A day before it may soar at the Oscars, “Birdman” spread its wings at the 30th Independent Film Spirit Awards, winning best picture, best actor for Michael Keaton and best cinematography.
The elegantly stitched together backstage comedy came away the big winner at the annual pre-Oscars afternoon celebration of independent film on Saturday. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Birdman” won over what many consider its stiffest competition, the 12-years-in-the-making “Boyhood,” though that film’s maker, Richard Linklater, still took the directing honor.
As Hollywood has increasingly devoted itself to global blockbusters, the Spirit Awards — once a casual indie appetizer to the Oscars — feels more and more like the center of the industry, or at least a more idealized version of it. Set in a beachside tent in Santa Monica the day before the Academy Awards are held across town, the Spirits — broadcast live this year for the first time — variously boasted of growing prominence and of preserving a way of moviemaking often regarded as obsolete at the studios.
“We are threatened to become a species in extinction,” said Inarritu, the Mexican filmmaker, accepting the best feature award.
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Online:
http://www.spiritawards.com
