SEVEN THINGS I DISCOVERED WHILE WATCHING THE SPIRIT AWARDS ON IFC YESTERDAY:
1. Steve Coogan is a better host than Rainn Wilson. But then again, so am I.
2. Melissa Leo takes the whole "indie spirit" thing way, way too seriously (and the "fashion" thing way, way too not seriously).
3. Teri Hatcher can neither sing nor dance, nor is she funny, making her a curious choice to perform a comical musical tribute to Wendy & Lucy.
4. On the day of her big make-out scene with Scarlett Johansson in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen had a panic attack about a mysterious freckle he'd just discovered and rushed to a doctor to get it checked out. (But apparently it was nothing).
5. Rosie Perez thinks Penelope Cruz is a fly bitch.
6. According to Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts did something terrible fifteen years ago. But Hollywood should forgive him.
7. We're all going to be really, really sick of Mickey Rourke by next year's Spirit Awards (if not much, much sooner).
As for the rest of what I learned watching the live broadcast from a big tent in Santa Monica, here's a list of the 2009 Spirit Award Winners:
Best Feature
The Wrestler
Best Director
Tom McCarthy, The Visitor
Best Screenplay
Woody Allen, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best First Feature
Synecdoche, New York (Director: Charlie Kaufman)
Best First Screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
John Cassavetes Award (For the Best Feature made for under $500,000)
In Search of a Midnight Kiss (Writer/Director: Alex Holdridge)
Best Supporting Female
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Supporting Male
James Franco, Milk
Best Female Lead
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Best Male Lead
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Best Cinematography
Maryse Alberti, The Wrestler
Best Foreign Film
The Class (Director: Laurent Cantet)
Best Documentary
Man on Wire (Director: James Marsh)