2009 INDIE SPIRIT AWARDS Nominations
I didn’t get to watch most of the independent movies that are nominated this year for THE 2009 INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD but if I were to have my pick, I’d say FROZEN RIVER for Best Picture, Courtney River (Frozen River) for Best Director, Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) for Best Male Lead, Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) for Best Female Lead, James Franco (Milk) for Best Supporting Male, Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married) for Best Supporting Female, Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Indie Spirit noms
The nominations for the 2009 Independent Spirit Awards were announced yesterday and one of the big winners was Oscar favorite RACHEL GETTING MARRIED. The Anne Hathaway film scored six nominations tying it with BALLAST and FROZEN RIVER for the most nominations. To all the bat-fanboys out there, The Dark Knight wasn't nominated for anything so you might want to start a petition or something. Strangely enough, while MILK did very well in the acting categories, the film itself and director Gus Van Sant were

Never too early for awards season
Sure, they won't actually hand out the winners of this year's Independent Spirit Awards until Feb. 21, 2009, but why not announce the nominees now? Best feature "Ballast" "Frozen River" "Rachel Getting Married" "Wendy and Lucy" "The Wrestler" Best director Ramin Bahrani, "Chop Shop" Jonathan Demme, "Rachel Getting Married" Lance Hammer, "Ballast" Courtney Hunt, "Frozen River" Tom McCarthy, "The Visitor" Best first feature "Afterschool" "Medicine for Melancholy" "Sangre De Mi Sangre" "Sleep Dealer" "S

Wednesday's Early Buzz: Anne Hathaway, Patrick Dempsey, Battlestar Galactica and more
The Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced yesterday, with predictable results: Anne Hathaway got a nod for Rachel Getting Married, Michelle Williams was nominated for Wendy & Lucy and Sean Penn received his first of what will probably be many nominations for Milk. -- Patrick Dempsey was named the No. 1 sexiest TV hunk, beating out George Clooney. We love McDreamy, but we're calling shenanigans - nobody beats Clooney at anything. -- Speaking of Dempsey and Grey's Anatomy, this blind item an

AfterElton Briefs: "Milk" has Spirit (yes it do), Broadway's new coverboy, and more!
Following this assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious. Out Broadway hottie Nick Adams is this month's Instinct coverboy. Check out this behind-the-scenes video of his cover shoot. The 2009 Spirit Award nominations were announced today, and Milk is up in three categories: Best First Screenplay (Dustin Lance Black), Best Male Lead (Sean Penn), and Best Supported Supporting Male (James Franc

James Franco Says: Sean Penn Requested More Gay Sex Scenes For ‘Milk’
Sean Penn asked for more gay sex scenes to be written into the script of his latest motion picture, Milk. James Franco, who stars with the actor in the biopic, which depicts the life of California’s first openly gay elected official Harvey Milk, was surprised when he found that the script had been rewritten to include [...]

Sean Penn pushed for more gay sex in ‘Milk’
London, Dec 3 (IANS) Actor James Franco says his co-star Sean Penn urged writers to pen more raunchy gay sex scenes for their new film “Milk”.Franco, who plays an important role in the biopic of Harvey Milk, California’s first openly gay elected official, was surprised to find more same-sex sex scenes in the script. Thesun.co.uk quotes him as saying: “In the original script I read, there was only one real kissing scene. A month after the director Gus Van Sant asked me to do it, the

Independent Spirit Award Nominations
Lots of Independent Spirit nominations for the oh-so-self-consciously indie Rachel Getting Married.  It’s December, and that means plenty of top ten lists, best of lists, and yes, nomination lists are going to come out. First up, we have the Film Independent’s Spirit Award nominations. The awards will be given out on February 21st.   With big stars crossing over to showier roles in smaller movies, and financing coming from major studios, the definition of indie has gotten pretty blurred. We

