As analysts had suspected, it was “Chicago’s” morning. The movie received 13 Oscar nominations, including an almost unheard-of four nominations in the acting categories (for Best Actress, Renee Zellweger; for Best Supporting Actor, John C. Reilly; and for Best Supporting Actress, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah). That wide swath of nominees highlighted the year’s biggest snub: How did Richard Gere get overlooked in the Best Actor category for that film? He even won a Golden Globe for the part.
A second notable snub: Meryl Streep wasn’t included in the Best Actress category for her performance in “The Hours.” (Some would say this allowed Salma Hayek to sneak in for her role in “Frida.”) Still, Streep has other reasons to celebrate today. She did get a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Adaptation,” which brings her lifetime total of Oscar nominations to 13–a new record. (Until today, she’d been tied at 12 with Katharine Hepburn.) Another historical moment: Streep’s co-star in “The Hours,” Julianne Moore, received nominations for both that film and in the Best Actress category for her part in “Far From Heaven,” adding her to the elite list of actors who’ve been nominated twice in the same year.
Spanish director Pedro Almodovar made the Best Director and Best Original Screenplay categories (his first-ever Oscar nominations) for his Spanish-language film “Talk to Her,” which has earned only $5 million so far at the box-office. In contrast, Peter Jackson, the man behind the smash “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, was left out of the Best Director category, even though “The Two Towers” (the second film in the series) made the Best Picture cut. (A note about Oscar night 2004: The early money’s on statues for both Jackson and “Lord” Part III.)
And speaking of big money-makers, 2002’s rule-breaking “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” may have been left out of the biggest races, but Nia Vardalos (some had seen her as a Best Actress contender) did manage to get a nomination for Best Original Screenplay for her flick. Another sentimental favorite that was rewarded in the screenplay category but nowhere else: “Y Tu Mama Tambien.” It somehow didn’t even get included in the Foreign Language Film category. Como?
Of course, the most interesting nominations of the morning–and the movie you’ll see the most written about over the next six weeks–went to another foreign-made film, “The Pianist.” The Holocaust drama received seven nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Adrien Brody) and Best Director (Roman Polanski). Not only will the film benefit at the box office–it’s made less than $10 million so far and is currently on only 328 screens–the picture has some politics behind it. Director Polanski, who made 1968’s “Rosemary’s Baby” and 1974’s “Chinatown” (two prime examples from the best period of American filmmaking), was convicted for having sex with a minor in 1977 and fled the country for Paris the next year to escape sentencing. Still considered a fugitive, he has never returned to the United States.
Can a group of agents, execs, producers and publicists sway the government to bend the rules for the big night? Given Hollywood’s usual arrogance, you know they’ll try.
