'Juno' dominates at Film Independent Spirit Awards

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The quirky coming-of-age comedy "Juno" cleaned up Saturday at the Film Independent Spirit Awards as it continues its Cinderella season going into tonight's Academy Awards.

"Juno" won for best feature film, best actress honors for Ellen Page and best first screenplay for Diablo Cody at the awards show held Saturday afternoon in a tent alongside the sand in Santa Monica. Page and Cody are also nominated for Oscars along with director Jason Reitman.

The film about a pregnant teen has been this awards season's critical darling — and standout — as it also competes tonight in the best picture category against darker fare such as "No Country for Old Men," "There Will Be Blood," "Michael Clayton" and "Atonement." (The Oscar show begins at 6:30 p.m. on Ch. 4)

"This is so, so special," Page said in accepting her award Saturday. "This is pretty much Diablo Cody's fault," she joked.

Made on a shoe-string budget, "Juno" is the only best picture nominee to surpass the $100 million box office mark, which has buoyed supporters of independent film. That giddiness was in full swing Saturday — it was the Independent Spirit Awards, after all — but levity gave way to several somber moments to remember Heath Ledger, who died in January of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. One of his last films, "I'm Not There," won two honors.

Director Todd Haynes, accepting the Robert Altman Award for the film, in which a Bob Dylan-esque character is played by several performers, said the recognition was particularly bittersweet in the wake of Ledger's death.

"We all love him so dearly," Haynes said. "I treasure the time we spent together on this."

Earlier, actress Cate Blanchett dedicated her best supporting actress award to Ledger. The pregnant Blanchett, who won for playing a man in the film, said in accepting the award that Ledger "was probably one of the most beautiful independent spirits of all."

Other awards: best cinematography went to Janusz Kaminski for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; best director went to Julian Schnabel, also for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; best documentary went to filmmaker Dan Klores' "Crazy Love"; the Truer than Fiction award went to filmmaker Laurel Dunn for "The Unforeseen"; and the producers award went to Neil Kopp, for "Paranoid Park" and "Old Joy."