The ‘best’ season begins

The abbreviated movie awards season officially kicked off Wednesday when the National Board of Review named Clint Eastwood’s emotional drama “Mystic River” the best film of 2003, and the Independent Feature Project announced nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards.

Irish director Jim Sheridan’s semi-autobiographical drama “In America” led the Spirit nominations with six, including best feature, director and best female lead, for Samantha Morton.

The National Board of Review, comprising educators, writers, film historians and film students, is the first organization to announce its picks for the year.

The board selected Sean Penn best actor for his performances in “Mystic River,” as a grieving father out to avenge the murder of his daughter, and in “21 Grams,” where he played a critically ill mathematician.

Diane Keaton won as best actress for her comedic performance in the coming “Something’s Gotta Give,” which casts her as a divorcee who falls in love with her daughter’s boyfriend (Jack Nicholson).

The movie awards season is abbreviated this year because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has moved the Academy Awards from late March to February -- the first time in 62 years that the Oscars will be held in February.

And independent studios are holding their breath to see if the MPAA’s controversial ban on screeners to all except the Academy’s 6,000 voting members will hurt indies’ Oscar chances.

The board also named Alec Baldwin best supporting actor for his role in the drama “The Cooler,” as a ruthless Las Vegas casino operator, and Patricia Clarkson was voted best supporting actress for the comedies “Pieces of April” and “The Station Agent.”

Edward Zwick was honored as best director for his lavish historical epic “The Last Samurai,” which opens Friday.

Anthony Minghella won best adapted screenplay for the Civil War romance “Cold Mountain,” which opens on Christmas, and Sheridan and his daughters Naomi and Kristen took original screenplay honors for “In America.”

The cast of “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won best ensemble, and Paul Giamatti (“American Splendor”) and Charlize Theron (“Monster”) received the nods for breakthrough performance. Vadim Perelman was chosen for best directorial debut for “House of Sand and Fog.”

Rounding out National Board of Review winners were “Finding Nemo” for best animated film, “The Barbarian Invasions” for best foreign film, “The Fog of War” for best documentary and “Angels in America” for best cable movie or miniseries.

The awards will be handed out Jan. 13 in New York City.

In addition to “In America,” the IFP Independent Spirit Awards nominees for best feature are “American Splendor,” whose five nominations also included best actor for Paul Giamatti; “Lost in Translation,” which also earned nominations for Sofia Coppola as director and screenwriter and Bill Murray as best actor; “Raising Victor Vargas,” which included a nomination for best director for Peter Sollett among its five; and “Shattered Glass,” which was also nominated for best screenplay for Billy Ray.

Films nominated for Spirit Awards were selected by 11-person committee including IFP/Los Angeles Executive Director Dawn Hudson and Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan.

The awards will be handed out Feb. 28 at a ceremony on the beach in Santa Monica.

Other Spirit nominees for best director are Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini, “American Splendor,” and Gus Van Sant, “Elephant.”

Best Screenplay: Berman & Pulcini, “American Splendor’; Coppola, “Lost in Translation”; Christopher Guest & Eugene Levy and the cast of “A Mighty Wind”; Peter Hedges, “Pieces of April”; and Ray, “Shattered Glass.”

Best Female Lead: Agnes Bruckner, “Blue Car”; Zooey Deschanel, “All the Real Girls”; Samantha Morton, “In America”; Elisabeth Moss, “Virgin”; and Charlize Theron, “Monster.”

Best Male Lead: Peter Dinklage, “The Station Agent”; Giamatti, “American Splendor”; Sir Ben Kingsley, “House of Sand and Fog”; and Murray for “Lost in Translation.”

Best Foreign Film: “City of God,” “Lilya 4-Ever,” “The Magdalene Sisters,” “The Triplets of Belleville” and “Whale Rider.”

Best Documentary: “The Fog of Wa,” “Mayor of Sunset Strip,” “My Architect,” “OT: our town” “Power Trip.”

For a list of all the nominees, go to www.ifp.org.