`Sunshine,' `Nelson' lead indie field
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The road-trip romp "Little Miss Sunshine" and the gritty classroom drama "Half Nelson" led contenders Tuesday for the Spirit Awards honoring independent films, each earning five nominations, including best picture.
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"Half Nelson" is that rarest of marvels Â an American fiction film that wears its political heart on its sleeve.
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While the Spirit Awards  hardly confer the same prestige as the Oscars, they are still a  valued accolade for the big fish of indie film and a crucial  point of entry for outsiders.
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LOS ANGELES - &quot;Half Nelson&quot; director  Ryan Fleck is attached to bring the teen novel &quot;Special Topics  in Calamity Physics&quot; to the big screen.
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Hollywood's Oscar race for best  film appears to be wide open heading into its final month with  several award watchers on Tuesday giving comedy "Little Miss  Sunshine" a slight edge over "The Departed" and "Babel."
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British filmmaker Danny  Boyle, director of the upcoming sci-fi thriller "Sunshine,"  will scale "Ponte Tower" for his next project.
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Overture Films is running on a small budget, but looking like a major studio.
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Arts & entertainment: Â· Consecutive nominations a first for Sheffield band  Â· Amy Winehouse is joint favourite on 12-strong list
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Small-budget movies are making bigger hits than big-budget movies.
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Three young indie filmmakers have shown promise with strong, idiosyncratic debuts. Flouting conventions, however, may not be so easy on the road ahead.
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The makers of "Little Miss Sunshine" are keenly aware of the irony that their film, a cheeky repudiation of competitive culture, is a leading contender in Hollywood's biggest beauty contest -- the Oscars.
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Music documentaries like CompaÃ±eras and Dirty Country premiering at SXSW will gain a wider audience through rapid DVD release. Plus: Web design for Flash vs. Ajax and more from SXSW in Listening Post.
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LOS ANGELES  - While indie fare is  being celebrated this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival in  Park City, the North American box office will look toward  R-rated action fare and lowbrow comedy as it heads into what  often proves to be the January doldrums.
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At this year's film festival, nonfiction films outshine the usual angst-ridden, quirky indies.
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Last week was another miserable one for music sales, but with one modest highlight: The indie-heavy âJunoâ movie soundtrack rose one spot to the top of the Billboard chart, becoming the first album in Rhino Recordsâ three-decade history to reach No. 1. After the announcement of four Oscar nominations for âJuno,â including best picture, the soundtrack sold 65,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, bumping Alicia Keysâs âAs I Amâ (J), which moved 60,000, to No. 2. In the fourth straight week of very low sales, Natasha Bedingfield opened at No. 3 with 50,000 copies of âPocketful of Sunshineâ (Epic), Mary J. Bligeâs âGrowing Painsâ (Geffen) sold 45,000 to reach No. 4, and Radiohead dropped one spot to No. 5 with âIn Rainbowsâ (ATO), moving 35,000. Cat Powerâs new âJukeboxâ (Matador) reached No. 12 with 29,000 copies sold.
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The independent movie showcase, the Sundance Film Festival of Utah, has unveiled its 2005 line-up. It includes a film about a Seattle bicycle cop.
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Having a No. 1 album just isnât what it used to be. This week Alicia Keys is back atop the Billboard chart with âAs I Amâ (J), but the 61,000 copies it has sold is barely above the historic low for a No. 1 album, Nielsen SoundScan reported. The âJunoâ soundtrack, on Rhino, fell to No. 2, with 55,000 sold. New releases dot the chart this week. The Mars Volta, which revels in head-spinningly complex progressive rock, opened in the third spot with 54,000 sales of âFrances the Muteâ (Universal); the Welsh heavy metal band Bullet for My Valentine reached fourth place with âScream Aim Fireâ (Jive), selling 53,000; and the â2008 Grammy Nomineesâ compilation (Hip-O/Universal) moved 50,000, opening at No. 5. The remix album âHannah Montana 2: Non-Stop Dance Partyâ (Disney) bowed at No. 7, and Vampire Weekend, the acclaimed New York indie band, reached No. 17 with its self-titled debut on the XL label.