ALADDIN (1992)



1993 Academy Awards: 5 Nominations - 2 Wins
WON - Best Music, Original Score
WON - Best Music, Original Song - For the song "A Whole New World"

NOM - Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing
NOM - Best Music, Original Song - For the song "Friend Like Me"
NOM - Best Sound

1993 Golden Globes: 6 Nominations - 3 Wins
WON - Best Original Score - Motion Picture - Alan Menken
WON - Best Original Score - Motion Picture
WON (SPECIAL) - Robin Williams For his vocal work.

NOM - Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
NOM - Best Original Song - Motion Picture - For the song "Friend Like Me
NOM - Best Original Song - Motion Picture - For the song "Prince Ali"

1993 BAFTAs: 2 Nominations - 0 Wins
NOM - Best Score
NOM - Best Special Effects

1993 Grammy Awards: 3 Nominations - 2 Wins
WON - Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television
WON - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television - For the song "A Whole New World".

NOM - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television - For the song "Friend Like Me".

1993 Guild Awards of America
WON - Motion Picture Sound Editors - Best Sound Editing - Animated Feature

--

Disney's followup to the highly acclaimed TLM and B&B did not dissapoint, in fact Aladdin surpassed both of them in terms of commerical success.......and it didn't do that badly at the Awards as well.

The two major songs from the movie "A Whole New World" and "Friend Like Me" followed from Beauty's 3 nominations last year, and again an Alan Menken picked up the Oscars for Song and Score.

--

Aladdin (1992), a film that moved beyond the traditional fairy tale, used computer-generated imagery, and was designed for a more adult audience - it marked a significant change in Disney's output. It received a phenomenal five Oscar nominations (and won two for Best Original Song, "A Whole New World," and Best Score). At the time of its release, it was criticized for its negative, 'Americanized' representation of Arabs and non-western cultures. The film featured improvisational comic Robin Williams as the vocal for Aladdin's blue Genie.

THE LION KING (1993)

BOX OFFICE GROSS = $312,855,561 ($328,541,776 Lifetime)



Disney continues its string of instant classic family films with one of their best The Lion King. Essentially, it's a loose interpolation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," set in the fields of Africa, with lots of typical Disney anthropomorphic creatures to sing and dance for our every amusement. It's a solid endeavor, with excellent characterizations and a good deal of heart that keeps keen interest, while also blessed with a memorable soundtrack.

The animation is not a mere light entertainment either. It is not just one that depicts the lovely cub's life cycle, nor is it true in describing the real life of the animals. As Neufeld (1996) said, the characters in The Lion King exhibit behaviours that are uncharacteristic of animals they portray. First, the mix of the animal kingdom is just a dream. Who will think of all the antelopes, elephants, leopards, lions, etc living peacefully together? And the caring relationship between the mother lions and the cubs, and between the lions and lionesses cannot really be seen in real life, where the non-father males will kill other male's offspring and cubs are always abundant and dying of starvation. The relationship, and hence the struggle, depicted is more human in nature.



The project originally began a number of years earlier under the title "King of the Jungle." When production began, an artistic team traveled to Africa to search for ways to best present the African settings in the film, and the animators studied actual live lions and other animals that were brought to the Studio.

Computer-generated imagery was used to create the dramatic wildebeest stampede, a visual highlight in the film and a new level of sophistication for the art form.

THE LION KING (1993)



1995 Academy Awards: 4 Nominations - 2 Wins
WON - Best Music, Original Score
WON - Best Music, Original Song - For the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".

NOM - Best Music, Original Song - For the song "Circle of Life".
NOM - Best Music, Original Song - For the song "Hakuna Matata".

1995 Golden Globes: 4 Nominations - 3 Wins
WON - Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
WON - Best Original Score - Motion Picture - Hans Zimmer
WON - Best Original Song - Motion Picture - For the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".

NOM - Best Original Song - Motion Picture - For the song "The Circle of Life".

1995 BAFTAs: 2 Nominations - 0 Wins
NOM - Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - Hans Zimmer
NOM - Best Sound

1995 Grammy Awards: 3 Nominations - 0 Wins
NOM - Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television
NOM - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television - For the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?".
NOM - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television - For the song "Circle of Life".

1995 Guild Awards of America
WON - Motion Picture Sound Editors - Best Sound Editing - Animated Feature
WON - Motion Picture Sound Editors - Best Sound Editing - Music

NOM - Cinema Audio Society - Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Feature Film

--

Disney was back in 1994 with arguably the best Animation feature of All-time, The Lion King. It delivered on so many levels, not just at the Box-Office or Awards. It was definately Disney's jewel in the crown.

