Middle of Nowhere – Way Too Indie http://waytooindie.com Independent film and music reviews Fri, 02 Dec 2016 17:34:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Way Too Indiecast is the official podcast of WayTooIndie.com. Our film critics grip and gush about the latest indie movies and sometimes even mainstream ones. Find all of our reviews, podcasts, news, at www.waytooindie.com Middle of Nowhere – Way Too Indie yes Middle of Nowhere – Way Too Indie dustin@waytooindie.com dustin@waytooindie.com (Middle of Nowhere – Way Too Indie) The Official Podcast of Way Too Indie Middle of Nowhere – Way Too Indie http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/waytooindie/podcast-album-art.jpg http://waytooindie.com 2013 Independent Spirit Award Predictions http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2013-independent-spirit-award-predictions/ http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2013-independent-spirit-award-predictions/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=9822 There is some stiff competition this year at the Independent Spirit Awards, forcing me to do a lot of pondering and second guessing. See who I predicted to win Independent Spirit Awards at this years awards show.]]>

We are a mere 36 days until the official winners are announced at the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards, so I will offer my predictions of who the winners will be this year. Last year my predictions were pretty solid, with an roughly 70% accuracy I correctly predicted 9 of the 13 unannounced awards. Unlike last year’s juggernaut The Artist, I believe this year there are two films that could both easily win the top awards. Both Beasts of the Southern Wild and Silver Linings Playbook stand good chances of being winners, making the predictions more difficult this year. I predict that Beasts of the Southern Wild will win the top two awards while Silver Linings Playbook cleans up the top acting awards. In addition to picking the winners for each category, I explain the reasoning behind my picks in detail under the categories.

Watch IFC on Saturday, February 23rd to see how my predictions hold up.

2013 Independent Spirit Award Predictions:

(My prediction for the winners are highlighted in bold red font)

Best Feature:

Beasts of the Southern Wild
Bernie
Keep The Lights On
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

MY REASONING:
As I mentioned in the opening, I believe two films have a great chances of walking away with the top prizes. I believe Beasts of the Southern Wild will slightly edge out Silver Linings Playbook for the Best Feature Award. But both probably have equal chance of winning as both films also got an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. I will have to go with my instincts on this, even though Silver Linings Playbook is more of an audience pleaser.
Best Director:

Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
Julia Loktev – The Loneliest Planet
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs – Keep The Lights On
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild

MY REASONING:
Just like the Oscars, this category is closely tied with the Best Feature category. Typically, the winner of this category will go on to win the other. So I will stick with Beasts of the Southern Wild and say Benh Zeitlin will win, with David O. Russell in a close second. Glad to see Wes Anderson on this list though.
Best First Feature:

Fill The Void – Rama Burshtein
Gimme The Loot – Adam Leon
Safety Not Guaranteed – Colin Trevorrow
Sound of My Voice – Zal Batmanglij
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower – Stephen Chobsky

MY REASONING:
Rules state that a film cannot be in both the Best Feature and Best First Feature category, so when Beasts of the Southern Wild got slated for Best Feature, this category really opened up. I believe The Perks Of Being A Wallflower received the warmest reception and is the most well-rounded film of the bunch, so it is a safe pick. Safety Not Guaranteed might be the dark horse here.
Best Male Lead:

Jack Black – Bernie
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes – The Sessions
Thure Lindhart – Keep The Lights On
Matthew McConaughey – Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce – Four

MY REASONING:
Bradley Cooper should walk away with this award. His biggest competition should be previous Spirit Award winner John Hawkes, but likely will not be much of a “fight”. The sleeper pick here would be Jack Black for Bernie, but consider it an hefty long-shot.
Best Female Lead:

Linda Cardellini – Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi – Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary E. Winstead – Smashed

MY REASONING:
Jennifer Lawrence probably has a little more momentum behind her to be the favorite in this category. But not by much. Quvenzhane Wallis is likely right on her heels and I will be rooting for her to win.
Best Supporting Male:

Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike
David Oyelowo – Middle of Nowhere
Michael Pena – End of Watch
Sam Rockwell – Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis – Moonrise Kingdom

MY REASONING:
I thought about this pick the longest out of all the categories, but feel the least confident in my choice. The reason being is that I do not see a clear standout here. If it were me voting, I would pick Michael Pena. But I will say the actual voters go with David Oyelowo.
Best Supporting Female:

Rosemarie DeWitt – Your Sister’s Sister
Ann Dowd – Compliance
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Brit Marling – Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint – Middle of Nowhere

MY REASONING:
This is probably the most solid category form top-to-bottom, any one of theses nominees could easily win here. But I think Helen Hunt has the best odds of winning because of her daring role in The Sessions.
John Cassavetes Award:

