The 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards are only given to films produced under $20 million. The awards show will air on February 26, 2011 live on IFC with Joel McHale hosting the event.

The drama Winter’s Bone had the most nominations, with seven nods including Best Feature. Winter’s Bone is directed by Debra Granik and stars Jennifer Lawrence, as a girl searching for her lost father in a rural Arkansas town filled with drug pushers.

“The Kids Are All Alright”, which stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, received five nominations, including Best Feature.

Check out the list of nominees for the 2011 Film Independent Spirit Awards. www.spiritawards.com

James Bond seems set to live another day after debt-ridden film giant MGM secured a deal to end months of financial deadlock, which put the latest 007 movie on ice along with the studio’s fate.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, whose catalogue includes the Bond franchise as well as the Pink Panther and Rocky series, announced a debt-restructuring rescue deal late on Friday while rejecting an offer from billionaire Carl Icahn.

In a statement the legendary studio – famous for its trademark roaring lion logo – said its lenders had “overwhelmingly approved its proposed plan of reorganisation” with US firm Spyglass Entertainment.

Spyglass was favoured over a rival offer by Icahn, who reportedly owns about $800m of MGM’s debt, to merge the studio with film producer Lionsgate in which he is the largest shareholder.

“MGM will now move expeditiously to implement that plan, which will dramatically reduce its debt load and put the company in a strong position to execute its business strategy.

Struggling

“MGM is appreciative of the lenders’ support,” said the MGM statement.

The studio, with a 4 000-strong back catalogue that also includes The Wizard of Oz and Singin’ in the Rain, has been struggling for the last few years, and its owners put it up for sale a year ago.

Several candidates emerged, including US-Canadian studio Lionsgate, as well as America’s Liberty Media, Australian-born US media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, and India’s Reliance Entertainment.

If the plan announced late on Friday is approved, MGM is expected to emerge from bankruptcy with 95% of its capital in the hands of creditors led by US bank JPMorgan Chase.

The remaining five percent would be held by Spyglass, which notably produced Clint Eastwood’s last film Invictus.

In April, uncertainty over the debt-ridden studio’s future forced the suspension of work on the latest James Bond movie, the 23rd in the long-running franchise.

The British production company behind the project said they had put work on hold “indefinitely” after MGM failed to attract a buyer. There was no immediate word on when filming could resume

 Source: http://www.channel24.co.za