The 2012 Independent Spirit Awards were announced tonight and—you’re not gonna believe this—the voters were smitten with The Artist.  The film won Best Feature, Michel Hazanavicius was awarded Best Director, Jean Dujardin was named Best Male Lead, and they threw in Best Cinematography to Guillaume Schiffman for good measure.  Some of the other winners have a good shot at repeating tomorrow night at the Oscars, like Christopher Plummer for Beginners (Best Supporting Male), Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn (Best Female Lead), or the script for The Descendants by Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, and Jim Rash (Best Screenplay).  The “independent spirit” was seemingly saved for the unique categories: see Will Reiser’s 50/50 script as Best First Screenplay, Pariah for the John Cassavetes Award, Take Shelter for the Piaget Producers Award.  Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

Take Shelter marks the second collaboration between Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) and his Shotgun Stories writer/director Jeff Nichols, and it only serves to verify that the promise this pairing demonstrated with their first outing was no fluke. Also like Shotgun Stories, I would be doing it a disservice to attempt to sell you on it in this intro with a single, sensational genre tag. Is it a disaster film? Eh. Psychological character study and suburban family drama? Mostly. Existential meditation? If it suits you. Checks across the board, yet it’s the way in which those distinct elements mesh that leaves Take Shelter without a clear home and all the better for it. In a way this Blu-ray’s arrival commemorates the anniversary of Take Shelter’s critically-lauded Sundance premiere and, given that most of you had no choice but to miss its limited theatrical run in L.A. and New York, this phenomenal disc makes for a handsome introduction. Take Shelter also stars Jessica Chastain (2011 movie) and Shannon’s Boardwalk co-star Shea Whigham. Hit the jump for my review.

As the 84th Academy Awards move closer, we’re starting to get a better sense of how things will pan out. We recently shared the 39 songs that will contend for the Best Original Song category, and now the Academy has announced the 97 original scores eligible for the Best Original Score award. AMPAS is notoriously picky when it comes to eligibility in this category, and as we feared the scores for both Drive and Attack the Block have been deemed ineligible. Also disappointing is the ineligibility of Alexandre Desplat’s mesmerizing score for The Tree of Life.

While it’s upsetting to see some of the year’s best work side-lined, there’s plenty to be happy about. I was a huge fan of Howard Shore’s work in Hugo and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as well as The Chemical Brothers’ brilliant work in the criminally underseen Hanna. Hit the jump for the full list, as well as who I think will make the cut.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced today that 39 eligible songs will contend for the Best Original Song Oscar this year. Important to note is that a relatively recent rule change states that songs must be judged in the capacity that they appear in each film. In early January the voting body will get together and watch clips from each eligible movie in which the 39 songs are featured, after which they will determine the nominees. The list of eligible songs include three tracks from The Muppets, Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi’s song “Gathering Stories” (which director Cameron Crowe co-wrote) from We Bought a Zoo, and composer/songwriter/eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken’s “Star Spangled Man” from Captain America: The First Avenger. I’m partial to Jonsi’s work or “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, but we’ll see how the Academy’s taste stacks up towards the end of January.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of eligible songs. The 84th Academy Award nominations will be announced on January 24th.

The National Board of Review has announced their honors for 2011.  As always, the wide selection allows the NBR to technically have a say in directing awards season, and their picks remain solid.  While I didn’t go nuts over Hugo, a lot of people did and so it’s not surprising NBR gave it Best Picture and named Martin Scorsese as Best Director.  For the most part, I like all of NBR’s choices.  I’m glad any time Drive gets attention, the acting picks are all worthy, and I’m happy Crime After Crime and 13 Assassins got some love.  Notable snubs include Young Adult, Moneyball, and Martha Marcy May Marlene.  Of course, anything Clint Eastwood does has to make NBR’s Top 10 so that’s why a spot is wasted on J. Edgar.

Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

The nominations for the 27th Annual Independent Spirit Awards were announced this morning with The Artist and Take Shelter each nabbing five nominations. In addition to The Artist and Take Shelter, Drive, 50/50, The Descendants, and Beginners will duke it out for the top prize. Absent from the Best Feature list is Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, though the film was recognized in Best Supporting Male (Corey Stoll) and Best Cinematography. Also of note, Elizabeth Olsen and John Hawkes landed nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Male for Martha Marcy May Marlene, and Ryan Gosling and Woody Harrelson were both singled out in Best Actor for Drive and Rampart respectively.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominations. Recognizing the best in independent film, the awards will be handed out on February 25th, the day before the Oscars.

Austin filmmaker Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter has been building buzz for some time now, ever since a compelling trailer arrived online a few months back…and particularly after the film enjoyed a rave-review-filled run up at the TIFF.  This weekend, Fantastic Fest’s programmers managed to snag the film for a very special, one-time-only screening for the film geeks currently mobbing the Alamo Drafthouse, and it’d be fair to say that the screening was just as difficult to get into as last night’s You’re Next screening.  Anticipation was running high, the TIFF hype had done its job, and the screening was appropriately exclusive—but did the film live up to the hype?  You’re gonna have to read on to find out, folks.

Michael Shannon is one of those amazing character actors whose work went unnoticed for years simply because he was so good that people didn’t realize just how far he disappeared into his roles. The lanky actor with sunken eyes did get a token Oscar nod for his wonderful work in Revolutionary Road that increased his profile, but it still doesn’t feel like he gets the respect he deserves. Fortunately high profile parts in Boardwalk Empire (he’s the psychotic Christian cop) and an upcoming appearance as General Zod in Man Of Steal should change all that. However, Shannon may find himself becoming a well known screen presence before Superman is even released thanks to Take Shelter. Though the movie is flawed and probably not the finest entry in The Toronto Film Festival this year, Shannon’ s absolutely remarkable central performance is the reason why acting awards were invented. If he doesn’t find himself locking up a well-deserved second Academy Award nomination for Take Shelter this winter, then the Academy should probably be disbanded. Hit the jump to find out why.

