Perhaps you’ve heard that the IFP/New York has retooled its annual Gotham Awards, moving the event out of IFP Market week to December 1 — smack dab at the start of the Oscar push. This week the IFP/New York announced the Gotham’s first two 2004 award recipient: actor Don Cheadle, who has Hotel Rwanda coming out from United Artists, and Michel Gondry’s film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which is being honored under the new “Celebrate New York” tag for films shot in New York that “expand the boundaries of creative expression.”

With its December 1 date, the Gotham’s unfold just a day after the IFP/LA announces its roster of Spirit Award nominations, a fact not missed by David Poland in his new Hot Blog. As usual, Poland focuses on the politics of the announcement far more exhaustively than us tired-at-2:00 A.M. types at Filmmaker are able to…