Once again, the people of America have proven that we can drive to the multiplex and unironically enjoy a movie with an overtly environmental message from the comfort of air-conditioned movie theaters.  Any broader economic issues aside, the young year has consistently posted far bigger weekend numbers than the corresponding weekends last.  This was the case for the ninth consecutive weekend, with The Lorax posting the biggest opening of 2012 so far and the found footage comedy Project X contributed significantly in second place.

The 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards took place on Saturday, February 25th in Santa Monica. Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival, handed out awards to such films as The Artist, The Descendants, Margin Call, My Week With Marilyn, Beginners, 50/50, Pariah, A Seperation, and The Interrupters. The event aired on IFC and was hosted by Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet), with the evening's announcer John Waters (Pink Flamingos), and musical performances from My Morning Jacket, K'Naan, Kate Micucci, and Garfunkel & Oats.

IAR's Managing Editor Jami Philbrick attended the 27th Annual Film Independent Spirit Awards and was on the red carpet (it was actually purple) talking with many of the stars as they entered the ceremony. He had a chance to speak with actor Bryan Cranston about working with director Nicolas Winding Refn on Drive, and asked young actress Amara Miller about her experience working with director Alexander Payne on The Descendants, as well as speaking with Pariah director Dee Rees and producer Nekisa Cooper, Natural Selection director Robbie Pickering and actress Rachel Harris, actress Kelly Lynch (Drugstore Cowboy), actor Derek Luke (Antwone Fisher), actor Giancarlo Esposito (The Usual Suspects), and former Connecticut Senator turned President of the MPAA Chris Dodd about the importance of independent film and the Independent Spirit Awards.

Los Angelinos may have noticed the Gooodyear Blimp and a bunch of media helicopters circling around the Kodak Theater in Hollywood today.  These aerial vehicles were, oddly, covering an event that that takes place entirely indoors: the 84th Annual Academy Awards.  Hosted for the ninth non-consecutive time by Billy Crystal after Eddie Murphy bowed out months ago, the Oscars went down almost exactly as you'd expect: Harvey Weinstein once again proved his ability to win awards with The Artist, which took home awards for Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture, amongst others.

There are just over twenty-four hours until the Academy Awards ceremony begins, and naturally, awards fever has descended on Los Angeles. Symptoms of Awards Fever include, but are not limited to: hives, fancy dressing, red carpet-walking, seizures, limo-riding, hemorrhagic bleeding, speechifying, and general hyperbole. On the eve of the Oscars, those most susceptible to Awards Fever are quarantined in a series of tents on the beach in Santa Monica, mere yards from the Pacific Ocean. 

This quarantine is, in fact, the Independent Spirit Awards, celebrating the very best in independent cinema from the past year. The 27th Annual Spirit Awards are hosted by Seth Rogen. This year, the nominees for Best Picture are 50/50, The Descendants, Drive, The Artist, Beginners,  and Take Shelter, while recognizable faces like Jessica Chastain, Ryan Gosling, Elizabeth Olsen, Corey Stoll, Michelle Williams, John Hawkes, Lauren Ambrose, and Jean Dujardin are nominees in other categories.

IAR is on the ground at the event itself, ready to share the winners at an awards show that is inarguably cooler and younger than those staid old Oscars. Check back for up to the minute news as we update with each and every new winner.

Unlike the seasons that pass annually in nature thanks to the tilt of Earth's axis and its course through the solar system, awards season culminates in a climactic event that epitomizes nearly everything associated with the yearly handing out of statuettes and accolades.  The 84th annual Academy Awards ceremony takes place this Sunday at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, where Billy Crystal will host the proceedings for the ninth time in a telecast produced by Brian Grazer.

It seems like just yesterday that the American Cinema Editors announced the nominees who might go on to win at the 62nd annual Eddie Awards.  Seem that way though it may, the nominations were, in fact, promulgated throughout the land well over a month ago.  We now know which of those lucky nominees went on to win these adorably-named awards (don't call them Edwards, it's too formal), as The Descendants, The Artist, and Rango all took home Eddies of their own.

We're in the home stretch of awards season here, and as we coast ever closer to the Oscar ceremony at the end of this month, it looks like the official issuing of statues of accolades has settled into an almost entirely predictable pattern.  That pattern sees the silent film homage The Artist picking up the major awards, just as did at tonight at the 64th British Academy of Film and Television Arts, where Michel Hazanavicius's film picked up no fewer than seven awards, including Best Film, Director, Leading Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Original Music, and Costume Design.

At Miramax, Harvey Weinstein justifiably gained a reputation as something of an Oscar kingmaker, very effectively earning Academy Awards for often unlikely or unexpected features.  Last year, The Weinstein Company, the professional home of the brothers Weinstein, campaigned well on behlaf of The King's Speech, and it's looking increasingly likely that the distributor can do it again this year with The Artist.  See, French helmer Michel Hazanavicius just won the feature film award at the 2012 Director's Guild of America Awards.

The Artist, writer-director Michel Hazanavicius's loving homage to silent film, is a fizzy little concoction that's insubstantial but joyous, leaving audiences sort of giddy and smirky when its over.  Similarly, outtake reels are infectious bursts of goofy energy that we can all agree offer some meaningless yucks, often moreso than the film or television show they accompany.  You see where I'm going here.  The blooper reel from The Artist is now online, and it is just as light, happy, and entertaining as you'd expect.

As is customary, this year's Oscar nominees were announced at 5:30 in the morning here on the West Coast, meaning many a bedraggled awards season enthusiast is starting off their day puzzling over just who and what is now officially up for an Academy Award at the 84th Annual ceremonies.