:: Spotlight :: 76th Academy Awards

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

The 76th Annual Academy Awards presentation will come from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland, Los Angeles on February 29, 2004.
Here is a rundown of the nominations as determined by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
A Wingnut Films Production

“Lost in Translation”
An American Zoetrope/Elemental Films Production

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
A 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures and Miramax Films Production

“Mystic River”
A Warner Bros. Pictures Production

“Seabiscuit”
A Universal Pictures/DreamWorks Pictures Production

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”

Ben Kingsley in “House of Fog and Sand”

Jude Law in “Cold Mountain”

Bill Murray in “Lost in Translation”

Sean Penn in “Mystic River”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Alec Baldwin in “The Cooler”

Benicio Del Toro in “21 Grams”

Djimon Hounsou in “In America”

Tim Robbins in “Mystic River”

Ken Watanabe in “The Last Samurai”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Keisha Castle-Hughes in “Whale Rider”

Diane Keaton in “Something's Gotta Give”

Samantha Morton in “In America”

Charlize Theron in “Monster”

Naomi Watts in “21 Grams”

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Shohreh Aghdashloo in “House of Sand and Fog”

Patricia Clarkson in “Pieces of April”

Marcia Gay Harden in “Mystic River”

Holly Hunter in "Thirteen”

Renée Zellweger in “Cold Mountain”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

“Brother Bear”

“Finding Nemo”

“The Triplets of Belleville”

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION

“Girl with a Pearl Earring”
Art Direction: Ben Van Os
Set Decoration: Cecile Heideman

“The Last Samurai”
Art Direction: Lilly Kilvert
Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Art Direction: Grant Major
Set Decoration: Dan Hennah and Alan Lee

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
Art Direction: William Sandell
Set Decoration: Robert Gould

“Seabiscuit”
Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall
Set Decoration: Leslie Pope

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

“City of God”
Cesar Charlone

“Cold Mountain”
John Seale

“Girl with a Pearl Earring”
Eduardo Serra

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
Russell Boyd

“Seabiscuit”
John Schwartzman

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

“Girl with a Pearl Earring”
Dien van Straalen

“The Last Samurai”
Ngila Dickson

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
Wendy Stites

“Seabiscuit”
Judianna Makovsky

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

“City of God”
Fernando Meirelles

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Peter Jackson

“Lost in Translation”
Sofia Coppola

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
Peter Weir

“Mystic River”
Clint Eastwood

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

“Balseros”
A Bausan Films S.L. Production
Carlos Bosch and Marcos Loris Omedes

“Capturing the Friedmans”
A Hit The Ground Running Production
Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling

“The Fog of War”
A Globe Department Store Production
Errol Morris and Michael Williams

“My Architect”
A Louis Kahn Project, Inc. Production
Nathaniel Kahn and Susan R. Behr

“The Weather Underground”
A Free History Project Production
Sam Green and Bill Siegel

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

“Asylum”
A Constant Communication & Make-do Production
Sandy McLeod and Gini Reticker

“Chernobyl Heart”
A Downtown TV Documentaries Production
Maryann DeLeo

“Ferry Tales”
A Penelope Pictures Production
Katja Esson

ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING

“City of God”
Daniel Rezende

“Cold Mountain”
Walter Murch

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Jamie Selkirk

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
Lee Smith

“Seabiscuit”
William Goldenberg

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

“The Barbarian Invasions”
A Cinémaginaire Inc. Production
Canada

“Evil”
A Moviola Film & Television Production
Sweden

“The Twilight Samurai”
A Shochiku/Nippon Television Network/Sumitomo/Hakuhodo/Nippon Shuppan
Hanbai/Eisei Gekijo Production
Japan

“Twin Sisters”
An IdtV Film Production
The Netherlands

“Zelary”
A Total HelpArt T.H.A./Barrandov Studio Production
Czech Republic

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Richard Taylor and Peter King

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
Edouard Henriques III and Yolanda Toussieng

“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”
Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (Original score)

“Big Fish”
Danny Elfman

“Cold Mountain”
Gabriel Yared

“Finding Nemo”
Thomas Newman

“House of Sand and Fog”
James Horner

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Howard Shore

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (Original song)

“Into the West” from “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Music and Lyric by Fran Walsh and Howard Shore and Annie Lennox

“A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” from “A Mighty Wind”
Music and Lyric by Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole

“Scarlet Tide” from “Cold Mountain”
Music and Lyric by T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello

“The Triplets of Belleville” from “The Triplets of Belleville”
Music by Benoit Charest Lyric by Sylvain Chomet

“You Will Be My Ain True Love” from “Cold Mountain”
Music and Lyric by Sting

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM

“Boundin'”
A Pixar Animation Studios Production
Bud Luckey

“Destino”
A Walt Disney Pictures Production
Dominique Monfery and Roy Edward Disney

“Gone Nutty”
A Blue Sky Studios Production
Carlos Saldanha and John C. Donkin

“Harvie Krumpet”
A Melodrama Pictures Production
Adam Elliot

“Nibbles”
An Acme Filmworks Production
Chris Hinton

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM

“Die Rote Jacke (The Red Jacket)”
A Hamburger Filmwerkstatt Production
Florian Baxmeyer

“Most (The Bridge)”
An Eastwind Films Production
Bobby Garabedian and William Zabka