Like Beauty & The Beast, Lion King had 3 songs in contention for Best Original Song, with the most heartfelt "Can you feel the love tonight" winning the award. However, both CYFTLTonight and Circle of Life lost out at the Grammies to Bruce Springsteen's Philadelphia

This is Disney's best, and sadly it was downhill from here......with Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame failing to capture audiences imagination and did not deliver at the box-office...

POCAHONTAS (1995)

BOX OFFICE GROSS = $141,579,773



History gets the Disney kiddie treatment and a politically correct interpretation in the studio's 33rd feature-length animated movie, the first to be based on actual events and people. Pocahontas (Irene Bedard) is the daughter of Algonquin chief Powhatan (Russell Means), who promises her in marriage to Kocoum, a brave whom she doesn't love. Pocahontas would rather be paddling in her canoe or wandering in the forest, communing with nature and her animal pals, Meeko, a raccoon, and the hummingbird Flit. When European settlers arrive, she becomes enamored of handsome John Smith (Mel Gibson). Their attraction is encouraged by Grandmother Willow (Linda Hunt), a talking tree. The situation between their peoples is tense, however, as the settlers, led by Governor Ratcliffe (David Ogden Stiers) desperately want the gold that they're sure the natives are concealing. When a dutiful sentry, Thomas (Christian Bale) follows Smith into the woods on one of his secret meetings with Pocahontas, a tragic mistake leads both groups to the brink of war. Only the love of Pocahontas and Smith can prevent bloodshed.

Pocahontas was criticized by many for presenting stereotypical images of Native Americans, and by others for presenting a highly distorted version of the historical events on which it was based. It is regarded by many as the first misstep of the 1990s "renaissance" of Disney animation, being neither as critically well-regarded nor as commercially successful as the films that preceded it: The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and especially The Lion King.



In recent years Disney has been come under an extraordinary amount of criticism from the PC factions - with Aladdin (1992) being criticized for its anti-Arabic lyrics and The Lion King (1994) for its purported racial characterizations and lack of women, even The Hunchback for Notre Dame (1996) for disrespecting French culture. Pocahontas is what happens when Disney end up trying to appease the politically oversensitive - and the results are rather sad. The film is so PC on can almost see its head touching the ground with all the bending over backwards. It attempts to cast a minority people in a favourable light; it appeals to New Age and native spirituality; it is anti-White Men and anti the corrupting effects of Western civilization. The film employs real Native American actors in many of the parts and even had Indian activist Russell Means on a PR junket, promoting the film’s historical accuracy. (Despite which a number of prominent Native activists and tribes issued an open letter condemning the film for historical inaccuracy and stereotyping of Indian peoples).

POCAHONTAS (1995)




1996 Academy Awards - 2 Nominations 2 Wins
WON - Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score
WON - For the song "Colors of the Wind".

1996 Golden Globes - 2 Nominations 2 Wins
WON - Best Original Song - Motion Picture - For the song "Colors of the Wind".

NOM - Best Original Score - Motion Picture

1996 Grammy Awards - 1 Nominations 1 Win
WON - Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television - For the song "Colors of the Wind

1996 Guild Awards of America
WON - Motion Picture Sound Editors - Best Sound Editing - Music Animation

---

Pocahontas didn't do so bad on the Awards front, however, it was nowhere near the level of past Disney greats. This was really the last Disney film to feature music in any prominent way; and is arguably the last movie in Disney's 2nd Golden period, before movies like Hunchback and Mulan.

The delightful song "Colors of the Wind" was a deserving winner, again, the last of the great Disney songs of the 90s.

EVITA (1996)

BOX OFFICE GROSS = $50,047,179



Live-action musicals seemed to almost fade in the 1990s. There was only one successful live-action musical in the 90s - director Alan Parker's musical drama Evita (1996), adapted from the 1976 theater version by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, with Madonna (singing the Oscar-winning Best Original Song "You Must Love Me").

The film succeeds in reproducing the original musical with intensity and integrity. Madonna sparkles in the title role, showing that her talent is unlimited and constantly growing into new fields and depths, and Antonio Banderas surprises us with his musical talent in perhaps the finest role of his life.

Evita tells the story of Eva Duarte, an ambitious young actress who fell in love and married Juan Perón, becoming the first lady of Argentina as well as the most adored and remembered figure in the nation's history. An inspiring leader, Eva Perón permeated the common worker movement and even the feminist movement, acquiring the love and allegiance of all of Argentina. Supposedly, the people of Argentina loved her so much, they ignored her husband's injustices as president.



