The 17th annual Gotham Awards -- independent filmmakers celebrating independent cinema, but not to be mistaken with the Independent Spirit Awards -- were held last night ... in Brooklyn. Seriously? No wonder Meryl Streep didn't make it. (She was a presenter who canceled at the last minute.) But that's OK. There were plenty of other stars to be spotted.

A GoldDigger recap:

The red carpet was a crowded affair (watch for NEWSWEEK video later this week) with most of the actors stopping by to talk to the press in good spirits. I think Philip Seymour Hoffman, dressed in jeans and an old sweater, skipped the line altogether. So did Uma Thurman, although all was forgiven after she gave a weepy introduction for director Mira Nair, who received a tribute. (Nair, who worked with Thurman in "Hysterical Blindness," would always ask her "What's the truth of it?," which Thurman said is one of the best directions she ever received.) Maggie Gyllenhaal, who hardly spoke to anyone, said she was surprised she was invited to present an award to Jonathan Sehring, president of IFC Entertainment, since no one saw her independent films. (She also left early. Tsk, tsk.)

Javier Bardem received an award -- the Gothams announces many of the winners before the night -- for being such a studly actor. He was presented by Josh Brolin, his costar in "No Country for Old Men."

Ellen Page won the Newcomer Award, the first of many she'll pick up this season, and she really sounds like the wise-cracking teenager she plays in "Juno." She wanted the role so badly, she said, "It was probably the only situation where I'd sleep my way to the top, or break some legs, or get pretty nasty." But when she finally got the part, she said she was "scared s---less."

There was a moving tribute to film critic Roger Ebert, who can't speak after a long battle with cancer, and had his wife Chaz deliver a gracious speech he had written.

Best feature went to "Into the Wild," which Emile Hirsch accepted.