, Sun). She had the 18th off, this was when she did her appearance on The Tonight Show. She then filmed on 19th, 20th (the day she went home sick and the day of her Penelope Premiere), 21st and 22nd.

So basically, she filmed 7 out of the past 8 days (with one day cut short). She had an appearance on The Tonight Show (Monday), the premiere of her new movie (Wednesday) and other interviews/promotion.

She has to "make-up" her sick day on Monday and has her "press-day" for Penelope on Tuesday.

On top of all of that she has been very ill and her children, for whom she is their primary caretaker, have been ill as well.

I think that might explain why Reese was a no-show.

Anonymous said...

I think we can all forgive Reese for wanting to stay home and rest up.

Get well Reese.

Anonymous said...

It doesn't look like any of her "friends" were there either. Renee Zellwegger and Kate Winslet to be more specific.

Or maybe they were all there and no one saw them.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all the info on the Spirit Awards. Saw them and agree about the tributes to Heath being extremely emotional. Really good show overall imo.

And thanks very much all for the info on Jake at the Night Before Oscar Party. Sounds like a big shindig even if some on the invite didn't attend. There were some stellar names there, including our Jake! Sorry Reese didn't make it. But if she was sick then she should rest up.

Monica said...

Exclusive: The Oscar’s Line-up! Presenters and segments revealed!

http://cinemascopian.com/exclusive-the-oscars-line-up-presenters-and-segments-revealed/

Anonymous said...

Thanks to JSRocks at IHJ for this interesting info on the chaotic goings on of some Broadway productions including Jake and "Farragut North" and why it isn't happening with him or Mike Nichols.

Thanks for the Oscar info, Monica.

Anonymous said...

Trying to finish all my Sunday chores in time to relax with a drink and watch the red carpet show. But I wanted to pass this Reese tidbit on. It's from People mag...... Reese describing some of her best qualities:

"Fast talking, sharp shooting, tough girl - I like to think I'm really tough on the outside, with a caramel-sweet center."

BTW, Popsugar has a poll..... which couple do you most want to see on the red carpet? Last time I checked, J & R were tied for 1st place with Brangelina. I'm beginning to despair of ever seeing them officially together at some dressy event. :(