Breakfast With Curtis – Laura Colella
Middle of Nowhere – Ava DuVernay
Mosquita y Mari – Aurora Guerrero
Starlet – Sean Baker
The Color Wheel – Alex Ross Perry

MY REASONING:
Middle of Nowhere generated some buzz last year at Sundance, earning two nominations and one win. For that reason, my bet is on it to win this award. Sean Baker’s Starlet has a real solid shot at winning though.
Best Documentary:

How To Survive A Plague – David France
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present – Matthew Akers
The Central Park Five – Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
The Invisible War – Kirby Dick
The Waiting Room – Peter Nicks

MY REASONING:
There are two nominees here that were also nominated for an Oscar, How to Survive a Plague and The Invisible War but I feel like the former will win. Joining the tight race is Ken Burns’ The Central Park Five, which makes this category a competitive one.
Best International Film:

Amour – Michael Haneke
Once Upon A Time In Anatolia – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust and Bone – Jacques Audiard
Sister – Ursula Meier
War Witch – Kim Nguyen

MY REASONING:
I believe for the second year in a row, the winner of the Oscar and Independent Spirit Award for foreign film will be the same. Before last year, it had been 25 years since the same film won in both award shows. Amour is the clear front runner to win at the Academy Awards and should win here as well, despite the rest of the films all being worth-while watches.
Best Cinematography:

Yoni Brook – Valley Of Saints
Lol Crawley – Here
Ben Richardson – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov – End of Watch
Robert Yeoman – Moonrise Kingdom

MY REASONING:
My pick here goes to Moonrise Kingdom, in what I think will be the only award the film will win. I am not sure if you can call it an upset, but I think it will beat out Beasts of the Southern Wild, which might seem like the most likely to win.
Best Screenplay:

Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
Zoe Kazan – Ruby Sparks
Martin McDonagh – Seven Psychopaths
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias – Keep The Lights On

MY REASONING:
The two films that have the best odds of being declared the winner are Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom. It was great to see Ruby Sparks nominated for an award and Keep The Lights On nominated for four, but I think the winner here is Silver Linings Playbook.
Best First Screenplay:

Rama Burshtein – Fill The Void
Derek Connolly – Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford – Robot & Frank
Jonathan Lisecki – Gayby
Rashida Jones and Will McCormack – Celeste and Jesse Forever

MY REASONING:
Because Safety Not Guaranteed will likely get edged out of the Best First Feature award by The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, which is not present in this category, it has the best shot at winning in my eyes.
]]> http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2013-independent-spirit-award-predictions/feed/ 0 2013 Independent Spirit Award Nominations http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2013-independent-spirit-award-nominations/ http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2013-independent-spirit-award-nominations/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=8953 Film Independent announced the nominations for the 28th annual Independent Spirit Awards this morning by Zoe Saldana and Anna Kendrick. Last year many of the award winners went on to win Oscars but I suspect that will be a little different this year. The winners will be announced at the 28th annual Film Independent Spirit […]]]>

Film Independent announced the nominations for the 28th annual Independent Spirit Awards this morning by Zoe Saldana and Anna Kendrick. Last year many of the award winners went on to win Oscars but I suspect that will be a little different this year. The winners will be announced at the 28th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 23th and the broadcast will air at 10 p.m. ET/PT on IFC.

There were two films that tied for the most amount of nominations and those were Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and David O. Russells’s Silver Linings Playbook with five total nominations. Both of the films will be competing for the top award of Best Feature.

It was a little shocking to see that the Sundance standout Beasts of the Southern Wild did not have quite as many nods but four is a healthy amount of nominations to receive. The film bypassed Best First Feature even though it is technically Benh Zeitlin’s first and step up to the bigger category Best Feature (rules prohibit a film from being in both). Beasts of the Southern Wild was ousted from the Best Screenplay category.

John Hawkes makes his third straight appearance in the nomination list with his role in The Sessions. This time he will move up to the Best Lead Male category against some pretty strong contenders. Hawkes was nominated for Best Supporting Male last year for Martha Marcy May Marlene and won the award in the previous year for Winter’s Bone. Matthew McConaughey will get two chances to win for two different films. He got a nod for Best Male Lead (for Killer Joe) and Best Supporting Male (for Magic Mike).

Perhaps the most interesting category this year belongs to the Best International Film section as there was quite a bit of potentials for it this year. Michael Haneke’s Amour made the cut, unsurprisingly, and will likely be the favorite to win (as well as for the Oscar). It was a bit of a surprise to not see Holy Motors in that list but seeing War Witch get a nod was lovely as it is definitely a film worth seeing. I didn’t expect to see Paradise: Love or Goodbye First Love on this list but it would have been if it were up to me.

