Kudos spirited away

Indie Spirit awards honors arthouse best

By TATIANA SIEGEL

Filmmakers Ivan and Jason Reitman.

Felicity Huffman at the Elle Green Lounge.

Zach Braff gets into the spirit at Saturday's awards.

Director Tamara Jenkins gets her point across.

Philip Seymour Hoffman took home a trophy for his role in 'The Savages.'

What sets the Independent Spirit Awards apart from the rest of the Oscar week hoopla? "This event has the most outrageous amount of alcohol I've ever seen," said Sony Pictures Classics co-prexy Tom Bernard of the 23rd annual installment, held Saturday in a tent on the Santa Monica beach.

Although the event, a favorite among industryites for its casual vibe, kicked off at 11:30 a.m. with a pre-ceremony reception, few were sipping coffee. "Juno's" Diablo Cody, who won an award for best first screenplay, said it was hard to resist all of the booze on the table. "I did a shot of vodka during the ceremony," she said at the post-party held in the basement of Shutters.

Host Rainn Wilson kept the mood light during the televised ceremony. He singled out such indie luminaries seated in the audience as Steve Buscemi, Mike White and Philip Seymour Hoffman. "It's weird to be the best looking guy in the room," he joked. There was no word on what Brad Pitt, accompanied by nominee Angelina Jolie, thought of that assessment.