Category: Awards

Oscar Nominations Reflect Banner Year for Women
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – And the winner is… women. Whoever takes home those coveted golden statuettes next month, it’s been a memorable year at the movies for females, producing a bumper crop of performances from ladies with more on their minds than little men called Oscar.
In a town where glamour still reigns and actresses frequently lament the dearth of decent roles for those over 35, Hollywood on Tuesday nominated one of the strongest, most complex group of female performers seen at the Oscars for years.
“These are not big hambone dramatic roles. These are really psychologically complicated parts that delve into the souls and hearts of these women. What’s so terrific this year is that we’ve got so many of them,” said Oscar pundit Tom O’Neil.
From Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore in “The Hours,” the intensely emotional drama about three diverse women, to the hi-jinks of Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Queen Latifah in girl-power musical “Chicago,” the best actress and best supporting actress Oscar nominations reflected the range and depth of Hollywood’s leading women.
“The Hours” and “Chicago” — also both nominated for best film — could hardly be more different in their style, tone and subject matter yet they both break the Hollywood mold.
“Look at Renee Zellweger, in ‘Chicago.’ This is not any woman singing and dancing ‘the hills are alive with the sound of music.’ She is kicking up her heels trying to get away with murder. These are not your typical Hollywood heroines,” O’Neil told Reuters.
Salma Hayek, won a best actress nomination for her role as the very atypical, unconventional Mexican artist Frida Kahlo in “Frida.” Hayek had lobbied for years to raise the money for the movie and prove that a former Mexican soap star like herself could make her way in Hollywood as an actress, producer and director.
“It’s a wonderful year for the women, and also the movies themselves are so diverse,” said Frank Pierson, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as the Oscar nominations were announced.
“GALS OVER FIFTY”
Scott Rudin, producer of “The Hours,” said film writers were finally recognizing the growing importance of the female audience, and as a result, better parts are being written for actresses.
Kathy Bates, nominated for best supporting actress for playing a sexually adventurous, middle-aged woman in “About Schmidt,” said it had been a “banner year” for women.
“It’s great to see a range of actresses (nominated). You’ve got wonderful actresses out there, like Meryl (Streep) and you just want to see what she’s going to do next,” Bates said. “To us gals over 50, there is a range there, and I hope that continues to play out.”
What would the Oscars be without Streep, enjoying critical acclaim for “The Hours” and Oscar nominated for her best supporting role in the quirky comedy “Adaptation?”. The nomination, Streep’s 13th, took the 53-year-old actress past legend Katharine Hepburn to become the most nominated performer in Oscar history.
Diane Lane, nominated for best actress for portraying an adulterous wife in “Unfaithful,” said she has seen a wider range of parts coming to her.
“I think we can see the diversity, and that is always refreshing,” she said, “and the fact that ‘The Hours’ was named best picture by the Hollywood foreign press (Golden Globes) is a wonderful vote for the strength of women’s roles.”
Julianne Moore was nominated both for best actress for her role in the 1950s domestic drama “Far From Heaven” and as best supporting actress for “The Hours,.
But she doubted that the strong showing for women in 2002 would necessarily pay off in terms of better roles.
“It’s nice to be nominated in a year when there is this much attention for women,” Moore said.
“I don’t know that it’s a trend, but I do think it shows audiences are interested in more substantive films … it’s great material, and the fact that there are ideas behind the movies, that is what is resonating with audiences.”

On Further Review
After taking a closer look at the entire list of nominees for the 75th Annual Academy Awards here are the nominations that caught my eye. Some catches were good, some surprised me.
Here we go!
BIGGEST YEAH- “Y TU MAM¬° TAMBI‚ĶN” nominated for Best Original Screenplay!
YEAH- To Nicole Kidman for her nomination!
YEAH- To Julianne Moore for her two nominations.
SHOCK- “Chicago” with 13 nominations?!? Last year’s “Moulin Rouge” was and is a better film!
NOT SHOCKED- No nomination for Richard Gere. His politics are too out in the open.
WONDER- Salma Hayek gets a nomination for “Frida”?!? She has always been beautiful, but can she act now?
GET USED TO HEARING THIS- “The Time Machine” is now an Academy Award nominee! So is “Spider-man.”
NO SHOCK- Harvey Weinstein’s Miramax studio has 38 Nominations.
WHAT?!?- “Treasure Planet” for Best Animated Feature? Obviously they absolutely HAD to have 5 nominees.
YEAH- “Spirited Away” was nominated for Best Amimated Feature!
SADLY- No Hugh Grant for “About A Boy” and no “About A Boy” for Best Picture.
DITTO- For Nia Vardalos and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”
ROCK THE HOUSE- I hope Eminem performs! Yes, Eminem is now an Academy Award Nominee. So are U2 and Paul Simon.
CAN EMINEM WIN?- Well, Prince won for “Purple Rain.”
YEAH- Michael Moore’s documentary “Bowling For Columbine got a nod!
FINALLY- This is a great Oscar Race!
DAN’S OSCAR PICKS AS OF RIGHT NOW (I reserve the right to change these as the race goes on):
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Daniel Day-Lewis
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Chris Cooper
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Nicole Kidman
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Queen Latifah
ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
ICE AGE
DIRECTING
Martin Scorsese- GANGS OF NEW YORK
BEST PICTURE
CHICAGO

‘Chicago’ Leads Oscar Nominations With 13
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – “Chicago” leads Oscar contenders with 13 nominations. “Gangs of New York” has ten nominations.
The best picture nominees are “Chicago,” “Gangs of New York,” “The Hours,” “The Two Towers” and “The Pianist.”
The nominees for best actor are Adrien Brody for “The Pianist,” Nicolas Cage for “Adaptation,” Michael Caine for “The Quiet American,” Daniel Day-Lewis for “Gangs of New York” and Jack Nicholson for “About Schmidt.”
The nominees for best actress are Salma Hayek for “Frida,” Nicole Kidman for “The Hours,” Diane Lane for “Unfaithful,” Julianne Moore for “Far From Heaven,” and Renee Zellweger for “Chicago.”
Meryl Streep became the most nominated person in history by earning her 13th nomination for “Adaptation.”

Here’s the complete list of nominees.
Winners will be announced March 23 in Los Angeles.

…it’s Oscars.org.

Here Is Some Academy Awards Trivia
BIGGEST AWARD WINNERS: FILMS
Ben-Hur – 11
Titanic – 11
West Side Story – 10
Gigi – 9
The Last Emporer – 9
The English Patient – 9
Gone with the Wind – 8
From Here to Eternity – 8
On the Waterfront – 8
My Fair Lady – 8
Cabaret – 8
Gandhi – 8
Amadeus – 8
Want more trivia?

Madonna Fights J.Lo for Worst Actress Award

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – If you think the Oscar battle for best actress is going to be close, wait until you see who’s duking it out for the dubious honor of being named the year’s worst actress: Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie.
The nominations for the Golden Raspberry or Razzie awards for 2002’s worst films, actors and actresses were announced on Monday, a day ahead of Oscar nominations, and this year the worst actress category seems to be swept away by a high profile who’s who of talent, beauty and bad luck.
Competing for worst picture are critical flops that include Eddie Murphy’s $85 million down-the-toilet action film “The Adventures of Pluto Nash,” Madonna’s spoiled wife epic “Swept Away,” Spears’ wooden screen debut “Crossroads” and Oscar winner Roberto Benigni’s wooden remake of “Pinocchio.”
Add to the mix George Lucas’ latest entry in what Razzie organizers call a series from a galaxy far, far too long: “Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.”
In filmdom’s main event, the Academy Awards, the fight for best actress is expected to be particularly tough this year, with nominations expected for Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore.
The Razzies also are going to be a close fight but in a far worse way. Spears is nominated for “Crossroads,” Madonna for “Swept Away,” Jolie for the box office bomb “Life Or Something Like It,” Ryder for “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” and Lopez has a shot with two films, “Enough” and “Maid in Manhattan.
Now that may be a fight that many a film fan would say was too close to call.
Murphy in “Pluto Nash” leads the list for worst actor followed by Benigni for “Pinocchio,” Adriano Giannini for “Swept Away,” Steven Seagal in “Half Past Dead” and previous worst actor winner Adam Sandler with a chance to win for two films, “Adam Sandler’s 8 Crazy Nights” and “Mr. Deeds.”
In the worst supporting actor category, it’s a fight between Hayden Christensen in the latest “Star Wars,” Tom Green for “Stealing Harvard,” Freddie Prinze Jr. for “Scooby Doo: Where Are You” Christopher Walken for “The Country Bears” and Robin Williams in “Death To Smoochy.”
Up for worst supporting actress are Lara Flynn Boyle for “Men in Black II,” Bo Derek, “Master of Disguise,” Madonna for her blink-of-an-eye appearance in “Die Another Day,” Natalie Portman, “Star Wars” and Rebecca Ramijn-Stamos, “Rollberball.”
The Razzies are ushering in new category to mark its 23rd annual awards: “Most Flatulent Teen-Targeted Movie” and the nominees are: “Adam Sandler’s 8 Crazy Nights,” “Crossroads,” “Jackass: The Movie,” “Scooby Doo” and “XXX.”
Nominees for Worst Screen Couple were: Adriano Giannini and Madonna in “Swept Away,” Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi in “Pinocchio,” Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman in “Star Wars,” Eddie Murphy paired with either Robert DeNiro in “Showtime,” Owen Wilson in “I Spy” or himself cloned in “Pluto Nash,” and Britney Spears and Anson Mount in “Crossroads.”
The battle for worst director came down to Benigni for “Pinocchio,” Tamra Davis for “Crossroads,” George Lucas for “Star Wars” Madonna’s husband, Guy Ritchie, for “Swept Away” and Ron Underwood for “The Adventures of Pluto Nash.”
The Razzies are handed out on March 22 or, as the organizers like to say, “24 hours BEFORE That Other Awards Show, a.k.a. ‘The Giving Out of the Little Gold Naked Men.”

