James Franco, Black Swan Win Big at the Independent Spirit Awards (omg!)

James Franco | Photo Credits: C Flanigan/FilmMagic.comTV Guide

One day before his hosting gig at the Academy Awards, James Franco took home the award for best male lead at the Independent Spirit Awards.

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When accepting his award, Franco, who is nominated for Best Actor at Sunday's Oscars for his 127 Hours role, thanked his agent, manager and publicist, who told him to take a break from school, saying, "James, you're an effing idiot if you don't do this movie."

After winning the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for her role in Black Swan, Natalie Portman also won the Spirit Award for best female lead. Black Swan also won for best film, and Darren Aronofsky took best director.

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In what could be a precursor to the big show on Sunday, The King's Speech, the Oscar Best Picture front-runner, won for best foreign film. Meanwhile, Oscar underdog John Hawkes won for best male supporting for his role in Winter's Bone.

British street artist Banksy was not on hand to accept the award for best documentary for his film, Exit Through the Gift Shop, which is also nominated for an Academy Award.

Check out a full list of winners:

Best Film: Black Swan
Best Director: Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
Best Female Lead: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Best Male Lead: James Franco, 127 Hours
Best Female Supporting: Dale Dickey, Winter's Bone
Best Male Supporting: John Hawkes, Winter's Bone
Best Screenplay: Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko, The Kids Are All Right
Best First Screenplay: Tiny Furniture, Lena Dunham
Best First Feature: Get Low, Aaron Schneider
Best Cinematography: Matthew Libatique, Black Swan
Best Documentary: Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy
Best Foreign Film: The King's Speech, Tom Hooper

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'Black Swan,' Natalie Portman Nab Independent Spirit Awards

The day might have started out mildly overcast, but as the film community watched in anticipation, the Santa Monica beach quickly went from partly cloudy to completely black, as "Black Swan" swept the major honors on its way to dominating the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday (February 26).

A schizophrenic thriller about a ballerina's inner demons made manifest, "Black Swan" danced away with four awards, winning Best Feature, Best Director for Darren Aronofsky, Best Actress for Natalie Portman and Best Cinematography for Matthew Libatique. The flick is nominated in the same four categories at Sunday's Academy Awards.

Among other winners, the rural drama "Winter's Bone" nabbed two awards: Best Supporting Male for John Hawkes and Best Supporting Female for Dale Dickey. Presumptive Oscar Best Picture favorite "The King's Speech," meanwhile, won Best Foreign Film.

James Franco, who played a man who literally had to give up an arm to be here today, finally got his due, winning Best Actor for his performance in Danny Boyle's "127 Hours." The 32-year-old, who is in almost every moment of the film as the camera focuses on his character's struggle to make a nearly unthinkable sacrifice, will be front and center as co-host of the Academy Awards.

Other winners included "The Kids Are All Right" for Best Screenplay, "Get Low" for Best First Feature and "Exit Through the Gift Shop" for Best Documentary. Thierry Guetta, aka "Mr. Brainwash," accepted the award for "Exit" on behalf of the film's reclusive director, Banksy.

Hosted by Joel McHale, the show honored independent and original filmmaking throughout 2010, moving from last year's venue, the downtown L.A. Live complex, back to the beach in Santa Monica.

Will it be a regal evening for "The King's Speech"? Can "The Social Network" dial up Oscar gold? Don't miss MTV News' "2011 Oscars Live" at 6 p.m. Sunday, February 27, when we'll be chatting with your favorite Hollywood stars live from the red carpet on MTVNews.com, and stick with us all Oscar night for winners, interviews, photos and more!

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