The 18th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 2002, were presented on March 22, 2003. It was hosted by John Waters. The nominations were announced on December 12, 2002.[1][2][3][4][5]
| 18th Independent Spirit Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 22, 2003 |
| Site | Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
| Hosted by | John Waters |
| Highlights | |
| Best Film | Far from Heaven |
| Most awards | Far from Heaven (5) |
| Most nominations | Lovely & Amazing (6) |
Additionally, this ceremony is notable for when presenter Brittany Murphy seemingly bungled the reading of the winner for Best Debut Performance.[6] In reference to her acting ability, legendary film critic Roger Ebert wrote:
As for Brittany Murphy, for me, it goes back to the 2003 Independent Spirit Awards [where] Murphy was assigned to present one of the awards. Her task was to read the names of the five nominees, open an envelope, and reveal the name of the winner. This she turned into an opportunity for screwball improvisational comedy, by pretending she could not follow this sequence, not even after the audience shouted instructions and the stage manager came to whisper in her ear not once but twice. There were those in the audience who were dumbfounded by her stupidity. I was dumbfounded by her brilliance.[7]
Suspiciously, video footage of the entire ceremony is absent from online resources despite prior and subsequent ceremonies being made available in their entirety officially on Film Independent's YouTube account. However, footage of Murphy's alleged act was used for the 2021 HBO Max documentary titled What Happened, Brittany Murphy?.[8]
Winners and nominees
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Special awards
editJohn Cassavetes Award
editPersonal Velocity: Three Portraits
Truer Than Fiction Award
editJennifer Dworkin – Love & Diane
- Jeffrey Blitz – Spellbound
- Eugene Jarecki – The Trials of Henry Kissinger
- Mark Moskowitz – Stone Reader
Producers Award
editEffie Brown – Real Women Have Curves and Stranger Inside
- Allen Bain and Jesse Scolaro – Cry Funny Happy and Manito
- Eden Wurmfeld – Fanci's Persuasion and Kissing Jessica Stein
Someone to Watch Award
editFilms with multiple wins and nominations
editFilms that received multiple nominations
edit| Nominations | Film |
|---|---|
| 6 | Lovely and Amazing |
| 5 | Far from Heaven |
| 4 | The Good Girl |
| Ivans Xtc | |
| Tully | |
| 3 | Dahmer |
| Interview with the Assassin | |
| Manito | |
| Narc | |
| Personal Velocity: Three Portraits | |
| Roger Dodger | |
| Secretary | |
| 2 | Antwone Fisher |
| Charlotte Sometimes | |
| Gerry | |
| Hysterical Blindness | |
| Kissing Jessica Stein | |
| Real Women Have Curves | |
| Thirteen Conversations About One Thing |
Films that won multiple awards
edit| Nominations | Film |
|---|---|
| 5 | Far from Heaven |
References
edit- ^ Harris, Dana (March 22, 2003). "'Heaven' tops Indie Spirit Awards". Variety. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ^ Hernandez, Eugene; Brooks, Brian (March 22, 2003). ""Far from Heaven" Sweeps 2003 Independent Spirit Awards". IndieWire. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ^ Hiatt, Brian (March 22, 2003). "Anti-war speeches dominate pre-Oscar awards". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ^ Vancheri, Barbara (March 22, 2003). "'Far from Heaven' sweeps Independent Spirit Awards". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ^ "Independent Spirit Awards nominees announced". Los Angeles Times. December 12, 2002. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
- ^ Keane, Sean (November 14, 2018). "Indie Indeed: The most memorable moments in the history of the Independent Spirit Awards". Yardbarker. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (February 5, 2013). Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2007. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 410. ISBN 978-0-7407-9219-9. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "Brittany Murphy at the 2003 Independent Spirit Awards". April 10, 2022. Retrieved September 18, 2022 – via YouTube.