OSCAR NOMINEES FOR 2003
“Lord of the Rings” (11 Nominations) and “Master & Commander” (10 Nominations) lead the pack, followed by “Seabiscuit,” “Cold Mountain” (7 Nominations each), “Mystic River” (6 Nominations), and “Pirates of the Caribbean” (5 Nominations). “Lost in Translation,” “City of God,” and “The Last Samurai” get 4 each, while “In America” gets 3 Nominations. The following is a list of the 28 films nominated in all categories, except Documentaries, Foreign Films, and Short Films, because I've hardly seen any of those besides "The Fog of War." For more info, please visit www.oscar.com.
BEST PICTURE
The Lord of the Rings The Lord of the Rings
Lost in Translation Lost in Translation
Master & Commander Master & Commander
Mystic River Mystic River
Seabiscuit OOPS! Cold Mountain
BEST DIRECTOR
Lost in Translation Lost in…
Mystic River Mystic River
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Master & Commander Master & Commander
City of God OOPS! In America
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Mystic River Mystic River
American Splendor OOPS! Cold Mountain
City of God OOPS! Master & Commander
Seabiscuit OOPS! Monster
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Finding Nemo Finding Nemo
In America In America
Lost in Translation Lost in...
Barbarian Invasions OOPS! American Splendor
Dirty Pretty Things OOPS! Love Actually
ANIMATED FEATURE
Brother Bear Brother Bear
Finding Nemo Finding Nemo
Triplets of Belleville Triplets of Belleville
Damn right!
FILM EDITING
Cold Mountain Cold Mountain
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Master & Commander Master & Commander
City of God OOPS! Kill Bill: Volume 1
Seabiscuit OOPS! Last Samurai
MAKEUP
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Pirates of the Caribbean Pirates of the Caribbean
Master & Commander OOPS! Cat in... (whew!)
empty OOPS! Monster
empty OOPS! X2: X-Men United
COSTUMES
Girl With a Pearl Earring Girl With…
Last Samurai, The Last Samurai
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Master & Commander Master & Commander
Seabiscuit OOPS! Cold Mountain
ART DIRECTION
Girl With a Pearl Earring Girl With...
Last Samurai Last Samurai
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Master & Commander Master & Commander
Seabiscuit OOPS! Cold Mountain
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Cold Mountain Cold Mountain
Girl With a Pearl Earring Girl With a…
Master & Commander Master & Commander
City of God OOPS! Last Samurai
Seabiscuit OOPS! Lord of the Rings
VISUAL EFFECTS
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Pirates of the Caribbean Pirates of the Caribbean
Master & Commander OOPS! Matrix Revolutions
SCORE
Big Fish Big Fish
Cold Mountain Cold Mountain
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Finding Nemo OOPS! Girl With a Pearl Earring
House of Sand… OOPS! Last Samurai
MOST GLARING OMISSION: Scarlett Johansson for “Lost in Translation” or “Girl With a Pearl Earring.”
NOMINEE THAT I JUST FLAT OUT OVERLOOKED: “Seabiscuit” is up for 7 Oscars, including Best Picture…don’t blame me, the Academy hardly ever remembers all the way back into the summer.
NOMINEE THAT TOOK ME THE MOST BY SURPRISE: “City of God”…because I thought it was a 2002 release, not 2003 (Roger Ebert had it on his 2002 Top Ten List and complained about its absence from the nominees for the 2002 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film).
STUPID BUNGLE ON MY PART: I put “American Splendor” in Original Screenplay instead of Adapted Screenplay because “Memento,” despite having the words “Based on a Short Story by…” in the opening credits in big letters was up for Original Screenplay, and I also had “Shakespeare in Love” on the brain, which despite having so much Shakespeare in it ended up as an Original Screenplay.
CORRECT PREDICTIONS - 53 out of 89…although in my defense I put “American Splendor’s” screenwriting nomination in the wrong category, Patricia Clarkson’s nomination in the wrong movie, didn’t know “City of God” was even eligible, had Jude Law, Johnny Depp, Alec Baldwin, Djimon Housou, Naomi Watts, and Holly Hunter as alternates, and had “Seabiscuit” as an alternate for Picture, Adapted Screenplay, and Film Editing.
MOST HORRIFYING THOUGHT…When “Return of the King” wins Best Picture, the question “Has any sequel ever won Best Picture?” will now be answered by “Just ‘Godfather II,’ and ‘Return of the King,’” instead of “Just ‘Godfather II.’” Blech!
Ben Kingsley, House of… Ben Kingsley
Bill Murray, Lost in… Bill Murray
Sean Penn, Mystic River Sean Penn
Johnny Depp, Pirates of… OOPS! Russell Crowe
Jude Law, Cold… OOPS! Tom Cruise
ACTRESS
Diane Keaton, Something’s… Diane Keaton
Samantha Morton, In… Samantha Morton
Charlize Theron, Monster Charlize Theron
Naomi Watts, 21 Grams OOPS! Johansson, Lost…
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale.. OOPS! Nicole Kidman, Cold…
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams Benicio Del Toro
Tim Robbins, Mystic… Tim Robbins
Ken Watanabe, Last Samurai Ken Watanabe
Alec Baldwin, The Cooler OOPS! Albert Finney, Big Fish
Djimon Housou, In… OOPS! Bill Nighy, Love Actually
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic… Marcia Gay Harden
Renee Zellweger, Cold… Renee Zellweger, Cold…
Patricia Clarkson, Pieces…OOPS? Clarkson, Station Agent
Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of…OOPS! Hope Davis, American Splendor
Holly Hunter, Thirteen OOPS! Christina Ricci, Monster
SOUND
Last Samurai Last Samurai
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Master & Commander Master & Commander
Pirates of the Caribeean OOPS! Cold Mountain
Seabiscuit OOPS! Matrix Revolutions
SOUND EFFECTS EDITING
(I never get this one right…)
Finding Nemo OOPS! Lord of the Rings
Master & Commander OOPS! Matrix Revolutions
Pirates of the Caribbean OOPS! empty
SONG
Cold Mountain Cold Mountain
Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings
Cold Mountain (again!) OOPS! In America
A Mighty Wind OOPS! Brother Bear
Triplets of Belleville OOPS! Mona Lisa Smile