Academy announces nominations
By MELISSA RAUCH
Scene Movie Writer
As a result of its remarkable critical and commercial success toward the end of 2001, "The Fellowship of the Ring" leads this year's Oscar race with 13 nominations, followed closely by "A Beautiful Mind" and "Moulin Rouge," each with eight.
All three films, which many considered the favorites heading into the announcements, were selected as Best Picture candidates, along with "Gosford Park" and "In the Bedroom."
Sissy Spacek, the emotionally distraught mother of "Bedroom" and Halle Berry, the grieving widow in "Monster's Ball," are the frontrunners in the Best Actress category. Nicole Kidman followed her Golden Globe win with a nomination for "Moulin Rouge," while Judi Dench garnered yet another Academy honor for "Iris." Finally, by some unfortunate, incomprehensible twist, Renee Zellweger managed to pull off a nomination for "Bridget Jones's Diary" over the more deserving Naomi Watts of "Mulholland Drive."
For the men, no one was shocked to hear Russell Crowe's name announced for the third year in a row, this time for "A Beautiful Mind." The surprises came in the form of Will Smith ("Ali") and Denzel Washington ("Training Day") who made history together as the first pair of African Americans nominated in the Best Actor category in the same year.
The selections were especially surprising considering the lackluster reviews and poor box office results of the films in which each starred. In the tradition of "Rain Man" and "Forrest Gump," Sean Penn was recognized for his work as a mentally disabled father in "I Am Sam." British actor Tom Wilkinson proved he would not be upstaged by his costar Spacek, and scored the final nomination for his impressive turn as an American father dealing with loss in "In the Bedroom."
Though their work was shut out in the Best Film category, David Lynch ("Muholland Drive") and Ridley Scott ("Black Hawk Down") were compensated with nominations in the Best Director field. They face stiff competition, however, in the form of Robert Altman ("Gosford"), Peter Jackson ("Lord") and Ron Howard ("Mind").
Notable Supporting contenders are Jennifer Connelly for "Mind," a shoe-in to win among the actresses, and Jim Broadbent ("Iris"), Ben Kingsley ("Sexy Beast") and Ian McKlellan ("Lord"), three Brits who will battle it out among the males.
See right for a complete list of nominees — well, the ones people care about, anyway.
Best Picture
"A Beautiful Mind"
"Gosford Park"
"In the Bedroom"
"The Fellowship of the Ring"
"Moulin Rouge"
Best Director
Robert Altman, "Gosford Park"
Ron Howard, "A Beautiful Mind"
Peter Jackson, "The Fellowship of the Ring"
David Lynch, "Mulholland Drive"
Ridley Scott, "Black Hawk Down"
Best Actor
Russell Crowe, "A Beautiful Mind"
Sean Penn, "I Am Sam"
Will Smith, "Ali"
Denzel Washington, "Training Day"
Tom Wilkinson, "In the Bedroom"
Best Actress
Halle Berry, "Monster's Ball"
Judi Dench, "Iris"
Nicole Kidman, "Moulin Rouge"
Sissy Spacek, "In the Bedroom"
Renee Zellweger, "Bridget Jones's Diary"
Best Supporting Actor
Jim Broadbent, "Iris"
Ethan Hawke, "Training Day"
Ben Kingsley, "Sexy Beast"
Ian McKellen, "The Fellowship of the Ring"
Jon Voight, "Ali"
Best Supporting Actress
Jennifer Connelly, "A Beautiful Mind"
Helen Mirren, "Gosford Park"
Maggie Smith, "Gosford Park"
Marisa Tomei, "In the Bedroom"
Kate Winslet, "Iris"
Animated Feature Film
"Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius"
"Monsters, Inc."
"Shrek"
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"A Beautiful Mind"
"Ghost World"
"In the Bedroom"
"The Fellowship of the Ring"
"Shrek"
Writing (Original Screenplay)
"Amélie"
"Gosford Park"
"Memento"
"Monster's Ball"
"The Royal Tennenbaums"
The 74th Academy Awards, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, will air live on ABC March 24 at 8 p.m.
Contact Melissa Rauch at mrauch@nd.ed.
All Scene Stories for Thursday, February 14, 2002
