One Oscar to Rule Them All

Offer Few Surprises, Several Slights

          Russell Crowe as John Nash in “A Beautiful Mind”

Ian McKellan and Elijah Wood in “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”

Sasha Stone
Mirror film critic

   The Oscar nominations for the 74th Annual Academy Awards were announced at 5:38 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, February 12. “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” dominates the list with 13 nominations, including Best Picture, Director and Screenplay. But we sort of knew that would happen going in, didn’t we?
   Ron Howard’s controversial (did you ever think you’d hear that word associated with Ron Howard?) “A Beautiful Mind” and Baz Luhrmann’s uncompromising “Moulin Rouge” follow with eight nominations each. While Howard was given a nod along with his film, Luhrmann, in a ghastly omission for the record books, was shut out.
   For the second time in Oscar history, three African Americans are up for awards in the acting categories, and two of them, Denzel Washington for his memorable villain in “Training Day” and Will Smith as Muhammad Ali, are in the lead actor category, a first for the Oscars.
   Halle Berry, who, in this writer’s opinion, gave the female performance of the year (and against Nicole Kidman in “Moulin Rouge” that’s saying a lot), got a lead nod for her work in “Monster’s Ball.” Should Berry win, she will be the first African American woman to ever win in the lead category. Progress is being made, and we can be sure that Berry will be seated front and center and not way back by the kitchen like Hattie McDaniel was in 1940.
   Berry’s nod, and the screenplay nod for “Monster’s Ball” is significant because the film’s releasing studio, Lions Gate, was on such a limited budget it had trouble coming up with the minimum $10 million it costs to launch even a decent Oscar campaign. One wonders what the film might have done with Miramax in the driver’s seat. Of course, Miramax has deep Disney dollars to draw from, unlike Lions Gate and fellow indie Newmarket, which released the critically acclaimed “Memento.”
   Miramax earned fifteen nominations, including two lead actress nods (Renee Zellweger for “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and Sissy Spacek for “In the Bedroom”), and has, for the 11th consecutive year, a film competing for Best Picture (“In the Bedroom”).
   While Luhrmann’s omission was the most glaring, there were others as well, like Naomi Watts, the actress who lit the screen on fire in “Mulholland Drive,” and Gene Hackman, Academy veteran and multiple nominee and winner, who won the Golden Globe for “The Royal Tenenbaums.”
   Billy Bob Thornton was unfortunately overlooked for his work in Joel and Ethan Coen’s “The Man Who Wasn’t There,” and Marc Forster’s “Monster’s Ball,” which is an indication that perhaps Thornton canceled himself out. Had Lions Gate been able to afford a decent campaign, Thornton’s exceptional work as Hank in “Monster’s Ball” might not have gone overlooked.
Thornton’s loss is Sean Penn’s gain. Penn was riding the fence with his portrayal of a retarded single dad in the tearjerker “I Am Sam.” The film received such poor reviews that it seemed, for a time, like Penn – never an Academy favorite — would be taken down with it.
   Spacek and Crowe are still the frontrunners, but watch out for Washington, who is picking up serious steam for his work in “Training Day.” In the supporting categories, Jennifer Connelly looks to be the favorite for “A Beautiful Mind” and it’s between Ben Kingsley (“Sexy Beast”) and Jim Broadbent (“Iris”) for Supporting Actor.
   The two films to beat for the Big Prize are still “A Beautiful Mind” and “Lord of the Rings,” with “Moulin Rouge” pulling up the rear. The last time a film won Best Picture without its director being nominated was “Driving Miss Daisy” in 1989, when Oliver Stone won Best Director for “Born on the 4th of July.” Before that, you have to go all the way back to the Oscar ceremony’s fifth year, when Frank Borzage got the directorial win for “Bad Girl” and “Grand Hotel” was named Best Picture of 1931.
   All in all, this year’s Oscar nods don’t appear to reflect the sentiment of the September 11 aftermath.The war-themed “Black Hawk Down” wasn’t even nominated for Best Picture (but director Ridley Scott could pick up an award, after being shut out last year for “Gladiator”). Although heroes feature prominently in this year’s choices, so do villains, grieving parents, cabaret dancers, Hobbits, servants and aristocrats.
   Also featured prominently are the smaller studios like USA (“Gosford Park”), New Line (“Lord of the Rings”) and Miramax, who, though they are mostly offshoots of media conglomerates, are still making interesting films that the Academy is paying attention to.
   2001 will be remembered as the year where almost none of the big Oscar hopefuls made it to the nominations. “Ali,” “The Shipping News,” “A.I.,” “Vanilla Sky” and “The Majestic” were all thought to be shoo-ins for the big prize, but fell flat with critics and public alike, which opened the door for surprise hits like “Gosford Park,” and the film that refused to go away: “Moulin Rouge.” It just proves William Goldman’s infamous statement yet again: nobody knows anything.
   The 74th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, March 24 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
   For more on the Oscar race, visit www.oscarwatch.com.