Translating the play to an effective film was a giant step, and this film version makes the jump with deceptive ease. The one element that makes it so glorious, so fascinating, is how tightly the film is tied with its setting. The cinematography, alternately brutally realistic and dreamily surreal, is a true work of art, subjective cuts and sets complementing the music so perfectly, it's an integral part it.

EVITA (1996)



1997 Acdemy Awards: 5 Nominations - 1 Win
WON - Best Music, Original Song - For the song "You Must Love Me".

NOM - Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
NOM - Best Cinematography
NOM - Best Film Editing
NOM - Best Sound

1997 Golden Globes: 5 Nominations - 3 Wins
WON - Best Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical
WON - Best Original Song - Motion Picture - For the song "You Must Love Me".
WON - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical - Madonna

NOM - Best Director - Motion Picture - Alan Parker
NOM - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical - Antonio Banderas

1997 BAFTAs: 8 Nominations - 0 Wins
NOM - Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music - Andrew Lloyd Webber & Tim Rice
NOM - Best Cinematography
NOM - Best Costume Design
NOM - Best Editing
NOM - Best Editing
NOM - Best Production Design
NOM - Best Screenplay - Adapted
NOM - Best Sound

1997 Guild Awards of America
NOM - American Cinema Editors - Best Edited Feature Film
NOM - American Society of Cinematographers - Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases

--

The fall of Disney was about the same time Musicals returned to live-action, the start of a new generation of musicals which would take some time to gain momentum.

Evita picked up 5 Academy Award nominations (all of which were techies) a total (for a live-action movie) not seen since the days of Cabaret and Oliver......and winning for Best Song "You Must Love Me" by ALWebber and Tim Rice.

MOULIN ROUGE! (2001)

BOX OFFICE GROSS = $57,386,607



Cross LA BOHȍE with CABARET, throw in a little bit of RENT, and you might almost begin to describe Baz Luhrmann's visually opulent, fast-paced, funny, heartrending MOULIN ROUGE. The film, which premiered as the opener to the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, is a musical set in 1899 Paris at the notorious Montmartre cabaret club, the Moulin Rouge. Directed by Baz Luhrmann (WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO AND JULIET, STRICTLY BALLROOM), the movie stars Nicole Kidman as the high-kicking courtesan, Satine; Ewan McGregor as the sensitive poet, Christian; and John Leguizamo as the flamboyant artist and matchmaker, Toulouse-Lautrec. Luhrmann's use of eclectic lighting and saturated color, the fast zooms and quick cuts of his camera, and his magnificent costumes and sets perfectly capture the excess and freneticism for which the Moulin Rouge was famous. Beautifully led by McGregor and Kidman, the flawless supporting cast brings to life the culture of belle 鰯que Paris with magical realism. Above all, the anachronistic, energetic contemporary soundtrack is what drives MOULIN ROUGE, with popular songs by L'il Kim, Christina Aguilera, David Bowie, and Beck--as well as Kidman and McGregor adding their own superb vocals



"Moulin Rouge" is a visual achievement but in the same way the Batman films were. This production was shot on the sound stages of Australia's Fox Studios in Sydney & it shows. I am a big fan of musical films, I think that Hollywood should make more of them, some musicals are in fact some of my favourite all time motion pictures but unfortunately this isn't one of them. Baz Luhrmann is a fabulous filmmaker with a strong visual style but this production is a little too dark for my liking. Nicole & Ewan handle the songs expertly as their voices combine astonishingly well but the music is still at times a little drab & not as lively & bouncy as I would of liked. A new version of Madonna's classic 80's ballad "Like A Virgin" does make a welcome return into this film & does raise a chuckle in the way it is performed.

MOULIN ROUGE! (2001)



2002 Academy Awards: 8 Nominations - 2 Wins
WON - Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
WON - Best Costume Design

NOM - Best Picture
NOM - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Nicole Kidman
NOM - Best Cinematography
NOM - Best Editing
NOM - Best Makeup
NOM - Best Sound

2002 Golden Globes: 6 Nominations - 3 Wins
WON - Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
WON - Best Original Score - Motion Picture - Craig Armstrong
WON - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nicole Kidman

NOM - Best Director - Motion Picture - Baz Luhrmann
NOM - Best Original Song - Motion Picture - For the song "Come What May".
NOM - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Ewan McGregor

2002 BAFTAs: 12 Nominations - 3 Wins
WON - Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
WON - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role - Jim Broadbent
WON - Best Sound

NOM - David Lean Award for Direction - Baz Luhrmann
NOM - Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects
NOM - Best Cinematography
NOM - Best Costume Design
NOM - Best Editing
NOM - Best Film
NOM - Best Make Up/Hair
NOM - Best Production Design
NOM - Best Screenplay - Original

