But there were several surprises–and a couple coups-when the run-down was revealed at 5:38 a.m. PST on the most eagerly anticipated morning of the year in the entertainment world.
First of all, no one had predicted so much sweetness for “Chocolat.” In fact, it was widely discussed that Miramax-the studio behind “Shakespeare in Love” and “Life Is Beautiful”-would likely not have a film up for Best Picture. (Miramax has had movies in the running nine of the last 10 years.) But Harvey Weinstein pulled it off again, much as he did last year with the surprise nominee “The Cider House Rules.” Besides Best Picture, “Chocolat” received nods in the categories of Best Actress (Juliette Binoche) and Best Supporting Actress (Dame Judi Dench)-five in total.
Then there were all those nominations for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” the critically acclaimed martial arts epic from Ang Lee. Though the subtitled film has done far better than industry watchers had expected-it just passed “Life Is Beautiful” to become the most successful foreign language film in American history-no one had expected it to get so much Academy attention. It’s up for Best Foreign Film and Best Picture-a major triumph. In fact, it’s only the third foreign film in history to be included in the Best Picture category.
Of course, the major accomplishment of the morning belonged to Steven Soderbergh, who was nominated for Best Director for both “Erin Brockovich” and “Traffic.” Although the double-nomination was widely predicted, it shouldn’t undermine the achievement, which hasn’t occured since Michael Curtiz was up against himself in that category in 1938 for “Angels with Dirty Faces” and “Four Daughters.” (And no director has had two films nominated for Best Picture since 1974, when Francis Ford Coppola had both “The Conversation” and “The Godfather, Part II” in the running.)
The acting categories included shoo-ins Julia Roberts for “Erin Brockovich” and Russell Crowe for “Gladiator”-both of whom will likely win. But a few names came out of nowhere. Jeff Bridges for the poorly reviewed “The Contender”? (We expected Joan Allen to be included for Best Actress; she can’t make a movie and not be nominated.) “Pollock” earned nominations for Ed Harris for Best Actor and Marcia Gay Harden for Best Supporting Actress-and barely anyone’s seen the film thus far. (It played briefly in limited release in December to qualify for Oscar consideration and only opens this Friday.)
As usual, there were a few notable exclusions in the acting races as well. Michael Douglas, who could have been nominated as Best Actor for “Wonder Boys” or Best Supporting Actor for “Traffic,” was ignored. So was his wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, who also might have made the Supporting Actress category for her work in “Traffic.” (There went all those cutesy husband-and-wife nominee stories.) Neither Jamie Bell, the boy from “Billy Elliot,” nor Patrick Fugit, the teen lead from “Almost Famous,” were included. And while the Best Actress category went about as predicted, a year rife with acclaimed female performances meant a few had to go unrecognized. Sorry, Gillian Anderson (“The House of Mirth”). Better luck next year, Kate Winslet (“Quills”). Tough break, Bjork (“Dancer in the Dark”)–though you did get a nomination in the Best Song category.
Maybe you’ll perform. Can’t wait to see the outfit. After all, now that the nominations have been revealed, all we really care about is what everyone’s going to wear.
