by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent

Celebrity arrivals are just beginning on the red carpet for the Spirit Awards. LIVE arrivals footage can be seen on www.screenmancer.tv -- the show is expected to outshine the 83rd Annual Oscars this year because media attention is on the independents. James Franco, Oscar host, is expected to arrive shortly. IFC will air the 2011 show at 10 pm. (More coverage coming, including a Winner's List.) Joel McHale is MC for the awards presentation.

SPIRIT AWARDS: SNAPSHOT FROM IFC 

IFC's 26th annual Spirit Awards honor films made by those who embody independence and originality.  Film Independent is a non-profit membership organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision.  Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds the audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry.  Film Independent also produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, celebrating the best of American and International cinema.

Presenters include: Will Arnett, David Cross, Jesse Eisenberg, Vera Farmiga, Jamie Foxx, James Franco, Terrence Howard, John Hutcherson, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, Diego Luna, Ewan McGregor, Eva Mendes, Sandra Oh, Jeremy Renner, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Kerry Washington, Mia Wasikowska, John Waters, Naomi Watts, Rainn Wilson & more.

Nominees, special award recipients and celebrities expected include: Natalie Portman, Annette Bening, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Williams, Greta Gerwig, Aaron Eckhart, James Franco, Ben Stiller, Ronald Bronstein, Ashley Bell, Dale Dickey, Allison Janney, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Naomi Watts, John Hawkes, Samuel L. Jackson, Bill Murray, John Ortiz, Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amanda Peet, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Anne Heche, Anthony Mackie, Nia Vardalos, Darren Aronofsky, Tom Hooper, Danny Boyle, Lisa Cholodenko, Debra Granik, John Cameron Mitchell, Nicole Holofcener, Eli Roth, Scott Rudin, Stuart Blumberg, Anne Rosellini, Todd Solondz, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Aaron Schneider, Lena Dunham, Sebastian Junger, Tim Hetherington, Jeff Malmberg, Nik Fackler, Carmine Famiglietti, Scott Franklin, Megan Gilbride, Bob Glaudini, Ann Guibert, Tanya Hamilton, Jordan Horowitz, Ben Howe, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte, Laurel Nakadate, Casey Neistat, Eric Newman, Brian Oliver, Mike Ott, Bryan Poyser, Celine Rattray, Adele Romanski, Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, Dean Zanuck, Marc Abraham, Ilisa Barbash, Diane Bell, Matthew Bonifacio, Frazer Bradshaw, Stéphane Brizé, Chris Byrne, Karin Chien, Sean Costelo, Lance Daly, Adam Kimmel, Mark Landsman, In-Ah Lee, A.D. Liano, Matthew Libatique, Jody Lee Lipes, Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Kyle Martin, Jeanne McCarthy, Michael McDonough, Mike Medavoy, Matthew Medlin, Arnold W. Messer, Anish Savjani, Tom Scott, Dana Adam Shapiro, Ronald Simons, John Smithson, Daniel Stamm, Sarah Steele, Daniela Taplin Lundberg, Laura Techera Francia, Lynn True, Alicia Van Couvering, Evan M. Wiener, and more. 

[For the 2nd year, Film Independent and dick clark productions will air a live arrivals webcast online starting at 2:30pmET / 11:30amPT on Saturday February 26th leading up to the Film Independent Spirit Awards at 10pm ET/PT on IFC. The 2 ½ hour pre‐show, powered by Livestream.]

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