NOMINATIONS BY CATEGORY

Best Picture
    “A Beautiful Mind”
   “Gosford Park
   “In the Bedroom”
   “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
   “Moulin Rouge

Performance by an actor in a leading role
   Russell Crowe in “A Beautiful Mind”
   Sean Penn in “I Am Sam”
   Will Smith in “Ali”
   Denzel Washington in “Training Day”
   Tom Wilkinson in “In the Bedroom”

Performance by an actor in a supporting role
   Jim Broadbent in “Iris”
   Ethan Hawke in “Training Day”
   Ben Kingsley in “Sexy Beast”
   Ian McKellen in “The Lord of the Rings: The    Fellowship of the Ring”
   Jon Voight in “Ali”

Performance by an actress in a leading role
   Halle Berry in “Monster’s Ball”
   Judi Dench in “Iris”
   Nicole Kidman in “Moulin Rouge”
   Sissy Spacek in “In the Bedroom”
   Renee Zellweger in “Bridget Jones’s Diary”

Performance by an actress in a supporting role
   Jennifer Connelly in “A Beautiful Mind”
   Helen Mirren in “Gosford Park”
   Maggie Smith in “Gosford Park”
   Marisa Tomei in “In the Bedroom”
   Kate Winslet in “Iris”

Achievement in directing
   “A Beautiful Mind” - Ron Howard
   “Black Hawk Down” - Ridley Scott
   “Gosford Park” - Robert Altman
   “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings” - Peter Jackson
   “Mulholland Drive” - David Lynch

Screenplay based on material previously produced or published
   “A Beautiful Mind” - Akiva Goldsman
   “Ghost World” - Daniel Clowes & Terry Zwigoff
   “In the Bedroom” - Rob Festinger and Todd Field
   “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” - Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
   “Shrek” - Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Joe Stillman and Roger S.H. Schulman

Screenplay written directly for the screen
   “Amelie” - Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeunet
  “Gosford Park” - Julian Fellowes
   “Memento” - Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan
   “Monster’s Ball” - Milo Addica & Will Rokos
   “The Royal Tenenbaums” - Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson

Best animated feature film of the year
   “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius”
   “Monsters, Inc.”
   “Shrek”

Achievement in art direction
   “Amelie”
   “Gosford Park”
   “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”
   “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
   “Moulin Rouge”

Achievement in cinematography
   “Amelie” - Bruno Delbonnel
   “Black Hawk Down” - Slawomir Idziak
   “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” - Andrew Lesnie
    “The Man Who Wasn’t There” - Roger Deakins
   “Moulin Rouge” - Donald M. McAlpine

Achievement in costume design
   “The Affair of the Necklace” - Milena Canonero
   “Gosford Park” - Jenny Beavan
   “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” - Judianna Makovsky
   “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” - Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor
   “Moulin Rouge” - Catherine Martin and Angus Strathie

Best documentary feature
   “Children Underground”
   “LaLee’s Kin: The Legacy of Cotton”
   “Murder on a Sunday Morning”
   “Promises”
   “War Photographer”

Best documentary short subject
   “Artists and Orphans: A True Drama”
   “Sing!”
   “Thoth”

Achievement in film editing
“A Beautiful Mind” - Mike Hill and Dan Hanley
“Black Hawk Down” - Pietro Scalia
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” - John Gilbert
“Memento” - Dody Dorn
“Moulin Rouge” - Jill Bilcock

Best foreign language film
“Amelie” - France
“Elling” - Norway
“Lagaan” - India
“No Man’s Land” - Bosnia & Herzegovina
“Son of the Bride” - Argentina

Achievement in makeup
“A Beautiful Mind”
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
“Moulin Rouge”

Achievement in music in connection with motion pictures (Original score)
   “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” - John Williams
   “A Beautiful Mind” - James Horner
   “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” - John Williams
   “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” - Howard Shore
   “Monsters, Inc.” - Randy Newman

Achievement in music in connection with motion pictures (Original song)
   “If I Didn’t Have You” from “Monsters, Inc.” - Randy Newman
   “May It Be” from “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” - Enya, Nicky Ryan and Roma Ryan
   “There You’ll Be” from “Pearl Harbor” - Diane Warren
   “Until” from “Kate & Leopold” - Sting
   “Vanilla Sky” from “Vanilla Sky” - Paul McCartney

Best animated short film
   “Fifty Percent Grey”
   “For the Birds”
   “Give Up Yer Aul Sins”
   “Strange Invaders”
   “Stubble Trouble”

Best live action short film
   “the accountant”
   “Copy Shop”
   “Gregor’s Greatest Invention”
   “A Man Thing (Meska Sprawa)”
   “Speed for Thespians”

Achievement in sound
   “Amelie”
   “Black Hawk Down”
   “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
   “Moulin Rouge”
   “Pearl Harbor”

Achievement in sound editing
   “Monsters, Inc.”
   “Pearl Harbor”

Achievement in visual effects
   “A.I. Artificial Intelligence”
   “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”
   “Pearl Harbor”