Independent Spirit Awards

Independent Spirit Celebrated in Santa Monica

The 21st Film Independent Spirit Awards will be celebrated Saturday, March 4th, on the beach in Santa Monica, California. Sarah Silverman.has been invited to host this year's event and Naomi Watts serves as honorary chair. The short list of celebrity presenters includes Terrence Howard, Lisa Kudrow, Laura Linney, Sandra Oh, Jeremy Piven and Rachel Weisz.

Films competing for Best Feature recognition are "Brokeback Mountain," "Capote," "Good Night, and Good Luck," "The Squid and the Whale," and "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada." "Crash" competes in the Best First Feature category against "Lackawanna Blues," "Me and You and Everyone We Know," "Thumbsucker," and "Transamerica." Visit IMDb.com for the complete list of nominations for the 2006 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which were announced by Mark Ruffalo and Laura Linney on November 29, 2005.

The red carpet pre-show airs live on the WE Channel at 1:30 pm PT / 4:30 pm ET. The colorful awards ceremony will air live and uncensored on the Independent Film Channel at 2 pm PT / 5 pm ET. If you miss the live show, you can watch the edited rebroadcast on AMC tomorrow night at 10 pm ET/PT and on IFC Sunday.

Other award ceremonies taking place Saturday include the Motion Picture Sound Editors MPSE Golden Reel Awards, the Razzie Awards and the Soul Train Music Awards. Visit our awards calendar for more details about these events.

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Friday Oscar Parties

The Day Before the Day Before the Oscars Big Party

Hollywood, Beverly Hills and all of Los Angeles will be blanketed with stars tonight, as celebs continue the round of pre-Oscar parties. In addition to the Global Green party, there will be a number of private parties throughout the city. Some of the biggest parties are thrown by agents at their homes, including CAA's Bryan Lourd, ICM's Ed Limato and Endeavor's Ariel Emanuel. Billy Crystal, Claire Danes, Mel Gibson, Steve Martin and Denzel Washington are just a few A-List guests expected at Limato's estate in Beverly Hills.

The studios will also be celebrating their Oscar nominees tonight. Universal Studios will once again hold their fete at Spago in Beverly Hills; newcomers Benderspink will hold court at the Reel Lounge in honor of "A History of Violence." The Warner Bros. party at the Bel-Air Hotel will host talent from "Syriana," "North Country," "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," "Batman Begins," "Tim Burton's Corpse Bride," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "March of the Penguins," "Paradise Now," and "Good Night and Good Luck." The New Zealand Film Council hosts their annual dinner at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

These are just a few of the parties that have been publicized. Dozens more low key parties will be scattered throughout the city. Just follow the paparazzi to find them.

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Global Green Oscar Party

Hollywood Goes Green for Pre-Oscar Party

Celebrities make an environmental statement tonight by attending the annual Global Green USA Oscar Party at the Henry Fonda Music Box Theatre. The party benefits Global Green's global warming initiatives, including the green rebuilding of New Orleans. It kicks off at 8:00 pm at 6126 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood.

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti will chauffeur Global Green supporter Kate Bosworth to the Green Carpet in his own electric car. Additional celebrity attendees will arrive in a variety of alternative fueled vehicles including Honda Civics powered by natural gas, Ford Hybrid Escapes, Toyota's electric RAV 4's and various biodiesel cars.

"I say we should all walk or rent bikes, but that would determine a new and interesting Oscar dress code," suggested Academy Award winner and current nominee Frances McDormand (Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe did just that a few years ago, when they rode bikes to attend the Independent Spirit Awards on the beach in Santa Monica!).

Oscar nominee David Strathairn offered, "I think we all should do whatever we can to use environmentally friendly products."

Those expected to walk the symbolic "green carpet" covered by a solar powered tent include Elizabeth Banks, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Aaron Carter, Nick Carter, Kristin Cavallari, Chevy Chase, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Clifton Collins Jr., James Cromwell, Julie Delpy, Stephen Dorff, Sara Foster, Walton Goggins, Daryl Hannah, Lukas Haas, Kelly Hu, Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden, Justin Kirk, Mila Kunis, Sharon Lawrence, Bai Ling, Jon Lovitz, Anthony Mackie, Kate Mara, Radha Mitchell, Rhona Mitra, Shamar Moore, Mekhi Phifer, Kelly Rutherford, Jean Smart, Bahar Soomekh, George Stultz, Brian Tee, Paz Vega, Jenna Vewan, Ken Watanabe, Ray Wise, Alicia Witt and many others.

The celebrities join over 1,000 Global Green supporters for a sold-out concert emceed by Pras Michel of the Fugees, featuring performances by Liz Phair, Money Mark, Fishbone, Tracy Lyons, and DJs Senor Amor and Peanut Butter Wolf.

The party kicks-off Global Green's "Red Carpet, Green Cars" Oscar campaign, where celebrities arrive at the Academy Awards in environmentally friendly vehicles instead of gas-guzzling limousines. This year, Global Green's Red Carpet, Green Cars campaign will feature celebrities including Naomi Watts, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Felicity Huffman, Paul Giamatti, Will Ferrell, Paul Haggis, Frances McDormand and David Strathairn. In fact, there will be so many hybrids and alternative-fueled vehicles driving celebrities to the awards show Oscar valet services have had to dedicate a special area for parking them all at the Hollywood Bowl during the ceremony.

Global Green USA, the U.S. affiliate of Green Cross International led by Mikhail S. Gorbachev, works in cooperation with individuals, industry, and governments to create a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future. For more information, please visit www.globalgreen.org.

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