Live Blogging the 25th annual Spirit Awards!

I will be Live Blogging the show right here, so be sure to check back frequently as it's sure to be an interesting show! As a primer on the show, check out my preview/prediction article on the Main Page of The Awards Circuit (found here).
Now, on with the Live Blogging:

1:20- That's a wrap for this Live Blog of the 25th Annual Independent Spirit Awards. Hope you enjoyed! Sunday will be a Live Blog of the Oscars, so be prepared for another of these things soon enough...

1:18- Anvil! takes us out...

1:17- I did shockingly well with my predictions tonight, only missing on 4 categories, and accurately predicted them in a sense, since I would have voted for them. Consider it a soft 100%, but the reality is that I went 13 for 17. Not bad at all.

1:15- Precious completes the sweep!

1:14- The nominees for Best Feature are (500) Days of Summer, Amreeka, Precious, Sin Nombre, and The Last Station. It's between (500) Days and Precious, but it's 99% likely Precious will finish off the sweep.
And the winner is...Precious!

1:13- Ben Stiller bringing out "independent porn stars" to stand with him as he reads the nominees is my highlight of the night I think.

1:11- One last award, and it's the biggie...Best Feature.

1:08- Expect a Precious sweep now, but hey, anything could happen at the Spirit Awards...

1:06- Speaking of Best Director, it's up now. Lee Daniels seems likely to win for Precious, but I could see it going a few ways. Don't bet against Precious though.
And the winner is...Lee Daniels!

1:03- All that's left is Best Director and Best Feature. Will Precious sweep? Will (500) Days of Summer or The Last Station steal one? Stay tuned to find out!

1:01- Jeff Bridges has had a few...good, I say.

12:58- Best Actor is the category now. Jeff Bridges should win this, considering Crazy Heart hasn't had a bad night, but Colin Firth could get one last award for the season...but don't count on it too much (though anything is possible).
And the winner is...Jeff Bridges!

12:55- Eddie Izzard is up for the last time, introducing the last nominee for Best Feature, which is The Last Station.

12:53- Bill Murray's great speech in 2003 is the #1 speech of all time at the Spirit Awards!

12:51- Precious is 3 for 3 so far, but the two big ones are still approaching soon, not that I think it's going to stop its winning ways...

12:48- We come now to Best Female Lead. Gabourey Sidibe is the likely winner (continuing the dominance of Precious), but watch out for Helen Mirren as well.
And the winner is...Gabourey Sidibe!

12:45- I'm still doing pretty well, in terms of predictions, but all of the ones I've gotten wrong have been the ones I'd have voted for if I had a vote, so I've got 100% in my soul (assuming I have one)...

12:43- Best Foreign Film is up now. This should be A Prophet vs An Education, so place your bets.
And the winner is...An Education!

12:40- Independent cinema in general is now being celebrated, as it's the 25th anniversary of the show.

12:38- The big awards are coming...

12:34- We're up to Best Documentary. Anvil! The Story of Anvil would obviously have some support, but Food, Inc. might get in on its prestige. We'll know shortly...
And the winner is...Anvil! The Story of Anvil!

12:31- Mickey Rourke's speech last year is being shown now, the #2 speech of all time at the Spirit Awards, according to voters.

12:27- Anvil! is performing a set now, and it's a bit strange to think of them as a band (they seem more out of the Spinal Tap mold in my brain), but hey, that's what they actually are.

12:25- Amreeka is now being featured, the 4th nominee for Best Feature.

12:24- I'm amused by people drinking at a live show, but then again, I'm weird like that.

12:22- (500) Days of Summer winning makes me happy...no point to this post here except that little comment.

12:19- We come now to Best Screenplay. (500) Days of Summer, The Last Station, and The Messenger are fighting it out for the award, though I'd get a nice smile if Adventureland slipped in with a win.
And the winner is...Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber for (500) Days of Summer!

