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St. Cloud State University
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Diversions
Academy nominees show no surprises
By Adam Johnson
Published:
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Oscar season officially kicked off Tuesday morning with the announcement of the 75th Annual Academy Award nominations.
Miramax's jazz-fest musical, "Chicago," led the pack with a whopping 13 nominations, including Best Picture. Only shortly behind is "Gangs of New York," whose 10 nominations surprised a number of critics whom had initially given the film modest reviews. Rounding out the Best Picture nominees were "The Hours," drawing nine nominations, "The Pianist" with seven, and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," with four, a significant drop from the 11 nominations granted to its predecessor "The Fellowship of the Ring."
Some film analysts seemed disappointed that the announcements turned out to be relatively predictable.
"There really were no surprises," Film Professor Brad Chisholm said. "The Golden Globes, as well as the awards presented by the various critic's circles basically put forth all the names that made the list."
There were, however, some notable exclusions. Dennis Quaid was considered a front-runner in the Best Supporting Actor race for his gut-wrenching performance in "Far From Heaven," but his spot instead went to a deserving John C. Reilly for his portrayal of doting-husband Amos in "Chicago."
"About Schmidt" was also snubbed in a number of categories it had been favored for, most notably in the Best Adapted Screenplay slot. Writer's Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor's were notably lacking after winning the best screenplay award at the Golden Globes, which featured only half as many nominees.
Instead, the Academy opted to honor the summer romantic comedy "About a Boy," the adaptation about adaptation, "Adaptation," "The Hours," "The Pianist," and "Chicago."
"Chicago," with its 13 nominations, falls just one short of the all-time record held by "All About Eve" and "Titanic." It also received the most nominations a musical has been honored with since "Mary Poppins," and a win for Best Picture would make it the first musical to do so since 1968's "Oliver!"
One of the only categories lacking a nomination for "Chicago" was the one that many had felt was a sure thing. Richard Gere won a Golden Globe for his performance as silver-tongued lawyer Billy Flynn, but ended up snubbed in the Best Actor race.
Indeed, the actor races looks to be close ones, as the nominees feature some of Hollywood's biggest names, including Nicole Kidman, Nicolas Cage and Ed Harris.
Golden Globe winner and 12-time nominee Jack Nicholson was also nominated for his surprisingly restrained role as a newly retired widower in "About Schmidt." A win would make him the first actor ever to receive three Oscars for a lead performance. However, his chances may be hindered by the fact that the film only nabbed two nominations, the other going to Kathy Bates' revealing turn as Nicholson's eccentric in-law to be.
Also notable was Julianne Moore, who was double-nominated. She garnered a nomination for lead actress in "Far From Heaven" and for her supporting role in "The Hours."
"I would love it if (Julianne) was rewarded with the Oscar," Chisholm said. "I've seen her on the screen for the last 10 years, and she's wonderful in everything she does."