Watch for our predictions for the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards post to come in the coming weeks.

Full List of 2013 Independent Spirit Award Nominations:

Best Feature: (Award given to the Producer)

Beasts of the Southern Wild
Bernie
Keep The Lights On
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director:

Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
Julia Loktev – The Loneliest Planet
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs – Keep The Lights On
Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best First Feature: (Award given to the director and producer)

Fill The Void – Rama Burshtein
Gimme The Loot – Adam Leon
Safety Not Guaranteed – Colin Trevorrow
Sound of My Voice – Zal Batmanglij
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower – Stephen Chobsky

Best Male Lead:

Jack Black – Bernie
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
John Hawkes – The Sessions
Thure Lindhart – Keep The Lights On
Matthew McConaughey – Killer Joe
Wendell Pierce – Four

Best Female Lead:

Linda Cardellini – Return
Emayatzy Corinealdi – Middle of Nowhere
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Mary E. Winstead – Smashed

Best Supporting Male:

Matthew McConaughey – Magic Mike
David Oyelowo – Middle of Nowhere
Michael Pena – End of Watch
Sam Rockwell – Seven Psychopaths
Bruce Willis – Moonrise Kingdom

Best Supporting Female:

Rosemarie DeWitt – Your Sister’s Sister
Ann Dowd – Compliance
Helen Hunt – The Sessions
Brit Marling – Sound of My Voice
Lorraine Toussaint – Middle of Nowhere

John Cassavetes Award: (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000; award given to the writer, director, and producer)

Breakfast With Curtis – Laura Colella
Middle of Nowhere – Ava DuVernay
Mosquita y Mari – Aurora Guerrero
Starlet – Sean Baker
The Color Wheel – Alex Ross Perry

Best Documentary: (Award given to the director)

How To Survive A Plague – David France
Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present – Matthew Akers
The Central Park Five – Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
The Invisible War – Kirby Dick
The Waiting Room – Peter Nicks

Best International Film: (Award given to the director)

Amour – Michael Haneke
Once Upon A Time In Anatolia – Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Rust and Bone – Jacques Audiard
Sister – Ursula Meier
War Witch – Kim Nguyen

Best Cinematography:

Yoni Brook – Valley Of Saints
Lol Crawley – Here
Ben Richardson – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Roman Vasyanov – End of Watch
Robert Yeoman – Moonrise Kingdom

Best Screenplay:

Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
Zoe Kazan – Ruby Sparks
Martin McDonagh – Seven Psychopaths
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias – Keep The Lights On

Best First Screenplay:

Rama Burshtein – Fill The Void
Derek Connolly – Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford – Robot & Frank
Jonathan Lisecki – Gayby
Rashida Jones and Will McCormack – Celeste and Jesse Forever

Robert Altman Award: (Given to one film’s director, casting director, and its ensemble cast)

Starlet
Director: Sean Baker
Casting Director: Julia Kim
Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ranson

Piaget Producers Award: (Award given to a producer)

Alicia Van Couvering – Nobody Walks
Mynette Louie – Stones in the Sun
Derrick Tseng – Prince Avalanche

Truer Than Fiction Award: (Award given to the director)

Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel – Leviathan
Peter Nicks – The Waiting Room
Jason Tippet and Elizabeth Mims – Only the Young

Someone to Watch Award: (Award given to the director)

David Fenster – Pincus
Adam Leon – Gimme The Loot
Rebecca Thomas – Electrick Children

]]> http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2013-independent-spirit-award-nominations/feed/ 0 Watch: Middle of Nowhere Trailer http://waytooindie.com/news/watch-middle-of-nowhere-trailer/ http://waytooindie.com/news/watch-middle-of-nowhere-trailer/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=5602 Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere was the winner of the Best Director Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and today it received a full-length trailer. The film received two standing ovations at its packed Gala screening at the LA Film Festival. The film stars David Oyelowo (The Help), Omari Hardwick (Kick-Ass) and newcomer Emayatzy Corinealdi.]]>

Ava DuVernay’s Middle of Nowhere was the winner of the Best Director Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and today it received a full-length trailer. The film received two standing ovations at its packed Gala screening at the LA Film Festival. The film stars David Oyelowo (The Help), Omari Hardwick (Kick-Ass) and newcomer Emayatzy Corinealdi.

Synopsis:

Middle of Nowhere follows Ruby, a bright medical student who sets aside her dreams and suspends her career when her husband is incarcerated. As the committed couple stares into the hollow end of an eight-year prison sentence, Ruby must learn to live another life, one marked by shame and separation. But through a chance encounter and a stunning betrayal that shakes her to her core, this steadfast wife is soon propelled in new and often shocking directions of self-discovery – caught between two worlds and two men in the search for herself.

