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Oscars 2001 Preview by Dean Kish 2000 was a crazy year for film and it allowed a lot of us to see a lot of interesting and thought provoking foreign talent. From the brilliance of the card shark “Croupier” to the flash of Ang Lee’s Dragons and Tigers to the smile of “Billy Elliot”, Hollywood is being taught a lot about filmmaking from the globe around her. It truly is amazing how film can become a universal language. It’s that magic that really excited me about this year’s Oscars. But like a lot of years before this one I was a little disappointed with the menagerie of Oscar nominations that were announced. When the categories and names flooded my email box I felt like I was experiencing déjà vu. It seems like they photocopied the Golden Globe nomination sheet this year instead of trying to focus on any real hidden gems. One thing I did learn about seeing those foreign films this past year is that they aren’t scared of a lot of North American taboos. They are fresh and breathe perspective into sex, the power of a child’s love, gay issues, and in some cases the trauma of violence. Why weren’t these revelations depicted in some of the nominations or allowed to be explored in Hollywood films? I mean some shocks were like where was the splendid little film, “Butterfly” for Best Foreign Film or Christian Bale in “American Psycho” for Best Actor and what happened to Erika Christensen in “Traffic” for Best Supporting Actress. And finally why the hell nominate Tom Hanks again? One of my biggest disappointments was that the film “Almost Famous” was practically shafted from the ceremony. The film was bumped out of Best Picture, Best Director and music categories including sound. Come on, there are only two nominations in sound editing. I loved Famous and I think it was crippled because Oscar was trying to find another sweeping picture in Tiger and Gladiator. Almost Famous really accented and captivated the cinematic learning experience that was 2000. Sometimes I think Oscar is as blind as mother justice. Oscar Nomination Frustrations: I have a lot of questions and problems with the Oscar nomination process. Below are a couple of examples: 1. With there being so many animated films coming out these days, why doesn’t the Academy expand their animation nominations? I mean for many, many years they have celebrated short animated film and have claimed these nominations as celebrations of new Hollywood visionaries so why not have a Best Animated Feature category? 2. Another question I have is since Hollywood is noticing great foreign talent and films with Best Picture nominees like Il Postino, Crouching Tiger, and Life Is Beautiful, why can’t British or Australian films be nominated in the Best Foreign film category? And how come Tiger was nominated for Best Picture and Best Foreign? Soothsayer’s Dream List: Performance by an actor in a leading role (Best Actor): Winner: Russell Crowe in Gladiator. Why?: Crowe got severely shafted last year when he lost for the Insider. And is proving he is one of Hollywood’s more interesting leading men. If he doesn’t win for this it could come with his next film, “A Beautiful Mind” directed by Ron Howard. Worst Case Scenario: Tom Hanks for Cast Away. Why?: Hanks has won this category twice and is now tied with the legendary Spencer Tracey for the most wins in the category. If he wins that would mean he is the greatest actor in Oscar history. I find that a little egotistical and it would be the biggest coo in Academy history. I think enough is enough. Be original. Performance by an actress in a leading role (Best Actress): Winner: Laura Linney in You Can Count On Me Why?: It’s practically a given that Julia Roberts will walk away with this category but I really didn’t feel there was a huge amount of depth or range in character of Erin Brockovich. That is so totally different from what Linney showed in her role in “You Can Count on Me”. Linney’s character comes full circle as she has to deal with all sorts of family problems that really explore a lot of depth of emotion. It’s a wonderful performance. Performance by an actor in a supporting role (Best Supporting Actor): Winner: Willem Dafoe in Shadow of the Vampire Why?: It’s a given that Hollywood never looks towards horror films for winners and this curse could be relevant for Dafoe. His captivation of the vampiric persona that was the legendary Max Shreck is utterly amazing. His performance was one of the best I have ever witnessed. He was Max Shreck. Performance by an actress in a supporting role (Best Supporting Actress): Winner: Kate Hudson in Almost Famous Why?: This could be the only category this year that I get my wish. The Academy always likes to use this category as a birth for new fresh Hollywood faces. Some have drifted into infamy like Marisa Tomei and Mira Sorvino but others are striking while the iron is hot like last year’s Angelina Jolie. Hudson did definitely put a stamp in “Almost Famous” and really captivated the eyes of her admirers both in the film and in the audience. All the power to her. Screenplay written directly for the screen (Best Original Screenplay): Winner: Almost Famous written by Cameron Crowe Why?: Crowe’s semi-autobiographical journey really captivated the audience and allowed us to see the brilliance, pain and humor of rock n roll. Since Crowe has been knocked out of the other categories at least give him this one. Screenplay based on material previously produced or published (Best Adapted Screenplay): Winner: Traffic screenplay by Stephen Gaghan Why?: My reason for taking this one was because it was the most gripping film I have ever seen on drugs. Someone needs to be given credit for the research that had to have been placed in this screenplay and the mulit-leveled stories couldn’t have been easy to write. Achievement in directing (Best Director): Winner: Oscar Tie: Ridley Scott for Gladiator and Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Nuff Said) Best motion picture of the year (Best Picture): Winner: Gladiator (Nuff said) Other categories: Visual Effects: Hollow Man (Sony Pictures Releasing) Scott E. Anderson, Craig Hayes, Scott Stokdyk and Stan Parks Best Foreign Film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon A Zoom Hunt International Production, Taiwan Original Score: Gladiator (DreamWorks and Universal) Hans Zimmer Original Song: "A Love Before Time" from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Sony Pictures Classics) Music by Jorge Calandrelli and Tan Dun, Lyric by James Schamus (Foot Note: Anything but Disney!!) Worst Nomination: There were a lot but this one stuck out: Winner: The Patriot (Sony Pictures Releasing) music by John Williams Why?: Isn’t he nominated like every year? Come on Oscar be original? What’s next James Horner for “Enemy at the Gates” (see my Gates review for my reason) Who will win, strategically? My predictions:
Best Actor: Russell Crowe in Gladiator In conclusion, I would just like to say I love Oscar and have been watching it faithfully ever since I was a small boy but I have to stress that I yearn for the day that we see a real “original” nomination. Will it be a mighty warrior or a crouching tiger? But no matter the Oscar majesty and greatness will shine through. So Says the Soothsayer. |