OSCAR IS SINGING √´CHICAGO’S’ TUNE
Here’s a not-so-fearless prediction: “Chicago” will razzle-dazzle the competition and lead the nominations when they’re announced early Tuesday morning.
By common consent among my industry sources, “Chicago” is the heaviest Best Picture favorite since “Titanic.”
Some of us critics may complain about Richard Gere’s lead-footed hoofing, Ren√àe Zellweger’s unsteady vocals, the choppy editing and director Rob Marshall’s dreary visual sense.
But the film’s Oscar-savvy distributor, Miramax, has mounted a campaign that brilliantly capitalizes on many Oscar voters’ appetite for musicals.
Another Best Picture slot is assured for the winner of the Golden Globes’ drama division: “The Hours.”
The third sure thing for Best Picture, insiders say, is the phenomenal “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” – the only picture on the list a sizable number of Americans have seen. But it will not lead nominations as “The Fellowship of the Ring” did last year and almost nobody expects it has much of a shot at Best Picture this time.
That leaves two fiercely contested Best Picture slots.
Some West Coast insiders I’ve spoken to insist that “About Schmidt” has the fourth slot sewn up, but other Academy members aren’t so sure. Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates seem assured of nominations, but there are doubts the academy will include a comedy (even a dark one about a midlife crisis) in a field dominated by a musical.
Similarly, there’s a dark cloud hanging over “The Pianist,” a Holocaust drama that has been rapidly gaining ground for Best Picture. That cloud is director Roman Polanski, a fugitive from Hollywood who fled to Paris in 1978 to avoid sentencing after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a minor.
And then there’s the murky candidacy of “Gangs of New York,” an ultra-violent and wildly uneven epic that has received a very mixed reception but does seem to fit the classic profile of a Best Picture nominee: a hugely ambitious big-budget epic with a megabucks marketing push.
More important, the consensus is that “Gangs” director Martin Scorsese seems to be leading the race for Best Director.
I’m guessing the academy will hold its nose and nominate “Gangs” as Best Picture so Scorsese can collect his guilt-based award.
The final slot, I’m tipping, will go to “The Pianist” – I figure it’s hard for Oscar to resist the Holocaust.

THE ENVELOPE PLEASE
Oscar winner Marisa Tomei will join Academy president Frank Pierson in announcing the Academy Awards nominees on Tuesday, February 11.

YUKS AWARD
Mike Myers to be honored with the 23rd Annual Jack Benny Comedy Award February 12 at the UCLA campus.

Streep Dismisses Oscars as ‘Political Campaign’
LONDON (Reuters) – Actress Meryl Streep has poured scorn on the race for Oscar glory, saying the movie industry’s most celebrated event had almost deteriorated into a “political campaign”
Streep is a double Oscar winner who could break the record for most nominations next week. But she said she found the quest for Academy Awards distasteful.
“I find it alarming that all the campaigning for Oscars is getting like a political campaign,” she told Tuesday’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. “It really is distasteful.
“It won’t be long before they start paying for television commercials for best picture, best actor and all those things.”
The 53-year-old is in the running for a best actress nomination for literary drama “The Hours” and supporting actress for director Spike Jonze’s “Adaptation.”
Streep has been nominated for an Oscar 12 times and won twice, for divorce drama “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “Sophie’s Choice,” in which she played a concentration camp survivor.
She shares the record for nominations with Katharine Hepburn.
This year’s nominations will be announced on February 11, with the ceremony on March 23.