Eddie Izzard

Everyone is talking about who will take home an Oscar this year, but we are just as excited about the Film Independent Spirit Awards.  It was announced today that Ben Stiller, Olivia Wilde, and Maria Bello have all signed on as presenters, along with Emile Hirsch, Marisa Tomei, and Matt Dillon (who also won two Spirits awards for Drugstore Cowboy and Crash).  Eddie Izzard will be this year’s host and Precious, The Last Station, and (500 Days) of Summer are leading in the nominations (no Avatar sweep here).

The Spirit Awards have been called the “indie Oscars”, and historically have taken place the afternoon before the Academy Awards on a tent on the beach in Santa Monica.  Rather than having tuxedos and evening wear, stars come in casual dress and talk without time limit or editing.  In fact, Ally Sheedy gave a 12-minute speech back in 1999.  But this year,  as they celebrate their 25th anniversary, the show will take place on Friday, March 5th, and will move downtown to the L.A. Live Event Deck.

IMDb will be heading down to cover the event and live-tweeting via @imdblive.  We’ll also have the full list of winners along with with pictures up-to-the-minute on the site.  If you want to watch along with us, The Film Independent Spirit Awards will air live and uncut on Friday, March 5, at 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET on the Independent Film Channel (IFC).

If you’re not familiar with the nominees, check out our Spirit Awards nominee list.

What indie films are you rooting for?