Movie Award Nominees Announced

The Independent Spirit Awards and the New York Film Critics Circle kicked off the annual movie awards season with their simultaneous announcements Tuesday of nominees and winners. Nominees for this year’s Independent Spirit Awards include the screenplay writers of FootNote, The Artist, Win, Win, Beginners, Cedar Rapids, and 50/50, as well as the documentaries An African Selection, Bill Cunningham New York, The Interrupters, The Redemption of General Butt Naked, and We Were Here. The awards ceremony—which focuses on American-made films on budgets under $20 million—will be held on Feb. 25. Meanwhile, the New York Film Critics Circle announced its winners—Margin Call, The Iron Lady star Meryl Streep, and Jessica Chastain of Tree of Life, The Help, and Take Shelter among them—via Twitter today.