LOS ANGELES (January 14, 2015) – Film Independent President Josh Welsh announced today that Fred Armisen and Kristen Bell will co-host the 2015 Film Independent Spirit Awards. The nonprofit, which also produces the Los Angeles Film Festival and Film Independent at LACMA, will hold the 30th annual awards ceremony as a daytime luncheon in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica on Saturday, February 21 with the premiere broadcast airing live exclusively on IFC at 2:00 pm PT / 5:00 pm ET. Announced earlier, Joel Gallen will executive produce the awards show and producer Shawn Davis returns for his 13th show. Nominees were announced at a press conference on November 25th.
“The only thing better than having a great host for the Spirit Awards is having two great hosts,” said Josh Welsh, Film Independent President. “For our 30th anniversary we’re so excited to have Fred and Kristen co-hosting the awards and it’s going to be a fantastic show.”
Commented Jennifer Caserta, president, IFC, “We’re proud to once again showcase the Film Independent Spirit Awards on IFC and celebrate the 30th anniversary with a live broadcast. Fred is obviously right at home on IFC and we are excited to welcome Kristen to the network. Together, they’ll make this show true event television for our viewers.”
Fred Armisen is one of the most diversely talented performers working today with credits that run from acting, producing and writing in both comedy and music. He is the co-creator, co-writer and co-star of IFC’s Portlandia alongside Carrie Brownstein for which he received an Emmy® nomination for “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series” in 2014 and a nomination for “Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series” in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The show also received the prestigious Peabody Award for excellence in 2011. In February 2014, Armisen was named band leader of the 8G Band on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
An eleven season veteran of Saturday Night Live, he has also appeared in countless feature films including Easy A, The Rocker, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Eurotrip and The Promotion as well as lending his voice to the feature The Smurfs. He has also appeared in the films Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny with Jack Black, Baby Mama with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, The Ex with Zach Braff and Jason Bateman, and in Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
Armisen will soon star in HBO’s one-off comedy event 7 Days in Hell. Armisen will also star in Jamie Babbit’s raucous comedy Fresno alongside Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon, Judy Greer and Natasha Lyonne. Armisen’s most recent venture is his new IFC comedy, American Documentary.
Kristen Bell currently stars as ‘Jeannie Van Der Hooven’ in the Showtime series House of Lies opposite Don Cheadle. The fourth season premiered on January 11, 2015. She was recently seen reprising her beloved title role in Warner Brothers’ film Veronica Mars. Bell also lent her voice to the character ‘Anna’ in the acclaimed new Disney animated feature, Frozen, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.
Bell appeared in a guest-starring arc in the most recent season of NBC’s hit series Parks & Recreation. She also played the lead role in the independent film The Lifeguard, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. She also starred in and co-produced the comedy Hit & Run, written and directed by her husband Dax Shepard. Her other film credits include: Movie 43,Some Girls, Writers, Big Miracle, You Again, Burlesque, When in Rome, Couples Retreat, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Pulse, Serious Moonlight and David Mamet’s Spartan.
Kristen’s television credits include: Veronica Mars, Unsupervised, Deadwood, Heroes and Party Down. Her Broadway credits include: Tom Sawyer and The Crucible opposite Liam Neeson and Laura Linney. Her Off-Broadway credits include: Reefer Madness and A Little Night Music both at The Lincoln Center in New York and Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.
The Film Independent Spirit Awards are sponsored by Premier Sponsors Piaget, The Lincoln Motor Company, Bank of America, Heineken, American Airlines and IFC. T-Mobile is the Official Arrivals Show Sponsor, Sauza 901 Tequila is the Official Spirit and FIJI Water is the Official Water of the 2015 Spirit Awards. WireImage is the Official Photographer of Film Independent.
The Spirit Awards is the primary fundraiser for Film Independent’s year-round programs. To inquire about individual seating and tables at the Spirit Awards, please contact Jennifer Murby at jmurby@filmindependent.org or 310.432.1253.
For more information on how to support the organization, submission guidelines, voting, and the history of the Spirit Awards, please visit spiritawards.com.