2002 Grammy Awards: 1 Nominations - 0 Wins
NOM - Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media

2002 Guild Awards of America
WON - American Cinema Editors - Best Edited Feature Film - Comedy or Musical
WON - American Choreography Awards - Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film
WON - Art Directors Guild - Feature Film - Period or Fantasy Films
WON - Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards - Best Period Hair Styling - Feature
WON - Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards - Best Period Makeup - Feature

NOM - Directors Guild of America - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
NOM - Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture
NOM - Writers Guild of America - Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
NOM - American Society of Cinematographers - Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases
NOM - Cinema Audio Society - Outstanding Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures
NOM - Motion Picture Sound Editors - Best Sound Editing - Music, Musical Feature Film

--

5 years after Evita, Moulin Rouge surfaced and what a splash it made. Baz Lurhman's followup to Romeo + Juliet and Strictly Ballroom dominated the local AFI (Australian Film Industry Awards) and also won big at the GGs and Academy Awards.

While the movie only won 2 of its 8 Academy Awards, it definitely stirred up interest in the genre again....and fueled Chicago which came the following year...

CHICAGO (2002)

BOX OFFICE GROSS = $170,687,518



The movie musical has been dead since classics like Grease disappeared from the marquee and unbearable oddities such as Xanadu and The Village People's Can't Stop The Music appeared in its place. There was one attempt in 1992 to resurrect the beloved feelings that these films evoked when Disney introduced its high concept mega flop, Newsies, about the paperboy strike in turn-of-the-century New York. The film failed to remind critics or audiences of how special a musical can be. Since then, this famed genre has rested, awaiting a film to signal its rebirth. Like a shot of adrenaline pounded straight into the heart, Chicago is the musical that devotees have dreamt of for more than two decades. Unlike last year's winningly hyper-kinetic Moulin Rouge, which brought the modern musical into today’s mainstream by juicing it up with pop hits, Chicago does not try to update the genre. The film is unabashedly old-fashioned without being corny or clichéd because the themes of greed and corruption are timeless. The roaring 20's still seem fresh thanks to Director Rob Marshall's approach to the story.



Based on the popular Broadway show, Chicago begins with a bang, literally, as seductive songstress Velma Kelly (the always stunning Catherine Zeta Jones) rushes into the club where she has become a nighttime sensation after murdering her sister and husband, who had been carrying on an affair while the sisters were part of a double act. After a spectacular rendition of "All That Jazz," Kelly is arrested in front of the crowd. One of the admirers who witnesses it all is Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger), an unfaithful housewife who hopes that she can find a man to get her into the entertainment business. Some time later, while having an affair with a furniture salesman (Dominic West) whom she believes has "connections," she discovers that he had lied to make his way into her pants. As any angry woman would do, she kills him.



The glitz, glamour, and every sleazy but joyfully entertaining moment all add up to this wonderfully splashy, flashy film. The musical has always been the type of film that should expect a physical reaction from the audience if it were done right. Like laughter to a comedy, a musical is supposed to make you want to sing and dance along with the cast or, for that matter, the audience. I was repeatedly tempted to jump up and down with joy that such a film could be created.



Chicago is magnificently staged, too. The slippery, dangerously sexy moves of Bob Fosse remain intact as every dance becomes about seduction, where backstabbing and betrayals are celebrated, and sex is currency. In chipper, satirical numbers, such as “We Both Reached For The Gun,” the manipulation of the media-hungry public is shown in all of its artificial glory. Every opportunity to make the film as lively and joyous as possible is never overlooked. As a result, you may have to give into temptation and start dancing in the aisles.

CHICAGO (2002)



2003 Academy Awards: 13 Nominations - 6 Wins
WON - Best Picture
WON - Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Catherine Zeta-Jones
WON - Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
WON - Best Costume Design
WON - Best Editing
WON - Best Sound

NOM - Best Director - Rob Marshall
NOM - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - John C. Reilly
NOM - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Renée Zellweger
NOM - Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Queen Latifah
NOM - Best Cinematography
NOM - Best Music, Original Song - For the song "I Move On".
NOM - Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

2003 Golden Globes: 8 Nominations - 3 Wins
WON - Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
WON - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Richard Gere
WON - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Renée Zellweger

NOM - Best Director - Motion Picture - Rob Marshall
NOM - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - John C. Reilly
NOM - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Catherine Zeta-Jones
NOM - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture - Queen Latifah
NOM - Best Screenplay - Motion Picture - Bill Condon