Rachel Getting Married Leads 2009 Independent Spirit Noms
After all the acclaim heaped on Rachel Getting Married, the family drama starring Anne Hathaway, it makes sense that the movie would lead (along with two other films that also received six nominations each: Sundance favorites Ballast and Frozen River) the year's batch of nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards. Other titles in the Best Feature category include the heartbreaking Wendy and Lucy, starring Michelle Williams, and the Mickey Rourke drama The Wrestler. Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona

MILK Doesn’t Quench Thirst
LYNN: Where was the nudity? ALEX: MILK makes you thirsty for justice and leaves you in awe of Harvey. DAVID: I was a little disappointed, it was a little Liftime-ish but I liked it. We loved it buuuuut…..where’s all the sex that Sean Penn and James Franco went around promising on the late night talk shows? still worth your [...]

2009 Independent Spirit Awards Nominations
It’s impossible to pay attention to all the movie awards announcements each year, because there are just so many of them. But the Independent Spirit Awards is one of the second tier (read: non-Academy/Globe) Awards shows that I actually respect and pa attention to. Today the 2009 Indie Spirit nominations were announced. Frozen River and Ballast lead with six nominations each, followed by Rachel Getting Married with five nominations, The Wrestler, Milk, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and The Visitor with thr

Sean Penn Wanted the Gay Sex
I saw Gus Van Sant's film Milk this weekend, and while it was very good I couldn't stop thinking "Damn Sean Penn had to do a lot of man kissing." Not to mention his naked, ass slapping sex scene. Well it turns out there may have not been enough man kissing in the movie for Penn. According to Page Six and co-star James Franco, the sex scenes were all Penn's idea. Frano said "A month after [director] Gus [Van Sant] asked me to do it, they sent me another script, and on Page 5 there was a full-on love scen

Meryl Streep Up For 2 Acting Nods At The Annual Satellite Awards
Meryl Streep has two chances of winning at the 13th Annual Satellite Awards. The veteran actress is nominated for two Best Actress awards for "Doubt" and "Mamma Mia!" Her two films for the year both earned her an acting nod each, in the Drama category for her role as a Catholic nun in "Doubt," and in the Comedy or Musical category for her performance in "Mamma Mia!" The actress, 59, will be competing against Angelina Jolie, Melissa Leo, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kate Winslett, and her "Devil Wears Prada" co-sta

2009 Universal Pictures Preview: ‘Duplicity,’ ‘The Wolfman,’ ‘State of Play,’ ‘Drag Me to Hell,’ ‘Land of the Lost,’ More
CHICAGO– This new HollywoodChicago.com slideshow features production stills for films in the recently released 2009 Universal Pictures film slate.These 2009 Universal Pictures films include “Duplicity,” “The Wolfman,” “State of Play,” “Wild Child,” “Drag Me to Hell,” “Land of the Lost,” “Fast and Furious,” “Funny People” and “Cirque du Freak”. The release dates, cast lists and filmmaker information

Anne Hathaway Has a Talk Show Host Crush!
Anne Hathaway seemed a bit starstruck as she appeared on the "Daily Show" with Jon Stewart last night. "By the way I just want everyone to know that all I heard right there was buzz, buzz, buzz -- I'm sitting across from Jon Stewart," Anne says as she arrives on the show. "It's so cool to be here. It's amazing." The giddy actress said everyone she told about her appearance on the show said they had a crush on the talk show host. "Let me tell you what's underneath this suit," Jon said sheepishly. "I'm an

Anne Hathaway Has a Talk Show Host Crush!
Anne Hathaway seemed a bit starstruck as she appeared on the "Daily Show" with Jon Stewart last night. "By the way I just want everyone to know that all I heard right there was buzz, buzz, buzz -- I'm sitting across from Jon Stewart," Anne says as she arrives on the show. "It's so cool to be here. It's amazing." The giddy actress said everyone she told about her appearance on the show said they had a crush on the talk show host. "Let me tell you what's underneath this suit," Jon said sheepishly. "I'm an

