Reviews are less than charitable for nonprofit film bash
Glitz hits the Santa Monica sands today when stars like Josh Hartnett, Christina Ricci, Tobey Maguire and Sharon Stone walk the paparazzi-lined red carpet into a giant beach-side tent for Film Independent's Spirit Awards.
Billed as the independent film community's biggest party, the 22nd annual gala will be televised on two cable channels, with a third offering a fashion-and-gossip preview. Nominees include best-feature entry "Little Miss Sunshine," actors Edward Norton ("The Painted Veil") and Aaron Eckhart ("Thank You for Smoking") and director Steven Soderbergh ("Bubble"). Comedian Sarah Silverman will host.
With its casual glamour and army of A-listers, the Film Independent bash is often described as an edgier warmup for the Academy Awards. But unlike the Oscars -- or the Golden Globes, for that matter -- the Spirit Awards ceremony is subsidized by taxpayers as a charitable service, much like American Red Cross shelters and skid row soup kitchens.
Film Independent, whose main mission is to nurture the careers of moviemakers who lack studio backing, is one of several cinema-related nonprofits that employ their tax-free status to stage awards shows and buzz-generating film festivals.
Some state on their tax returns that the televised awards themselves fulfill a charitable, tax-exempt purpose by educating the public about film.
But philanthropy watchdogs give the practice less-than-glowing reviews.
"How is that a public service?" asked Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy.
"It's kind of a perverse use of the nonprofit designation," said Trent Stamp, president of Charity Navigator, which rates the spending practices of 5,000 nonprofits. It and other nonprofit evaluators have seen their influence grow as they post more of their findings on the Internet.
For fiscal 2004 and 2005, Film Independent, which also owns the Los Angeles Film Festival, received Charity Navigator's lowest score -- zero stars out of four.
The chief reason: Barely half of Film Independent's budget went to workshops, laboratories and other charitable services that directly benefit struggling auteurs. Its two single largest expenses were the June film festival and the Spirit Awards, its principal fundraiser.
Tickets to the festival's screenings are $10, but the Spirit Awards charges $15,000 to $40,000 for a table of 10.
