Spirit Awards: 9 Things the TV Cameras Missed

Film Independent posted up on Santa Monica Beach on Sunday for the 37th Spirit Awards, the biggest party for L.A.’s indie scene. While cameras captured the live show for an IFC telecast, The Hollywood Reporter was inside the iconic white tent on the beach to bring you all the action you might’ve missed.

The Zola star arrived at the tent minutes before showtime, missing the chance to stroll down the blue carpet and soak in her best female lead nomination. The reason for her late arrival? Not really a wardrobe malfunction per se but a wardrobe delay. After making her way through the metal detectors, the 31-year-old actress was overheard telling the film’s screenwriter, Jeremy O. Harris, that her Stuart Weitzman stilettos did not arrive in time to walk out the door with them strapped to her feet. Instead, she donned slippers until the Weitzman originals were hand-delivered during the show. Not long after, Paige had a Cinderella moment when her name was announced as the winner for her work in the Janicza Bravo-directed film. The news was well-received in the room with Paige’s win inciting a rousing standing ovation from her Zola family and guests including Daveed Diggs and Queen of Glory nominee Nana Mensah.

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During one of three appearances at the podium for her Lost Daughter haul, Maggie Gyllenhaal praised husband Peter Sarsgaard as her “North Star” for how he guided her creative process. Backstage in the press room, she could’ve called him her deejay as he stepped to the microphone to play some tunes. Gyllenhaal dug it, laughing and bobbing her head to the tunes. Once the music stopped, Gyllenhaal opened up about her creative aspirations and where she goes next after the impressive showing with her Netflix film. “I miss acting,” she said. “I have the fantasy of someone really brilliant and exciting coming and asking me to do something and falling into their arms without any of the responsibility of the rest of these challenges.” But what she won’t do is compromise and try to build something as an actress that requires a heavy lift. “I don’t want to do that anymore. I would rather try to create something myself, that’s really where my mind is right now. That’s what gets me hot.”

Julia Fox, who scored several supporting and breakthrough actress nominations a few years back for her work in the Safdie brothers’ Uncut Gems, made a splash on the blue carpet, posing in a revealing black ensemble. The native New Yorker has been a ubiquitous figure in the press as of late due to a brief relationship with Kanye West, but she wasn’t about to grant any interviews on her way inside the tent. “I’m not in a movie, I’m just a guest,” she said, politely declining requests to chat. Once inside, Fox was spotted taking in the sights and sounds of the show while catching up with creatives like Jeremy O. Harris who wrote the Broadway smash Slave Play, which she happened to catch during a night out on the town with West.

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The Red Rocket star and eventual best male lead winner closed down the blue carpet as the final guest to make his way inside. During a chat with THR, he said he’s kept busy filming back-to-back projects while navigating awards season. He’ll soon appear in Katie Aselton’s Mack & Rita, Rightor Doyle’s Down Low and Tony Tost’s National Anthem opposite Sydney Sweeney, Halsey and Eric Dane. But it was his work in Sean Baker’s Red Rocket that inspired an ongoing joke during Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman’s opening monologue with the former gushing about his, ahem, major performance as a washed-up porn star (with a massive member). Rex, who shows it off during a memorable nude scene in the film, played along with the bit and even winked to the camera. Later, THR caught up with Baker and asked for his response to seeing his film and its star get so much attention. The indie auteur said, “It’s nice they gave us all that air time. It felt like Film Independent’s way of giving our film some extra love.” Speaking of extra, Rex admitted for the first time that the full-frontal scene was, in fact, a prosthetic.

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Where’s the Wine?

Event producers produced a brand new spread this year, mixing up the menu and outdoor installations which are always a big draw for guests during the pre-show cocktail reception. Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, non-alcoholic brand Seedlip, FIJI Water, Stella Artois and Piper-Heidsieck Champagne were being poured left and right while guests dined on bento-style bites by Untitled Events served in chic pink boxes. But veteran indie producer Christine Vachon had a pressing question about the beverage list: Where’s the wine? “NO WINE AT ALL,” the wine connoisseur tweeted to her 29,000 followers. “How do I get THROUGH this?” On her way out the door, THR asked Vachon for her take on this year’s drips. “My take is that it’s terrible to not have wine at an awards show,” she said. “They usually have shitty chardonnay but they didn’t this year. Shitty chardonnay, please come home!” That said, Vachon, who produced the recent critically acclaimed doc The Velvet Underground, played nice about the entire experience by saying that despite a wine-free afternoon, she was thrilled to be in attendance. “I am always happy to come to the Independent Spirit Awards.”

Speaking of beverages, there was no chardonnay but there was Arrvo Coffee. Making an inaugural appearance at this year’s Spirit Awards, Arrvo served up a menu featuring macchiatos, lattes, flat whites, cappuccinos, matcha lattes, dirty chai lattes, piccolo lattes, hot chocolate and more. By the looks of it, loads of guests were glad to see them. At one point, the line for the coffee bar was longer than any other bar in the area with upwards of 20 guests craving for a hot one. Caffeine is never a bad choice during a marathon awards season but Santa Monica’s weather also could have contributed to the fix. Temperatures hovered around 57 degrees Fahrenheit, and the beaches were under a high surf and wind advisory for much of the weekend.

OK, so this didn’t happen at the Spirit Awards but Questlove — a winner Sunday for best documentary for his critically acclaimed Summer of Soul — relayed a story to THR on the blue carpet about what happened the night before. He was at one of his favorite hole-in-the-wall sushi joints when the door swung open. “One by one, each member of the cast of Euphoria was walking in,” he said. “I was like, ‘Yo!’ I was doing my best to not freak out.” To find out what he thinks of Sam Levinson’s hit show, watch the clip below.

Ruth Negga snagged a trophy for best supporting female for her critically acclaimed work in Rebecca Hall’s Passing. The actress, currently in play rehearsals, was not able to be in attendance so she appeared virtually. Her heartfelt speech touched on her reaction, (“My cheeks hurt because I can’t stop smiling”), her collaborators (“Nothing can be created in isolation without anybody else”) and the war in Ukraine (“I’m glad to express my solidarity”). The in-person audience almost didn’t get to hear the speech as the audio wasn’t playing in the tent for the first portion due to technical difficulties. But it was only a passing pause as producers were able to turn up the volume for the latter half of Negga’s comments.

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Los Angeles recently dropped its mask mandates due to low transmission rates and declining COVID-19 infections. Across the city, mask signs have come off businesses and residents are mingling — some for the first time in nearly two years — with no protection. The Spirit Awards still followed strict protocols by asking guests to be vaccinated with press and productions staff also required to produce a negative test within 24-48 hours of showtime. Upon arrival, staff members could be seen canvassing all corners of the complex to enforce a mask mandate, even generously providing medical-grade KN95 masks for all on site. Masks were required at all times, except when eating or drinking but once the show started, it appeared that many guests went mask-free for the rest of the day.

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