Recently, First-Time Nominees, Longtime Excellence.. It's hard to imagine such veterans of the stage and screen as Natalie Portman, Nicole Kidman, and Annette Bening being called newcomers in any situation nowadays, but would you believe this is the first time they've been nominated for Spirit Awards? They will be joining bonafide newcomers like Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone") Lena Dunham ("Tiny Furniture"), Ronald Bronstein ("Daddy Longlegs") and Ashley Bell ("The Last Exorcism") on the beach for this year's ceremony, with all reaching a pinnacle in their careers with the work in their latest film. In many cases, these are not discoveries, so much as rediscoveries - an acknowledgement of all the fine work they've been doing for so long as well as a signifier what's new and next in their careers.