12:16- Now is the Truer than Fiction Award. The winner here turned out to be Bill and Turner Ross for 45365.

12:14- Roger Ebert is being honored right now, and I'm glad to see it.

12:11- I've only missed on two of the categories so far (I split on the Fellowship Grants). I'm doing too well, so some surprises must be coming as the show goes on.

12:09- John Waters is poking some gentle fun at Precious before presenting Film Independent's Fellowship Grants. The winners of the grant are Kyle Patrick Alvarez for Easier with Practice and Karin Chien for The Exploding Girl and Santa Mesa.

12:07- A look at Best Feature nominee Precious is now being played.

12:06- No other way to put it, Eddie Izzard is bombing with the crowd.

12:04- It seems that more people than usual aren't in attendance, but I could be wrong.

12:02- A Serious Man is now being honored with the 3rd Annual Robert Altman Award.

12:00- Midnight here on the East Coast, but we're still going strong!

11:57- Random thought...for people involved in independent cinema, these speeches sure are thanking a lot of corporate people. Just a thought...

11:52- The John Cassavetes Award is being given out now. It goes to the best flick made for less than a half a million bucks. Humpday has the inside track for this one, but it's a decently open field.
And the winner is...Humpday!

11:50- We now get a clip from another speech highlight by Derrick Luke and a video for Best Feature nominee Sin Nombre.

11:48- The sponsors get a shout from Eddie Izzard, which is being done with a bit of wit.

11:47- Next is the award for Best Cinematography (Mariah Carey claims to adore Cinematography, which makes her and I have our first thing in common ever). Roger Deakins should win this for A Serious Man, but who knows.
And the winner is...Roger Deakins for A Serious Man!

11:45- The announcement of a directing fellowship is being delivered. Good for the recipient!

11:41- We return to our host, who is introducing the 5 films nominated for Best Feature, starting with (500) Days of Summer.

11:39- Felicity Huffman's classic speech from 2004 is now being played, and it's a personal favorite of mine.

11:34- Best Supporting Actress is up next. Prepare for another win by Mo'Nique.
And the winner is...Mo'Nique!

11:32- I'm always impressed when I hear Jeff Bridges singing...

11:30- My favorite song from Crazy Heart is now being played...Fallin' and Flyin'.

11:24- We come now to the category of Best First Screenplay. The smart money is on Precious, but Crazy Heart or A Single Man could surprise, signaling potentially a good night for either (the former more than the latter).
And the winner is...Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious!

11:22- Now we start the highlights of speeches past, with the #5 pick...Paul Giamatti in 2005.

11:19- In case anyone cares, I was right about Supporting Actor, but missed on First Feature, so there goes my perfect score for the night...alas.

11:15- The next category is Best First Feature. This is a crap-shoot, since all five contenders are strong and have support, but I see it as Crazy Heart or The Messenger here, though don't count out A Single Man.
And the winner is...Crazy Heart!

11:13- I'm not going to bother commenting on the speeches, which is pretty much a comment in and of itself...

11:08- The category is Best Supporting Actor. Look for Woody Harrelson in The Messenger or Christian McKay in Me and Orson Welles to take this one home.
And the winner is...Woody Harrelson!

11:07- He got better, but still, meh. We have our first award of the night now.

11:03- Scratch that last statement, Izzard seems off his game tonight, so far.

11:00- And we're off...this should be a fun show, with some interesting match-ups. (500) Days of Summer, The Last Station, The Messenger, and Precious got the most nods, so watch out for them. Eddie Izzard is the host of the show, so the jokes should be pretty good.

10:58- 2 minute warning!

10:45- 15 minutes till the show gets underway...

10:30- Getting things started slowly. The show isn't for a half hour (on IFC), but the channel right now is showing the nomination special from last month, so if you're prepping for the show, it's hosted by the great Matt Singer and is worth checking out!

-Feel free to comment as the show goes on!