The Alamo Drafthouse has announced the final wave of programming for its upcoming Fantastic Fest. Included in this final batch of flicks the world premiere of director Tom Six’s The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence; Retreat starring Cillian Murphy, Thandie Newton and Jamie Bell; Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope; and director Jeff Nichols’ drama Take Shelter starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.

Hit the jump to see the full announcement of final wave films. Fantastic Fest 2011 runs from September 22nd – 29th in Austin, Texas and, for the record, I’m already disappointed in myself for not being there.

In my article yesterday about the Venice Film Festival, I made some predictions on which films would make their world premiere at this year’s Toronto Film Festival and not Venice.  It turns out a few of my guesses were only the tip of the iceberg.  Moneyball, 50/50, and The Descendants are all going to premiere at TIFF.  But my lord, does Toronto have an incredible line-up this year.  I’m praying my application gets approved because when you hit the jump and check out this line-up, you’ll understand my agony if I’m stuck in Atlanta while these films are premiering.

Hit the jump for the line-up of Galas and Premieres for this year’s festival.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8th – 18th.

New posters have been released for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Take Shelter, Main Street, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.    The UK Tinker Tailor poster is pretty slick, the Take Shelter does a satisfactory job of conveying the film’s sense of dread and isolation, the Main Street poster [which @DarkHorizons tells me is the same design they used when promoting it in international markets two years ago] is painfully bland, and the Thai banner for Rise of the Planet of the Apes proves yet again that an ape staring you down will make you want to see the movie featuring said ape.  We also have a hi-res version of the poster for Martin Scorsese’s Hugo.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opens November 18th, Take Shelter opens September 30th, Main Street hits VOD on August 5th and theaters on September 9th, Rise of the Planet of the Apes opens August 5th, and Hugo arrives in 3D on November 23rd.

We’ve got some release date news for you this afternoon. First up, a couple of movies that premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival have been slated. The financial crisis-centered drama Margin Call is now set for an October 21^st, 2011 release (via Box Office Mojo). The film stars Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore and Stanley Tucci. Additionally, Jeff Nichols’ intense psychological drama Take Shelter is set for a limited release on September 30^th (via The Playlist) before going wide on October 7^th. Starring Michael Shannon, the film generated a good amount of buzz at Sundance.

The release date for Pedro Alomodovar’s next film The Skin I Live In has been shifted from October 7^th to October 14^th. Based on Thierry Jonquet’s novel Tarantula, the film stars Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeron out for revenge on the man who raped his daughter. Finally, IFC Films will release Julia Leigh’s dark psychosexual drama Sleeping Beauty on October 28^th (via The Playlist). The film stars Emily Browning and was an official selection for the Cannes Film Festival.

The trailer for Jeff Nichols’ intense psychological drama Take Shelter has gone online.  I caught the film at Sundance and while I thought it could stand to lose a good twenty minutes to keep up the pacing and maintain the dread it creates in the first act, but the core of the story is fantastic and the performances are solid.  The trailer tries to play up the psychological aspect of the story and that’s kind of necessary because after the recent spate of devastating tornados, most folks aren’t going to think that building a storm shelter is a crazy idea.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, and Kathy Baker.  Take Shelter opens October 7th.

The release dates for a couple of Sony Pictures Classics flicks are now known. Director Pedro Almodovar’s The Skin I Live In is set to be released in the US in November, with a UK release date of August 26^th. The film, an adaptation of Thierry Jonquet’s novel Tarantula, stars Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeron out for revenge on the man who raped his daughter.

Additionally, Jeff Nichols’ Sundance hit Take Shelter is slated for an October 7^th release. Starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, the thriller tells the story of a husband and father trying to figure out if his dreams of an apocalyptic storm are a sign of things to come or a result of his own mental illness. Hit the jump to read the official synopsis for both films.

You might want to remember the name Jessica Chastain.  The reason is while you don’t know her name right now, by the end of the year, you will.  That’s because Chastain has been acting in a ton of high profile movies over the past few years and most are going to get released this year.  Here’s the list: Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, Ami Canaan Mann’s The Fields, John Madden’s The Debt, Al Pacino’s Wilde Salome, Tate Taylor’s The Help, and she’s about to start filming John Hillcoat’s The Wettest Country in the World opposite Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy.  As I said, she’s about to step into the spotlight.

At this year’s Sundance, I was able to sit down with Chastain for an extended video interview to talk about Take Shelter – which premiered at this year’s Festival.  Written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Shotgun Stories), the film is about a young husband and father that must decide whether to shelter his family from the storm, or from himself, after being plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions.  The film stars Michael Shannon and he delivers an incredible performance.  Of course one of the reasons he’s so great is being able to play off Chastain, who really impressed me as a young mother and wife.

During our extended conversation, we discussed her early TV work like NBC’s Journeyman, what it was like to work for Malick on Tree of Life and his next film which stars Ben Affleck, who she plays in Wettest Country,  and so much more.  If you’d like to learn a lot about this rising actress, hit the jump to watch the interview.  I’ve also pulled some quotes about working for Malick which only make me more excited to see The Tree of Life.