Middle of Nowhere will be released in theaters on October 12th.

Watch the official trailer for Middle of Nowhere:

]]> http://waytooindie.com/news/watch-middle-of-nowhere-trailer/feed/ 0 Middle Of Nowhere New Movie Poster http://waytooindie.com/news/middle-of-nowhere-new-movie-poster/ http://waytooindie.com/news/middle-of-nowhere-new-movie-poster/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=4686 Yesterday the Sundance Film Festival winner for Best Director, Middle of Nowhere, released a new movie poster. This low budget indie film was directed by Ava DuVernay will hit the theaters in select cities on October 12th this year. Starring in Middle of Nowhere is newcomer Emayatzy Corinealdi in the lead role along with David Oyelowo (Paperboy, The Help) and Omari Hardwick (Kick-Ass, The A-Team).]]>

Yesterday the Sundance Film Festival winner for Best Director, Middle of Nowhere, released a new movie poster. This low budget indie film was directed by Ava DuVernay will hit the theaters in select cities on October 12th this year. Starring in Middle of Nowhere is newcomer Emayatzy Corinealdi in the lead role along with David Oyelowo (Paperboy, The Help) and Omari Hardwick (Kick-Ass, The A-Team).

Official Synopsis:

What happens when love takes you places you never thought you’d go? Winner of the Best Director Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE chronicles a young woman caught between two worlds and two men in the search for herself. Ruby, a bright medical student, sets aside her dreams when her husband is incarcerated. This new life challenges her to the very core, and her turbulent path propels her in new, often frightening directions of self-discovery.

Click to view the full theatrical poster for Middle of Nowhere:
Middle of Nowhere new movie poster

]]> http://waytooindie.com/news/middle-of-nowhere-new-movie-poster/feed/ 0 2012 Sundance Film Festival Winners http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2012-sundance-film-festival-winners/ http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/2012-sundance-film-festival-winners/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=4311 The 2012 Sundance Film Festival winners have been announced by the juries tonight in Park City, Utah. Beasts of the Southern Wild picked up two wins for Grand Jury Prize Dramatic and cinematography. Fox Searchlight’s other acquisition, The Surrogate, also won two awards at the festival. Click Read More to see the full list of 2012 Sundance Film Festival winners.]]>

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival winners have been announced by the juries tonight in Park City, Utah. Beasts of the Southern Wild picked up two wins for Grand Jury Prize Dramatic and cinematography. Fox Searchlight’s other acquisition, The Surrogate, also won two awards at the festival.

Full list of 2012 Sundance Film Festival winners:

Grand Jury Prize, Dramatic:
Beasts of the Southern Wild

Grand Jury Prize, Documentary:
The House I Live In

World Cinema Jury Prize, Dramatic:
Violeta Went To Heaven

World Cinema Jury Prize, Documentary:
The Law In These Parts

Dramatic Audience Award:
The Surrogate

Documentary Audience Award:
The Invisible War

World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award:
Valley of Saints

World Cinema Documentary Audience Award:
Searching For Sugar Man

The Best of NEXT Audience Award:
Sleepwalk With Me

Directing Award, Dramatic:
Ava DuVernay, Middle of Nowhere

Directing Award, Documentary:
Lauren Greenfield, The Queen of Versailles

World Cinema Directing Award, Dramatic:
Mads Matthiessen, Teddy Bear

World Cinema Directing Award, Documentary:
Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, 5 Broken Cameras

Waldo Scott Screenwriting Award:
Safety Not Guaranteed

World Cinema Screenwriting Award:
Young & Wild

Documentary Editing Award:
Detropia

World Cinema Documentary Editing Award:
Indie Game: The Movie

Excellence in Cinematography Award, Dramatic:
Beasts of the Southern Wild

Excellence in Cinematography Award, Documentary:
Chasing Ice

World Cinema Cinematography Award, Dramatic:
My Brother The Devil

World Cinema Cinematography Award, Documentary:
Putin’s Kiss

Special Jury Prize: Dramatic (Acting):
The cast of The Surrogate

Special Jury Prize: Dramatic:
Jonathan Schwartz and Andrea Sperling for producing Smashed and Nobody Walks

Special Jury Prizes: Documentary:
Love Free or Die
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Documentary
Searching For Sugar Man

World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Dramatic
Can

Alfred P. Sloan Prizes
Robot & Frank
Valley of Saints

Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award:
Jens Assur, Close Far Away

Short Film Audience Award:
The Debutante Hunters, directed by Maria White

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