'Birdman' beats 'Boyhood' at Independent Spirit Awards

We’re just hours away from the 87th annual Academy Awards, and at the Film Independent Spirit Awards last night we got our final indication of what to expect at the Oscars.

At the moment Boyhood and Birdman are largely considered to be the two movies most likely to win best picture, and at the Spirit Awards last night Birdman was given the award of best film. It also won best actor for Michael Keaton and best cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki.

But Boyhood didn’t go home without its share of wins, taking home best director for Richard Linklater and best supporting actress for Patricia Arquette, who is considered to be an Oscar favorite.

This shows that the race between Boyhood and Birdman is still pretty close, and it’s highly possibly that at the Oscars one film will win best picture while the other will win best director.

The Spirit Awards sometimes line up with the Oscars but not always. Last year 12 Years a Slave won at the Spirit Awards as well as at the Academy Awards, but in previous years movies like Silver Linings Playbook, Black Swan and Juno won the Spirit award while having basically no traction at the Oscars.

Julianne Moore won the award for best actress for Still Alice, and she is also widely suspected to win at the Oscars tonight. J.K. Simmons, another Oscar favorite, also took home best supporting actor for his performance in Whiplash.

Best international film went to Ida, a Polish film also expected to win the equivalent award at the Oscars.

As the Spirit Awards are focused on independent films, a few movies received attention that don’t have major Oscar traction. Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler won the award for best first feature. That movie is nominated only for best original screenplay at the Academy Awards. Best first screenplay went to Dear White People, a movie not nominated for any Oscars.

In order to be eligible for an Independent Spirit Award, a movie must have been produced for a budget of $20 million or less, according to The Hollywood Reporter, making a good amount of Academy Award nominated movies not present at the awards.

So while the Spirit Awards aren’t a perfect indication of what will happen at the Oscars, it’s still a last minute shift towards Birdman over Boyhood. Could the Academy follow suit?

image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com

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