‘Juno’ wins top Spirit Award as best indie film

updated 4:47 p.m. ET Feb. 28, 2008

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - The pregnancy comedy "Juno" was chosen as the year's best independent film and won two other honors Saturday at the Spirit Awards, including best actress for Ellen Page.

The ceremony was a warmup for Hollywood's big show, Sunday's Academy Awards, where "Juno" and Page are in the running for the same categories. Page gushed thanks for "Juno" director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody.

"This is so, so special, but this is pretty much all Diablo Cody's fault," said Page, who played a whipsmart pregnant teen giving the baby up for adoption in "Juno." "She wrote one of the best screenplays I have ever read and created a teenage female lead I feel like we've never seen before."

Cody won the award for best first screenplay and is up for original screenplay at the Oscars.

"This is the coolest award in the coolest category. There is nothing like writing a first screenplay," Cody said.

Schnabel wins for ‘Diving Bell’
Reitman missed out on the directing award, which went to Julian Schnabel for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," based on the memoir of French Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a paralyzing stroke. The film also won the cinematography prize for Janusz Kaminski.

Reitman and Schnabel are nominated for best director at the Oscars. Most key Spirit Award recipients had Oscar nominations.

"Juno" producer Russell Smith said he felt Cody was the Oscar front-runner for original screenplay. As for the film's other nominees: "The rest of us are just happy to be in the big house," Smith said.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won best actor for the sibling drama "The Savages," is nominated for supporting actor at the Oscars for "Charlie Wilson's War."

Co-star Laura Linney missed out on a Spirit Awards nomination but is up for best actress at the Oscars for "The Savages." The film's writer-director Tamara Jenkins won the screenplay award for "The Savages," which also earned her an Oscar slot.

And keeping the spirit of pregnancy in the air, Angelina Jolie, nominated for best actress for "A Mighty Heart," a role for which she was denied an Oscar nod, showed up looking clearly pregnant with her partner Brad Pitt. Jolie walked right down the carpet and did not answer questions from reporters.

Tribute to Heath Ledger
Moments of the ceremony were a tribute to Heath Ledger, who died of a prescription drug overdose Jan. 22 at his Manhattan apartment.

One of six actors playing incarnations of Bob Dylan in director Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There," Ledger was remembered as "probably one of the most beautiful independent spirits of all" by Cate Blanchett, winner of the supporting-actress prize for portraying Dylan in his transition from folk icon to electric rocker, a role that also earned her an Oscar nomination.

"We all loved him so dearly," Haynes said of Ledger, recalling that the actor had started making music videos and intended to go into directing himself. "I have no doubt he would have made an astounding director."

Ledger was a Spirit Award best-actor nominee two years ago for "Brokeback Mountain," the best picture winner.

MORE FROM MORE NEWS AND OTHER FEATURES

‘Precious,’ ‘Last Station’ get Spirit Award nods

‘Precious,’ ‘Last Station’ get Spirit Award nods ‘Up,’ ‘Princess,’ ‘Fox’ vie for Annie top prize ‘This Is It’ out on DVD in January ‘New Moon’ narrowly misses ‘Blind Side’ hit Carla Bruni agrees to do Woody Allen film Gobble, gobble! 10 movies that are real turkeys Figurine used in ‘King Kong’ sells for $200,000 Risk-taking Almodovar still has some modesty Will Ferrell is Hollywood's most overpaid star Cage uncuffs inner cop for ‘Bad Lieutenant’   Add More news and other features headlines to your news reader: