30 replies to this topic

[The Girl With The Golden Gun]

it's that time again - i see LOTR3 is up for 11 nominations, including best picture!

Correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought films in a series couldn't be nominated or couldn't win an oscar (hence why a Bond has never won, although wasn't Goldfinger once nominated??) ? if anyone has any info on this i'd greatly appreciate it, thanks!

[solitaire]

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Johnny Depp - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
Ben Kingsley - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
Jude Law - COLD MOUNTAIN
Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION
Sean Penn - MYSTIC RIVER

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alec Baldwin - THE COOLER
Benicio Del Toro - 21 GRAMS
Djimon Hounsou - IN AMERICA
Tim Robbins - MYSTIC RIVER
Ken Watanabe - THE LAST SAMURAI

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Keisha Castle-Hughes - WHALE RIDER
Diane Keaton - SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Samantha Morton - IN AMERICA
Charlize Theron - MONSTER
Naomi Watts - 21 GRAMS

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Shohreh Aghdashloo - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
Patricia Clarkson - PIECES OF APRIL
Marcia Gay Harden - MYSTIC RIVER
Holly Hunter - THIRTEEN
Ren

[Simon]

I'm surprised Last Samurai isn't more widely represented. A superb film all round.

Conversely, I really couldn't see what all the fuss was about with Cold Mountain.

[Turn]

My early impression and based on the Golden Globes is that Lost in Translation is the new darling of the bunch, while ROTK has remained strong regardless. It will be between those two.

Mystic River seems to have lost some of its support based on the Golden Globes, same with Seabiscuit. And it seems Cold Mountain didn't live up to its early hype either. It got noms, but missed out on big ones like Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress Nicole Kidman (can't say I'm upset there).

My early favorites will be Bill Murray for Best Actor. He's paid his dues and is getting taken seriously. Penn won the Golden Globe, but he always seems to shun the awards shows, which will likely annoy some people, not to mention his outspoken views. I'll admit he's a great actor, but does anybody else thinks the guy needs to lighten up and do a comedy sometime. Anybody remember how amusing the guy was in Fast Times over 20 year ago?

I think Charlize Theron is a lock for Best Actress. The most interesting categories will be Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Those seem to be wide open. And I don't think it would be a stretch to go with Peter Jackson and ROTK as my early favorites for Best Director and Picture. Unless the Lost in Translation machine kicks into high gear, that is.

[Double-Oh-Zero]

Quite right, Simon. As I recall, everybody was talking about The Last Samurai getting a lot of recognition at the Oscars. Didn't expect Master and Commander to get that many nominations, though. Nor did I actually think Depp would get a nod for Pirates of the Caribbean. Good for him. I seriously think it will either be him or Bill Murray. I also agree with Turn on Best Actress, though. Theron has got it.

[solitaire]

My only real regret with this list is that "City of God" was'nt nominated in the best foreign film category. I am extremely happy that Johnny Depp was finally recognized for his brilliant turn in the Pirates film.

[Turn]

Yeah, it's nice to see somebody like Depp get recognized for a role that's not some angst-ridden thing, but something colorful. It's better than Russell Crowe getting a token nomination for Master and Commander, for instance.

[solitaire]

Nothing will be able to stop ROTK from taking best picture and Director. This is the end of the trilogy,and Hollywood has been waiting to properly reward Peter Jackson for the past 3 years. Both categories of Best picture and Director are very strong this year,but Peter is the man to beat right now.

[ChandlerBing]

I lost interest in the Oscars quite some time ago. They are all political and really have no merit on what films were really the best of that year.

[homerjbond]

If Peter Jackson is going to get an Oscar, it should be because he did a great job on ROTK, not because he didn't get one for the previous two LOTRs.

If the Academy is planning on giving it to him as a "reward" for the whole trilogy, that's just inane...this isn't one of those "career achievement" awards.

I was very surprised (and happy) to see Keisha Castle-Hughes nominated for Whale Rider, I heard nothing but good things about the movie.

I'm rooting for Thomas Newman to get his first Oscar for Finding Nemo, he's always been one of my favorite composer (after John Barry ).

[solitaire]

ROTK will get rewarded on it's own merits of course (it is the best of the three),but the Academy will be looking at the entire three films as the combined achievement of a great director. This is'nt anything new,and it happens every year in Hollywood. Many times actors are awarded for their body of work,much more than for the actual film role they were nominated for. This is just one of the strange things about the business. I work for a Hollywood studio,and the system still confuses me sometimes.

[Robinson]

My only real regret with this list is that "City of God" wasn't nominated in the best foreign film category.

I was surprised by that as well. It's almost like there was some disconnect with Academy voters. He's good enough to garner a "Best Director" nod and the film's also nominated in technical and writing categories.

CITY OF GOD was one of my favorite films last year. I hope the nominations and forthcoming attention will motivate Miramax to release the film on video. There's been no release date yet, nor does there appear one in the future.

This is a varied Oscar field. I'm actually considering watching the awards telecast this time around.



As I've typed this, I've just discovered that the DVD will be released on 2/17/04. Two weeks prior to the awards telecast.

Edited by Robinson, 27 January 2004 - 03:32 PM.

[solitaire]

I work in the film business,and have never heard of a rule that a series could'nt be nominated. All three of the rings films have been nominated,and i'm not aware of any Bond film being nominated (Goldfinger included). I don't think there has ever been a Bond film good enough to be nominated to tell the truth.

[solitaire]

My only real regret with this list is that "City of God" wasn't nominated in the best foreign film category.

I was surprised by that as well. It's almost like there was some disconnect with Academy voters. He's good enough to garner a "Best Director" nod and the film's also nominated in technical and writing categories.

CITY OF GOD was one of my favorite films last year. I hope the nominations and forthcoming attention will motivate Miramax to release the film on video. There's been no release date yet, nor does there appear one in the future.

This is a varied Oscar field. I'm actually considering watching the awards telecast this time around.



As I've typed this, I've just discovered that the DVD will be released on 2/17/04. Two weeks prior to the awards telecast.

City of God will be released on DVD on feb 17th

[Xenobia]

I have heard only bad things about Cold Mountain so I am pleased the nods to it were not gratitious.

The whole LOTR thing is a bit ridiculous, but then again, most folks when they win their Oscars are not first time nominees. They have to "pay their dues" so to speak, and certainly Peter Jackson has with this trilogy.

Finally, I'll go out on a limb here, and say expect a surprise in the Best Actor category -- Ben Kingsley will take it.

-- Xenobia

[Turn]

Considering the towering achievement of bringing the LOTR films to the screen to the acclaim they've received should be enough for Jackson to deserve the award. Seven years of his life devoted to bringing something to the screen that many said would be impossible should be enough.

If some people prefer to give Jackson the award based on all three parts, then so be it. Scorsese didn't win last year for a "career achievement" for Gangs of New York although some people thought he would. By the same token, don't penalize Peter Jackson for directing three parts that can actually work as a whole.

I say this without ever having seen an LOTR film.

[Xenobia]

I think what killed Scorsese last year was some of the ads that came out in his favor, and I believed he was punished for that by not winning the Oscar.

In the last couple of years I have come to realize Oscars are not about merit. They are about rewarding someone for something other than their acting or directing, etc.

-- Xen

[solitaire]

I have heard only bad things about Cold Mountain so I am pleased the nods to it were not gratitious.

The whole LOTR thing is a bit ridiculous, but then again, most folks when they win their Oscars are not first time nominees. They have to "pay their dues" so to speak, and certainly Peter Jackson has with this trilogy.

Finally, I'll go out on a limb here, and say expect a surprise in the Best Actor category -- Ben Kingsley will take it.

-- Xenobia

That's some limb,and you may have a point about Ben Kingsley winning best actor. However I think Sean Pen has a lock this year. He's been nominated 4 times,and is way over due. Ben has already won a best actor Oscar for Gandhi. I also think that Charlize Theron will win best actress. She was great in Monster,and Hollywood loves when a beautiful woman uglies up for a role. And at least she does'nt have Nicole Kidman to compete with this year

[DLibrasnow]

Wow, there are obviously a lot of good movies out there that I have not seen!

[Xenobia]

I have heard only bad things about Cold Mountain so I am pleased the nods to it were not gratitious. 

The whole LOTR thing is a bit ridiculous, but then again, most folks when they win their Oscars are not first time nominees.  They have to "pay their dues" so to speak, and certainly Peter Jackson has with this trilogy.

Finally, I'll go out on a limb here, and say expect a surprise in the Best Actor category -- Ben Kingsley will take it.

-- Xenobia

That's some limb,and you may have a point about Ben Kingsley winning best actor. However I think Sean Pen has a lock this year. He's been nominated 4 times,and is way over due. Ben has already won a best actor Oscar for Gandhi. I also think that Charlize Theron will win best actress. She was great in Monster,and Hollywood loves when a beautiful woman uglies up for a role. And at least she does'nt have Nicole Kidman to compete with this year

I think timing is going to be key here Solitare. If Sean Penn blows off the SAGs, (as he did to some extent with the GGs), the voters might get b***hy, and not vote him in.

Also, I think BK is highly respected, and he is speaking of his role in this film, as he spoke of his roles in Ghandi and Schindler's List. Who knows...anything could happen.

-- Xen

[Loomis]

BEST PICTURE
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
LOST IN TRANSLATION
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
MYSTIC RIVER
SEABISCUIT

Depressing that we know (or, okay, are 99% sure) which film will win Best Picture the day the nominations are announced. As ever.

I'm holding out hope for LOST IN TRANSLATION. But not much.

BTW, I'm shocked that LIT has been overlooked for Best Editing. Some of the best editing I've ever seen.

[Jaelle]

First, it's amazing what extremely aggressive campaigning can do. SEABISCUIT is on that list ONLY because its producers were THE most aggressive in promoting their film for all the awards this year, esp. the GGs and the Oscars of course. That's what industry buzz says, anyway.

Second, there's no such thing as any rule that prevents a film that's part of a series to get nominated for Best Picture.

Third, the fact that the Academy has waited for the third LOTR film to give Jackson his just due makes perfect sense, imo. The three films are, in fact, ONE very long film (just like the three books are in fact ONE very long book). It's a well-deserved triumph for Jackson and his crew, their achievement is not just incredible in its own right but it's also a major slap in the face against Hollywood's dismissal of the project in the first place (see the article I post below). Jackson et al. and the LOTR movies are outside the H'wood establishment.

This year is one of the few years in recent memory where I'm actually pretty interested in the Oscars, and not just because of my LOTR bias. 2003 was a pretty interesting movie year I think. I was so glad that COLD MOUNTAIN got shut out of the Best Picture award. But not so glad to see that Jude Law and Renee Zellwegger got nominations for that film.

I was quite happy to see the actress in WHALE-RIDER get a nom---fantastic film! I was also happy to see Meirelles get a nom for CITY OF GOD, but where the hell is the film in the Best Foreign film category?!?! That film was probably THE most lauded film around the world in 2003 at festival after festival. Year after year I fume and fume over the contradictions and vicissitudes in the foreign film category, it makes me NUTS!

I am also very happy to see that incredible Iranian actress from HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG nominated for Best Supporting Actress. I was very annoyed at the GGs for ignoring her completely and giving the award to Zellwegger. I doubt she'll get the Oscar but she deserves it, she was exceptional in HoSaF---tho others in the category are just as deserving, imo (except Renee).

I dearly wish Kingsley would win the award (he's quite incredible in the film) but the frontrunner position is clearly a toss-up between Murray and Penn, both of whom I think deserve the award as well. It's way past time that Penn gets an award, it's really absurd that he's been ignored for so long. He's part of a dying tradition of American acting. His performance in MR is an exceptional combination of the method without the theatricality and showmanship, it's so restrained. Thing is, every single actor in that film deserved to be nominated, imo. In the Best Actor category this year, it's a 3-way tie for top-notch quality. They were all brilliant in their films.

LOTR *may* have a lock on the Best Picture award---but I'm still cautious about expressing such certainty. The Academy's p*ssed me off before, it will again. And its prejudice against fantasy/SF is legendary. What's likely to happen is that LOTR will get the Best Picture award but they'll refuse to give Jackson the Best Director award. But since LOST IN TRANSLATION is LOTR's strongest competitor in that category, I can accept Coppola getting the award. She deserves it as much as Jackson, imo. If Jackson gets the award too, I'll be one happy camper!

I'll be very interested to see the adapted screenplay awards (MYSTIC RIVER v. LOTR) and the best original screenplay award.

I think Theron easily deserves the award for Best Actress. And thank heavens Kidman got locked out! But--to repeat Loomis' statement--where the hell is LIT in the editing category???

---------------------------------

http://film.guardian...1132400,00.html
By divine right
It's all over bar the coronation. With Cold Mountain banished from the feast, this year's best picture Oscar already belongs to The Return of the King, says Xan Brooks
Xan Brooks
Tuesday January 27, 2004
The Guardian

The tables are laid and the invites sent out, and the Hollywood establishment looks set for a humble pie dinner on February 29. Today's Oscar nominations anointed the last part of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy as the film to beat at this year's Academy awards. While its two predecessors fell just shy of the major honours, Return of the King looks set to be the film that rules them all.

Undeniably the success of Jackson's epic has left Hollywood with a slight case of egg-on-face. This was a trilogy shot right outside the establishment orbit; filmed in Jackson's native New Zealand and funded by the independent New Line Cinema after original backers Miramax demanded that the entire story be condensed into a single two-hour movie.

In the view of many experts, The Lord of the Rings was shaping up to be the biggest disaster in cinema history. Now it has gone down as one of its greatest triumphs. Evidence suggests that February 29 will be the date of Hollywood's official mea culpa. Assuming that Return of the King wins best picture (and you'd be a fool to bet against it), it will in effect be an award for all three films. The same goes for Jackson's probable nod as best director.

Imperceptibly, the main rivals are being cleared out of the way. Such early hopefuls as The Human Stain, Sylvia and The Last Samurai crashed and burned long ago. But today's announcement went out of its way to hobble the chances of Cold Mountain, which as recently as last weekend was still being talked of as the Oscar frontrunner. Anthony Minghella's US civil war trudge managed a brace of nominations for Jude Law and Ren

[Robinson]

I am also very happy to see that incredible Iranian actress from HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG nominated for Best Supporting Actress. I was very annoyed at the GGs for ignoring her completely and giving the award to Zellwegger. I doubt she'll get the Oscar but she deserves it, she was exceptional in HoSaF---tho others in the category are just as deserving, imo (except Renee).

I've added a few films to my list based on the nominations and fellow CBn'ers praises. I'll check out MYSTIC RIVER, HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as well as MONSTER and LOST IN TRANSLATION.

I thought Penn, Watts and Del Toro were great in 21 GRAMS. I still think the selling point of the film is it's narrative style. It's interesting to take in a performance when it's presented in a non-linear fashion.

I wonder if Miramax didn't push hard enough for CITY OF GOD in the "Best Foreign Film" category. Maybe they were too focused on MOUNTAIN.

Apparently, the Golden Globes didn't have an effect due to the fact that the Academy nominations were completed well before the Globes telecast on Sunday.

[Xenobia]

The GG awards may not effect the Oscar nods, but trust me, bad behaviour at any award show before the final votes have to be in, will result in punishment on Oscar night.

(Russell Crowe for A Beautiful Mind?)

-- Xenobia

[Athena007]

Here are my votes...

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alec Baldwin - THE COOLER

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Diane Keaton - SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Ren

[Robinson]

My only real regret with this list is that "City of God" was'nt nominated in the best foreign film category.

Apparently, CITY OF GOD was released in Brazil back in 2002. Therefore it's ineligible for Best Foreign Film.

So how is it eligible in all the other categories?!

[Jaelle]

My only real regret with this list is that "City of God" was'nt nominated in the best foreign film category.

Apparently, CITY OF GOD was released in Brazil back in 2002. Therefore it's ineligible for Best Foreign Film.

So how is it eligible in all the other categories?!

That's what I'd like to know, Robinson!

Also, I'd love to see Alexandre Desplat get the award for Best Score (GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING). It's true that his score is at times OTT for the film but I think it's beautiful. He's a composer whose work is so damned hard to find! I'm still searching high and low for his work on HOUR OF THE PIG (released as THE ADVOCATE in the US). Tho I'm sure Shore will get the nod for LOTR.

2003 was also great for documentaries and there are several good ones to choose from. I share Athena's choice for art direction, GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING. Gorgeous looking film.

[Felix_Leiter]

here's how it's going down:

film: LOTR
director: Eastwood over Jackson
actor: Penn (though i'd like depp)
actress: Theron

[Johnboy007]

I have no problems with Johnny Depp, but he's nominated for BEST ACTOR, from his role in Pirates? I find that difficult to digest.

[Felix_Leiter]

i know, that's why i don't think he'll win. but you have to admit, that was the most enjoyable performance of the summer.