“Squash”
A Tetramedia Production
Lionel Bailliu

“Torzija”
A Studio Arkadena Production
Stefan Arsenijevic

“Two Soldiers”
A Shoe Clerk Picture Company Production
Aaron Schneider and Andrew J. Sacks

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

“Finding Nemo”
Gary Rydstrom and Michael Silvers

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
Richard King

“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”
Christopher Boyes and George Watters II

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING

“The Last Samurai”
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Jeff Wexler

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
Paul Massey, D.M. Hemphill and Arthur Rochester

“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ”
Christopher Boyes, David Parker, David Campbell and Lee Orloff

“Seabiscuit”
Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Tod A. Maitland

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”
Dan Sudick, Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness and Robert Stromberg

“Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and Terry Frazee

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

“American Splendour”
Written by Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman

“City of God”
Screenplay by Braulio Mantovani

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”
Screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson

“Mystic River”
Screenplay by Brian Helgeland

“Seabiscuit”
Written for the Screen by Gary Ross

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

“The Barbarian Invasions”
Written by Denys Arcand

“Dirty Pretty Things”
Written by Steven Knight

“Finding Nemo”
Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds
Original Story by Andrew Stanton

“In America”
Written by Jim Sheridan & Naomi Sheridan & Kirsten Sheridan

“Lost in Translation”
Written by Sofia Coppola

Some comments.

Seabiscuit was bestowed with a total of seven Oscar nominations, including: Best Picture; Best Adapted Screenplay (Gary Ross); Best Art Direction (Art Direction – Jeannine Oppewall; Set Decoration - Leslie Pope); Best Cinematography (John Schwartzman); Best Costume Design (Judianna Makovsky); Best Film Editing (William Goldenberg); and Best Sound Mixing (Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Tod A. Maitland).

“We‘re both thrilled and humbled at Seabiscuit’s continuing track record,” stated Stacey Snider, chairman, Universal Pictures. “From the beginning, this was a story that truly moved us. And we all feel that Gary wrote and directed an amazing film version of Laura's inspired book. We believed 'Seabiscuit’ was a winner from the start, and it's such a joy to see that belief borne out, first with the audiences, then with the critics, and now with the accolades this film has received from such esteemed organisations.”

“Obviously I feel great personally, best picture and the writing, but I really feel great that my entire crew was recognised,” said filmmaker Gary Ross. “To recognise everyone who worked so hard, helping me every day, would make any director proud.”

Added producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, “We are absolutely ecstatic to see our film recognised in this way. It is extremely rewarding to have everyone's contributions acknowledged.”

Michael McKean and Annette O’Toole are two of the more recognisable actors working in Hollywood today, but now they’ve also been recognised as a songwriting duo with an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. In 2003, no song written for a motion picture played a larger or more pivotal role in its film than A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow, composed by McKean and O'Toole for director Christopher Guest’s latest comedy feature, A Mighty Wind.

The song is performed by Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara, who play 'Mitch & Mickey. Their heart-warming reunion and the song that exemplifies it, serve as the climax to the film. Now nominated for Best Original Song, A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow is destined to become both the movie’s, and the songwriting duo’s, biggest success story to date.

Statement from Jude Law – nominated for Best Actor for ‘Cold Mountain’

“Cold Mountain was an extraordinary experience for everyone involved and it is very gratifying to see that others have enjoyed our work as much as we did. To be nominated for my performance, which is only one role among many, is a huge honour. It goes without saying that I could not have done what I did without the total support and amazing words of my director, Anthony Minghella.”

Statement from Renee Zellweger – nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for ‘Cold Mountain’

“Very exciting news! This entire experience has been a great privilege and I look forward to celebrating the evening with the wonderful Anthony and all of my Cold Mountain friends.”

Statement from Fernando Meirelles – nominated for Best Director for ‘City of God’

“I want to thank the Academy for recognising me and my film with four nominations. It is truly an honour and a surprise for me and the cast and crew who were all collaborators on a very meaningful project. I am humbled to be in the company of such tremendous talent and am truly thankful for the film being nominated in so many categories.”

Statement from Daniel Rezende – nominated for Best Film Editing for ‘City of God’

“I'm so delighted for the four nominations that were so unexpected. It’s so amazing that the Academy recognised a Brazilian film on those categories. An editor can’t ever be good without an excellent director, screenplay, photography and actors, so I am glad and honoured to have worked with such a good crew.”

Statement from Braulio Mantovani – nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for ‘City of God’

“I really wasn't expecting this. I'm extremely honoured with this nomination and wanted to thank the Academy for acknowledging my work. I just wanted to say that the script is a tool that would not work without the talent of Fernando Meirelles, the entire cast and the crew.”

Statement from Ben Sombogaart – director of ‘Twin Sisters’, which was nominated for Best Foreign Film

“I am quite pleasantly surprised by this honour. I would like to thank the members of the Academy for recognising Twin Sisters. I would also like to thank Miramax Films for believing in this film from the beginning. Ultimately this film is about the importance and power of family and I am thrilled it is being seen all over the world. Thank you again, I am grateful.”

Statement from Diane Keaton - nominated for Best Actress for 'Something's Gotta Give'

“My initial reaction was disbelief. To be getting this kind of recognition at this time in my life is just a fantastic honour. When Nancy Meyers created Erica Barry she created a unique character in film. Erica makes us all believe that it's possible to find true love at any age.”