LOS ANGELES -- It's early, but there is now a tangible Oscar wind beneath the wings of Birdman, with Boyhood right on its tail.
The Independent Spirit Awards announced its nominations on Tuesday, and the two films came out on top -- as expected -- with six and five nominations, respectively. The Spirit awards are a tricky but trusted Oscar barometer -- not just for what they include, but for what they exclude. No movies over $20 million is included in the race. Any movie produced or financed overseas is likewise excluded.
There are a few other twists and turns to the rules, but even those broad-strokes entry barriers tend to let in more Oscar bait than they filter out. A few notables not in the mix include Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher and Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice -- but for now, those films aren't considered serious best-picture contenders. Nominations, sure. But a big win? Unlikely.
That's why the talk is centering squarely on Birdman and Boyhood. (Lurking in the weeds is Angelina Jolie's Unbroken, also not eligible for the Spirits -- but there's something curious about the fact that no one's seen it yet, and here we are at Thanksgiving already.)
Also getting a Spirits lift with five nominations apiece: Ava DuVernay's MLK biopic Selma, a late but instantly formidable entry to the Oscar race, and Nightcrawler, which was extremely well received at the Toronto Film Fest but hadn't been talked about much as a player. That could change now.
Whiplash drew four nominations, including supporting actor for JK Simmons, whose Oscar nomination is a foregone conclusion at this point.
Markedly absent: The Imitation Game, heralded by most critics as slick Oscar bait (though not beloved by this critic). Benedict Cumberbatch could very well still get his first Oscar nomination for playing Alan Turing in the movie, but whether The Weinstein Co. can squeeze a best picture nomination out of the Academy remains to be seen.
Here's the complete list of nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards, which will be handed out on February 21 in a giant beach tent in Santa Monica:
BEST FEATURE
Birdman
Boyhood
Love is Strange
Selma
Whiplash
BEST DIRECTOR
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Ava DuVernay, Selma
Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
David Zellner, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
BEST SCREENPLAY
Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski, Big Eyes
J.C. Chandor, A Most Violent Year
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
Jim Jarmusch, Only Lovers Left Alive
Ira Sachs & Mauricio Zacharias, Love is Strange
BEST FIRST FEATURE
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Director: Ana Lily Amirpour; Producers: Justin Begnaud, Sina Sayyah)
Dear White People\ (Director/Producer: Justin Simien; Producers: Effie T. Brown, Ann Le, Julia Lebedev, Angel Lopez, Lena Waithe)
Nightcrawler (Director: Dan Gilroy; Producers: Jennifer Fox, Tony Gilroy, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Lancaster, Michel Litvak)
Obvious Child (Director: Gillian Robespierre; Producer: Elisabeth Holm)
She's Lost Control (Director/Producer: Anja Marquardt; Producers: Mollye Asher, Kiara C. Jones)
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Desiree Akhavan, Appropriate Behavior
Sara Colangelo, Little Accidents
Justin Lader, The One I Love
Anja Marquardt, She's Lost Control
Justin Simien, Dear White People
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (Best feature made under $500,000 budget)
Blue Ruin
It Felt Like Love
Land Ho!
Man From Reno
Test
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Marion Cotillard, The Immigrant
Rinko Kikuchi, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Jenny Slate, Obvious Child
Tilda Swinton, Only Lovers Left Alive
BEST MALE LEAD
André Benjamin, Jimi: All Is By My Side
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
John Lithgow, Love is Strange
David Oyelowo, Selma
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Carmen Ejogo, Selma
Andrea Suarez Paz, Stand Clear of the Closing Doors
Emma Stone, Birdman
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Riz Ahmed, Nightcrawler
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Alfred Molina, Love is Strange
Edward Norton, Birdman
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Darius Khondji, The Immigrant
Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Sean Porter, It Felt Like Love
Lyle Vincent, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Bradford Young, Selma
BEST EDITING
Sandra Adair, Boyhood
Tom Cross, Whiplash
John Gilroy, Nightcrawler
Ron Patane, A Most Violent Year
Adam Wingard, The Guest
BEST DOCUMENTARY
20,000 Days on Earth
CITIZENFOUR
Stray Dog
The Salt of the Earth
Virunga
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
Force Majeure (Sweden)
Ida (Poland)
Leviathan (Russia)
Mommy (Canada)
Norte, the End of History (Philippines)
Under the Skin (United Kingdom)