Sean Penn Texted Ex-Wife Madonna After He Had His First On-Screen Gay Kiss
Sean Penn was so excited by his first on screen gay kiss, he text ex-wife Madonna to boast. The actor locks lips with James Franco in new movie "Milk" and felt compelled to tell the pop superstar - who famously kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. James revealed: "After our kiss, Sean texted Madonna and said, 'I just popped my cherry kissing a guy. I thought of you. I don't know why.'" In another steamy scene, Sean is required to get passionate with his co-star Mark Martinez - who plays cross-dress

“Britney’s boob-baring birthday dress” morning links
- Britney Spears was almost popping out of her dress at her birthday party [Yeeeah] - Inside Britney’s birthday party (link has automatic video) [The Insider] - Upcoming cover of Star: Britney’s deadly diet [PopBytes] - Julianne Hough says she wants to marry her boyfriend [Popeater] - Rachel Getting Married with Anne Hathaway leads the nominations in the Independent Spirit Awards [Moviefone] - Kanye West says Beyonce is better than Tina Turner [Black Voices] - Gifts for the Celebrity obses

“Britney’s boob-baring birthday dress” morning links
- Britney Spears was almost popping out of her dress at her birthday party [Yeeeah] - Inside Britney’s birthday party (link has automatic video) [The Insider] - Upcoming cover of Star: Britney’s deadly diet [PopBytes] - Julianne Hough says she wants to marry her boyfriend [Popeater] - Rachel Getting Married with Anne Hathaway leads the nominations in the Independent [...]

‘Ballast,’‘River,’‘Rachel’ lead the Indie Spirit nods
I’m late to the table on today’s Independent Spirit Award nominations because I’ve been toiling away on the latest Oscar column (which should be up shortly).  Obviously, Sony Pictures Classics dominated the scene but I’m glad to see that this year’s crop is more “independent” than in years past. One nomination that stuck out to me was James Franco in the supporting actor category for “Milk” (a film good enough for four nominations but not for Best Pict

AWARDS WATCH '08 | "River," "Rachel," "Ballast" Lead Spirit Award Nominations
Courtney Hunt's "Frozen River," Lance Hammer's "Ballast" and Jonathan Demme's "Rachel Getting Married" topped the 2009 Film Independent's Spirit Award nominations, announced this morning in Los Angeles by actors Sandra Oh and Jason Bateman. All three films grabbed six nods apiece, including best feature, where they will compete against Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" and Kelly Reichardt's "Wendy & Lucy."

Vince Vaughn is going on a ‘Couples Retreat’….
The movie follows four couples who go to a tropical island resort. While one couple is there to work on their marriage, the others are there to play but soon discover that participation in the resort’s couples therapy is not optional. Vince hatched the idea for “Couples Retreat,” as well as the 2006 comedy hit “The Break-Up.” Image via WENN Related Post Confirmed: A Sequel to Sex and the City, The Movie!! Casting Couch: ‘Sherlock Holmes’

'Rachel' Getting Nominated, and Other Plots to Watch At the 2008 Spirit Awards [Awards]
Awards season's most reliably confusing nominations broke this morning, with the 2008 Independent Spirit Award nods recognizing everything and everyone from Anne Hathaway to Towelhead to Woody Allen and self-distributed Sundance darlings. There's often little sense to make of the Spirit Awards beyond the volume of tables that the organizers at Film Independent can sell to its nominees, and this year, with Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married and Sundance award-winner Frozen River receiving six no

Hathaway joins cast of Tim Burton's Alice film
Anne Hathaway, who is generating buzz for her performance in Rachel Getting Married, has signed for a role in Alice in Wonderland, which Tim Burton is directing for Disney. Helena Bonham Carter, Burton's fiancée, also has joined the film. The movie, which stars Mia Wasikowska as Alice and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, will use a combination of live action and performance-capture technology to tell the classic Lewis Carroll story. Hathaway will play the White Queen.

Anne Hathaway to Wear Crown of the White Witch in New Movie
She joins Johnny Depp and cast in new Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland.