Four Films Top Independent Nominations

Four feature films made outside of the realm of major Hollywood studios--”To Sleep With Anger,” “House Party,” “Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer,” and “The Plot Against Harry”--led the list of nominations for the sixth annual Independent Spirit Awards for movies of 1990, it was announced Monday.

The awards, to be presented March 23, two days before the Academy Awards, are handed out by the Independent Feature Project/West, an association of independent filmmakers. A spokesman for the group said films eligible for the competition were produced without any major studio financing or commitment.

Notable for their small budgets and often daring themes, the films nominated for the Independent Spirit Awards are rarely among Oscar contenders. Notable exceptions, however, are Oliver Stone’s “Platoon,” which won the Oscar and Independent Spirit Award for best picture of 1986, and two of this year’s Independent Spirit nominees for best actress, Anjelica Huston and Joanne Woodward--both considered contenders for Oscars for their roles in “The Grifters” and “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge,” respectively.

“To Sleep With Anger,” a comic drama of a black family in South-Central Los Angeles, released by the Samuel Goldwyn Co., received seven nominations in six of the 10 categories: best feature film; Charles Burnett, best director and best screenplay; Danny Glover, best actor; Mary Alice, best actress; and Ethel Ayler and Sheryl Lee Ralph, best supporting actress.

“House Party,” a teen-age sex comedy set in an all-black milieu, released by New Line Cinema, received six nominations, including best first feature film for brothers Reginald and Warrington Hudlin, and Chris Reid for best actor.

“The Plot Against Harry,” a comedy about a schlemiel of a Jewish gangster, released by New Yorker Films two decades after it was made by director Michael Roemer, was nominated in six categories, including best picture, best director and Martin Priest for best actor.

“Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer,” a character study of a Chicago murderer, drew six nominations, including best picture, John McNaughton for best director and screenplay and Michael Rooker for best actor.

“Pump Up the Volume,” from New Line Cinema, was the fifth nominee for best picture. It also received nods for Christian Slater for best actor and Allan Moyle for best director.

Rounding out the five nominees for best actress are: Eszter Balint for “Bail Jumper” and Carolyn Farina for “Metropolitan.”

Besides “House Party,” best first-feature nominees are “Lightning Over Braddock,” “Metropolitan,” “The Natural History of Parking Lots,” and “Twister.”

For best supporting actor: Willem Dafoe (“Wild at Heart”), Bruce Davison (“Longtime Companion”), Robin Harris (“House Party”), Ben Lang (“The Plot Against Harry”) and Tom Towles “Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer”).

For best supporting actress: Tracy Arnold (“Henry”), Ethel Ayler (“To Sleep With Anger”), Tisha Campbell (“House Party”), A. J. Johnson (“House Party”), and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“To Sleep With Anger”).