So the first round of national film award nominations has dropped, and our jaw along with it.
"The Kids Are All Right" leads the way with 5 nominations for the 2011 Spirit Awards, with a three-way tie for second between "Black Swan," "Greenberg" and "Rabbit Hole" with four nods each.
Without getting into denigrating films that shouldn't be listed below, we will say that we're surprised to see "Blue Valentine" get only one nomination. It remains our favorite film of the year, but the version that's being released is 20 minutes shorter than the cut we saw at Sundance, so maybe our memories are overly misty or it's since suffered greatly in the editing room.
And what's with "Catfish" getting shut out? Yes, it's been an unusually strong year for documentaries, but that film was as riveting, entertaining and well done as most fictional features this year. Is it possible it's being punished for the perception that the filmmakers crossed the line? Or that belief that the story was fabricated? Who knows?
Anyway, here is the full list of nominees, congrats to all and best of luck on Feb. 26:
BEST FEATURE
"127 Hours"
"Black Swan"
Greenberg"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"Winter's Bone"
BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"
Danny Boyle, "127 Hours"
Lisa Cholodenko, "The Kids Are All Right"
Debra Granik, "Winter's Bone"
John Cameron Mitchell, "Rabbit Hole"
BEST SCREENPLAY
Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, "The Kids Are All Right"
Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, "Winter's Bone"
Nicole Holofcener, "Please Give"
David Lindsay-Abaire, "Rabbit Hole"
Todd Solondz, "Life During Wartime"
BEST FIRST FEATURE
"Everything Strange and New"
"Get Low"
"Night Catches Us"
"The Last Exorcism"
"Tiny Furniture"
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Diane Bell, "Obselidia"
Lena Dunham, "Tiny Furniture"
Nik Fackler, "Lovely, Still"
Bob Glaudini, "Jack Goes Boating"
Dana Adam Shapiro, Evan M. Wiener, "Monogamy"
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
"Daddy Longlegs"
"Lbs."
"Lovers of Hate"
"Obselidia"
"The Exploding Girl'
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
Greta Gerwig, "Greenberg"
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"
BEST MALE LEAD
Ronald Bronstein, "Daddy Longlegs"
Aaron Eckhart, "Rabbit Hole"
James Franco, "127 Hours"
John C. Reilly, "Cyrus"
Ben Stiller, "Greenberg"
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Ashley Bell, "The Last Exorcism"
Dale Dickey, "Winter's Bone"
Allison Janney, "Life During Wartime"
Daphne Rubin-Vega, "Jack Goes Boating"
Naomi Watts, "Mother and Child"
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
John Hawkes, "Winter's Bone"
Samuel L. Jackson, "Mother and Child"
Bill Murray, "Get Low"
John Ortiz, "Jack Goes Boating"
Mark Ruffalo, "The Kids Are All Right"
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adam Kimmel, "Never Let Me Go"
Matthew Libatique, "Black Swan"
Jody Lee Lipes, "Tiny Furniture"
Michael McDonough, "Winter's Bone"
Harris Savides, "Greenberg"
BEST DOCUMENTARY
"Exit Through the Gift Shop"
"Marwencol"
"Restrepo"
"Sweetgrass"
"Thunder Soul"
BEST FOREIGN FILM
"Kisses"
"Mademoiselle Chambon"
"Of Gods and Men"
"The King's Speech"
"Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives"
ACURA SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
Hossein Keshavarz, "Dog Sweat"
Laurel Nakadate, "The Wolf Knife"
Mike Ott, "Littlerock"
PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
In-Ah Lee, "Au Revoir Taipei"
Adele Romanski, "The Myth of the American Sleepover"
Anish Savjani, "Meek's Cutoff"
AVEENO® TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, "Sweetgrass"
Jeff Malmberg, "Marwencol"
Lynn True, Nelson Walker, "Summer Pasture"
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
"Please Give"
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Casting Director: Jeanne McCarthy
Ensemble Cast: Ann Guilbert, Rebecca Hall, Catherine Keener, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Lois Smith, Sarah Steele