Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale is Top Independent Spirit Award Nominee

Noah Baumbach

(December 8, 2005) – - Noah Baumbach’s family drama The Squid and the Whale picked up six nominations last week to lead all contenders for the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards.

The film, partially written at Yaddo, is nominated for best feature, best director and best screenplay (Mr. Baumbach), best male lead (Jeff Daniels), best female lead (Laura Linney), and best supporting actor (Jesse Eisenberg). The nominations were announced Tuesday in Los Angeles by Film Independent., which assembled committees to review 200 films. The prizes will be awarded March 4 during a live broadcast airing on IFC.

The Squid and the Whale is a layered look at divorce and the resiliency of youth. It debuted in January at the Sundance Film Festival, where it earned Mr. Baumbach two major honors – the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award as well as the Best Dramatic Directing Award. It later was acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Sony Pictures Entertainment for nationwide distribution. It opened in October to wide critical acclaim.

 

Film Gets Oscar Nod (January 31, 2006) – Noah Baumbach’s The Squid and the Whale is in the running for an Oscar, it was announced today by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The filmmaker is nominated in the original screenplay category for the 78th presentation of the Academy Awards. The ceremony will be held March 5 in Los Angeles. The film also received three Golden Globe Award nominations – best motion picture (musical or comedy), best actress (musical or comedy/Laura Linney), and best actor (musical or comedy/Jeff Daniels).

Mr. Baumbach made his writing and directing debut with Kicking and Screaming and recently co-wrote the feature film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou with Wes Anderson, one of the producers for The Squid and the Whale. A frequent contributor to The New Yorker magazine’s "Shouts and Murmurs" department, Mr. Baumbach has twice been a guest artist at Yaddo. He is a Director of The Corporation of Yaddo.

One of the other nominees for the 2006 Independent Spirit Awards is based on a pivotal time in the life of another Yaddo artist, the writer Truman Capote. The film Capote received four nominations, including one for best feature.

Independent Spirit Awards recognize “original, provocative subject matter, uniqueness of vision, economy of means with particular attention paid to total budget and individual compensation, and percentage of independent financing,” according to Film Independent. To be considered, films must have received a week-long commercial theatrical release or must have screened at specified festivals, and meet a maximum budget cap of $20 million.

To read a conversation between Yaddo author Jonathan Lethem and Mr. Baumbach that appeared recently in Bomb magazine, click here. Visit the movie web site here for more information about The Squid and the Whale, and to view the movie trailer.