Academy Award Nominations
:: By now you’re probably heard or read the Oscar nominations. There were a number of pleasant surprises, including Keisha Castle-Hughes for Actress in a Leading Role, Whale Rider, Djimon Hounsou for Actor in a Supporting Role, In America, and Samantha Morton for Actress in a Leading Role, In America. Notably absent from big nominations was Cold Mountain, which I think deserved better. I was hoping for In America to get Best Picture and Director nods as well, but at least Jim Sheridan and his daughters, Naomi and Kirsten, were nominated for Original Screenplay.
Will there be any surprise winners? Charlize Theron deserves a win for Monster, an amazing performance. The three other acting categories might not go as predicted. Will Actor be a showdown between Bill Murray and Sean Penn? Will Sean Penn attend the ceremony? Is Renée Zellweger a lock for Supporting Actress?
I’ve yet to see City of God, which received four nominations, nor have I seen Whale Rider, two films I will view very shortly. Some of the nominated films, including The Fog of War, and The Cooler, have yet to open in Edmonton.
My Canadian pride is strong today, as Denys Arcand received a nomination for Writing (Original Screenplay), and his movie, The Barbarian Invasions, won a Foreign Language Film nod as well.
In the end, I hope Peter Jackson and LOTR: TROTK win big.
David Poland offers this commentary on the 2003 nominations.
Who do you think will win? Would would you like to see win? Do you care?
January 27th, 2004 at 19:14
Sean Penn might attend if he thinks he has a legit shot at winning – reason of course is 1 minute in front of billions of people to speak out against the war in Iraq (one of his favorite topics) I thought I might get a node for his performance in 21 grams as well. Given this list, I think Return of the King will win best Picture for sure.