by Joal Ryan
Oscar hopeful Jennifer Aniston hasn't yet gotten the nomination, but on Wednesday, she got a nomination.
Call it a start: The Friends star, looking to build Academy buzz for her turn as a bored wife in the low-budget big-screener The Good Girl, nabbed a Best Actress nod as contenders were announced for the 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards, honoring indie film.
Overall, Lovely & Amazing, a comedy-drama about a mother (Brenda Blethyn) and her three somewhat dysfunctional daughters (including Catherine Keener), led all comers with six Spirit nods, including ones for Best Feature and Best Actress (Keener).
Lovely & Amazing's writer-director Nicole Holofcener was a double nominee, noted for both her, yes, writing and directing.
A week after Far from Heaven officially entered the Oscar derby as a National Board of Review favorite, director Todd Haynes' tribute to 1950s melodramas continued to make its Academy case, scoring five Spirit nominations, including ones for Best Feature, Best Actress (Julianne Moore) and Best Supporting Actor (Dennis Quaid). Haynes himself was recognized with a Best Director nod.
In the Best Film race, Lovely & Amazing and Far from Heaven are pitted against The Good Girl, the S&M-loving Secretary and festival fave Tully, a drama about a womanizer (Anson Mount) and the woman (Julianne Nicholson) who sets him straight.
The Good Girl and Tully earned four total nominations each, as did Ivans xtc., a retelling of Tolstoy's "The Death of Ivan Ilyich" set in Hollywood.
While little-seen titles such as Ivans xtc. found a champion in the Spirit Awards, the year's biggest indie success was nearly snubbed. My Big Fat Greek Wedding, grossing a big, fat $210 million-plus, scored but one nomination, a Best Debut Performance nod for star Nia Vardalos, who also wrote the script (and convinced Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to sign on as producers).
With Vardalos shut out of even the Best Lead Actress race, Aniston, real-life pal Keener and Moore will go up against Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary) and Parker Posey (Personal Velocity).
In the Best Lead Actor category, National Board Review winner Campbell Scott (Rodger Dodger) will take on Graham Greene (Skins), Danny Huston (Ivans xtc.), Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher) and Jeremy Renner (Dahmer).
Winners are scheduled to be announced, as is tradition, under a tent on the sandy Santa Monica beach on March 22, the day before the Academy Awards. Director John Waters is set to emcee the event, to be aired live on cable's Independent Film Channel.
Here's a rundown of the nominees for the 2003 IFP Independent Spirit Awards:
Feature: Far from Heaven, The Good Girl, Lovely & Amazing, Secretary, Tully
Female Lead: Jennifer Aniston, The Good Girl; Maggie Gyllenhaal, Secretary; Catherine Keener, Lovely & Amazing; Julianne Moore, Far from Heaven; Parker Posey, Personal Velocity
Male Lead: Graham Greene, Skins; Danny Huston, Ivans xtc.; Derek Luke, Antwone Fisher; Jeremy Renner, Dahmer; Campbell Scott, Roger Dodger
Supporting Female: Viola Davis, Antwone Fisher; Jacqueline Kim, Charlotte Sometimes; Juliette Lewis, Hysterical Blindness; Emily Mortimer, Lovely & Amazing; Julianne Nicholson, Tully
Supporting Male: Alan Arkin, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing; Ray Liotta, Narc; Dennis Quaid, Far from Heaven; John C. Reilly, The Good Girl; Peter Weller, Ivans xtc.
Debut Performance: Bob Burrus, Tully; America Ferrera, Real Women Have Curves; Raven Goodwin, Lovely & Amazing; Artel Kayaru, Dahmer; Nia Vardalos, My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Director: Joe Carnahan, Narc; Todd Haynes, Far from Heaven; Nicole Holofcener, Lovely & Amazing; Bernard Rose, Ivans xtc.; Gus Van Sant, Gerry
Screenplay: Mike White, The Good Girl; Nicole Holofcener, Lovely & Amazing; Dylan Kidd, Roger Dodger; Jill Sprecher and Karen Sprecher, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing; Hilary Birmingham and Matt Drake, Tully
First Feature: Neil Burger, Interview with the Assassin; Peter Care, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys; Eric Eason, Manito; Dylan Kidd, Roger Dodger; Charles Stone III, Paid in Full
First Screenplay: Neil Burger, Interview with the Assassin; Laura Cahill, Hysterical Blindness; Heather Juergensen and Jennifer Westfeldt, Kissing Jessica Stein; Burr Steers, Igby Goes Down; Erin Cressida Wilson, Secretary
John Cassavetes Award (best feature made for under $500,000): Charlotte Sometimes; Dahmer; Ivans xtc.; Personal Velocity; The Slaughter Rule
Cinematography: Far from Heaven; Gerry; Interview with the Assassin; Narc; Personal Velocity
Foreign Film: Bloody Sunday; The Fast Runner, The Piano Teacher, Time Out, Y Tu Mama Tambien
Documentary: Bowling for Columbine, The Cockettes, Devil's Playground, How to Draw a Bunny, Stevie
© 2002 E! Online