Independent Spirit Award 2012 Nominations Are In! 'The Descendants,' Leads, 'Drive' Surprises

The 2012 Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced Tuesday -- to no one's surprise, Alexander Payne's The Descendants received multiple nods, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Female.

Nicholas W. Refn's Drive was also nominated in multiple categories: Best Feature, Best Director, Best Male Lead (Ryan Gosling), and -- hooray! -- Best Supporting Male for Albert Brooks.

The Artist and Take Shelter were also nominated in major categories.

It looks like Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) will be battle it our for Best Female Lead, as both of their performances have received across-the-board raves.

We were pleased to see that Beginners was also recognized, though not in either lead acting category. Christopher Plummer was nominated for Best Supporting Male, and Mike Mills got a Best Director nod. Beginners was also among the Best Feature nominees.

While Margin Call won the Robert Altman Award and was nominated for Best First Feature, it did not get any acting nominations. Was Stanley Tucci snubbed?

Also noticeably, and entirely, absent: Tree of Life -- but that is probably due to its relatively large budget.

Without further ado (and with gratitude to Buzzsugar), here are the nominees:

BEST FEATURE
50/50
Beginners
Drive
Take Shelter
The Artist
The Descendants

BEST DIRECTOR
Mike Mills, Beginners
Nicholas W. Refn, Drive
Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants

BEST FIRST FEATURE
Another Earth
In The Family
Margin Call
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Natural Selection

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Jessica Chastain, Take Shelter
Angelica Huston, 50/50
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Harmony Santana, Gun Hill Road
Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Albert Brooks, Drive
John Hawkes, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
John C. Reilly, Cedar Rapids
Corey Stoll, Midnight in Paris

BEST FEMALE LEAD
Lauren Ambrose, Think of Me
Rachel Harris, Natural Selection
Adepero Oduye, Pariah
Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

BEST MALE LEAD
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Ryan Gosling, Drive
Woody Harrelson, Rampart
Michael Shannon, Take Shelter

BEST DOCUMENTARY
An African Selection
Bill Cunningham New York
The Interrupters
The Redemption of General Butt Naked
We Were Here

BEST FOREIGN FILM
A Separation
Melancholia
Shame
The Kid With a Bike
Tyrannosaur

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Joel Hodge, Bellflower
Benjamin Kuh-Sulk, The Off Hours
Darius Kond-Jee, Midnight in Paris
Gui-omme Shiffman, The Artist
Jeffrey Waldron, The Dynamiter

Check out Buzzsugar for a complete list of 2012 Independent Spirit Award nominees.

The 2012 Independent Spirit Awards will be announced in Santa Monica, Calif., on Feb. 25. The awards ceremony will air later that night at 10 p.m. on IFC.