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 'Tiger' grabs 3 Independent Spirit awards Monday, March 26, 2001 By Ron Weiskind, Post-Gazette Movie Editor
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Ellen Burstyn cried; Javier Bardem strutted; Ang Lee waxed philosophical. And this was on the day before the Academy Awards.
Each of these Oscar nominees took home a trophy at the 16th annual Independent Spirit Awards, held Saturday in a giant tent just off the beach in this Los Angeles suburb. There were no tuxedos and few formalities but plenty of stars, all associated with films nominated for their provocative subject matter, unique vision, low budgets and independent financing. The 9,000 members of the Independent Feature Project selected the winners.
The martial-arts epic "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" won three awards, including Best Feature. Lee was named Best Director, and Zhang Ziyi took the Best Supporting Female prize.
The domestic drama "You Can Count on Me" won two awards, for Best First Feature and Best Screenplay (by writer-director Kenneth Lonergan). The addiction drama "Requiem for a Dream" also won twice, for Burstyn as Best Female Lead and for cinematographer Matthew Libatique.
Bardem was named Best Male Lead for his role in the drama "Before Night Falls," and Willem Dafoe was chosen as Best Supporting Male for his unrecognizable turn as the title character in "Shadow of the Vampire."
"I just can't tell you how much I wanted this," an obviously emotional Burstyn said upon taking the stage to receive her award. The veteran actress, an Oscar winner for "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," plays a grandmother in Queens who becomes addicted to diet pills. Fighting back tears, Burstyn thanked director Darren Aronofsky for "your genius and for giving me the role of my career. I love my profession. I love what we do. It's an honor to reflect the spirit of humanity back to itself."
Later, speaking to reporters, she expressed the hope that her award would motivate people to see the movie or rent it on video. Threatened with an NC-17 rating, the distributors released the movie unrated but decided to bar people under 17 -- despite the film's anti-addiction message.
"Crouching Tiger" director Lee talked about the phenomenon that his movie has created around the world. He saw the film as a return to his cultural roots and a genre he had wanted to work in.
"Any good movie reaches the heart," he said.
Writer-producer James Schamus said the door is open for a "Crouching Tiger" prequel. "I can't tell you anything about it. I'd be shot," he said.
Ziyi, looking radiant in a silver dress with red highlights, spoke through a translator, saying it took about a month to train for the arduous martial-arts moves the film required. She said her 16 years studying dance helped her a lot. And while she acknowledged suffering injuries during the shoot, she said, "I didn't break my bones."
She will appear next in the movie "Rush Hour 2." Asked if she would need to speak English for that part, she replied directly without the translator. "A little," she said.
Bardem, the Spanish actor honored for his first English-speaking role as the exiled gay Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, said the award means "happiness -- and a big party." Asked if he planned to move to Los Angeles to make more mainstream movies, he said, "No, thank you. I don't drive."
Lonergan, the writer-director of "You Can Count on Me," gave credit to his lead actors.
"Any screenwriter and director can appreciate that I owe everything to Mark Ruffalo and Laura Linney."
Linney, here on a break from shooting "The Mothman Prophecies" in Kittanning, was nominated by both the Independent Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards for her performance in "You Can Count on Me."
Other Independent Spirit Award winners are:
Best Foreign Film: Lars Von Trier's "Dancer in the Dark."
Best Feature under $500,000: "Chuck and Buck."
Best First Screenplay: Gina Prince-Bythewood for "Love and Basketball."
Best Documentary: "Dark Days."
Best Debut Performance: Michelle Rodriguez of "Girlfight."
Someone to Watch Award: Marc Forster of "Everything Put Together."
Motorola Producers Award: Paul S. Mezey of "The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack."
Truer than Fiction Award: David Shapiro and Laurie Gwen Shapiro of "Keep the River on Your Right."
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