It’ll be an all-American Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, with “American Splendor” and “In America” among the nominees for best feature.
Other nominees in that category, announced Wednesday, are “Lost in Translation,” starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson as jet-lagged Americans in Japan; “Raising Victor Vargas,” about a Dominican teenager growing up on New York’s Lower East Side; and “Shattered Glass,” starring Hayden Christensen as disgraced journalist Stephen Glass.
“American Splendor” blends actors, the real people they’re playing and animation to tell the story of comic book writer Harvey Pekar. “In America” is director Jim Sheridan’s semi-autobiographical tale of a family of Irish immigrants in New York.
In the best-actor category, the nominees are Peter Dinklage for “The Station Agent,” Paul Giamatti for “American Splendor,” Ben Kingsley for “House of Sand and Fog,” Murray for “Lost in Translation” and Lee Pace for “Soldier’s Girl.”
The best-actress nominees are Agnes Bruckner for “Blue Car,” Zooey Deschanel for “All the Real Girls,” Samantha Morton for “In America,” Elizabeth Moss for “Virgin” and Charlize Theron for “Monster.”
Winners will be announced Feb. 28 in Santa Monica, Calif. The show will air live at 5 p.m. EST on IFC and will be rebroadcast at 10 p.m. EST on Bravo.
The Independent Spirit Awards, organized by the Independent Film Project, recognize the best in smaller-budget films. The ceremony takes place each year on the Saturday before the Oscars.