2003 BAFTAs
WON - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Catherine Zeta-Jones
WON - Best Sound

NOM - Best Film
NOM - David Lean Award for Direction - Rob Marshall
NOM - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Queen Latifah
NOM - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Renée Zellweger
NOM - Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
NOM - Best Cinematography
NOM - Best Costume Design
NOM - Best Editing
NOM - Best Make Up/Hair
NOM - Best Production Design

2003 Guild Award of America
WON - Directors Guild of America - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures - Rob Marshall
WON - PGA Golden Laurel - Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award
WON - Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role - Renée Zellweger
WON - Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Catherine Zeta-Jones
WON - Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture
WON - American Choreography Awards - Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film
WON - American Cinema Editors - Best Edited Feature Film - Comedy or Musical
WON - Costume Designers Guild Awards - Excellence for Costume Design for Film - Period/Fantasy
WON - Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards - Best Period Makeup - Feature
WON - Motion Picture Sound Editors - Best Sound Editing in a Feature: Music, Musical

NOM - Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role - Queen Latifah
NOM - Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Richard Gere
NOM - Art Directors Guild - Feature Film - Period or Fantasy Films
NOM - Cinema Audio Society - Outstanding Sound Mixing for Motion Pictures
NOM - Motion Picture Sound Editors - Best Sound Editing in Domestic Features: Dialogue/ADR
NOM - Writers Guild of America - Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

--

Yes, the first Musical Winner of the Academy Best Picture since Oliver......and the first big winner since Cabaret....

Chicago was nominated for a staggering 13 Academy Awards which it won 6. Although The Pianist did scare towards the end, Chicago held firm in the tech categories which probably gave it the edge for Best Picture.

This is a true stage musical, taking us back to the glamour and glory days of West Side Story, Caberet....and one of the highest grossing live-action (unadjusted) musical of All-Time...

ACADEMY AWARDS (Oscars) - Nominations by STUDIO

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/oscar/char ... 004&p=.htm

1. Miramax - 20, three films
The Aviator (11), Finding Neverland (7), The Chorus (2)

2. Warner Bros. - 16, five films
Million Dollar Baby (7), The Phantom of the Opera (3), The Polar Express (3), Harry Potter (2), Troy (1)

3. Fine Line - 6, three films
Vera Drake (3), The Sea Inside (2), Maria Full of Grace (1)

4. Fox Searchlight - 6, two films
Sideways (5), Kinsey (1)

5. Universal - 6, one film
Ray (6)

6. Dreamworks - 5, three films
Collateral (2), Shrek 2 (2), Shark Tale (1)

7. Sony - 5, two films
Spider-Man 2 (3), Closer (2)

8. Buena Vista - 5, two films
The Incredibles (4), The Village (1)

9. Paramount - 5, two films
Lemony Snicket (4), Tupac: Resurrection (1)

10. Focus - 4, two films
Eternal Sunshine (2), The Motocycle Diaries (2)

11. Warner Independant - 3, two films
A Very Long Engagement (2), Before Sunset (1)

12. Newmarket - 3, one film
The Passion of the Christ (3)

13. United Artists - 3, one film
Hotel Rwanda (3)

14. Sony Classics - 2, two films
Being Julia (1), House of Flying Daggers (1)

15. Think Film - 2, two films
Born Into Brothels (1), The Story of the Weeping Camel (1)

16. Fox - 1, one film
I, Robot (1)

17. IDP - 1, one film
Super Size Me (1)

ACADEMY AWARDS (Oscars) - **Nominations**

http://www.oscars.com/nominees/nominees.html



DIRECTOR
Martin Scorsese, "The Aviator"
Clint Eastwood, "Million Dollar Baby"
Taylor Hackford, "Ray"
Alexander Payne, "Sideways"
Mike Leigh, "Vera Drake"

ACTOR
Don Cheadle, "Hotel Rwanda"
Johnny Depp, "Finding Neverland"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Aviator"
Clint Eastwood, "Million Dollar Baby"
Jamie Foxx, "Ray"

ACTRESS
Annette Bening, "Being Julia"
Catalina Sandino Moreno, in "Maria Full of Grace"
Imelda Staunton, "Vera Drake"
Hilary Swank, "Million Dollar Baby"
Kate Winslet, "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alan Alda, "The Aviator"
Thomas Haden Church, "Sideways"
Jamie Foxx, "Collateral"
Morgan Freeman, "Million Dollar Baby"
Clive Owen, "Closer"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, "The Aviator"
Laura Linney, "Kinsey"
Virginia Madsen, "Sideways"
Sophie Okonedo, "Hotel Rwanda"
Natalie Portman, "Closer"

ANIMATED FILM
"The Incredibles" (Buena Vista) Brad Bird
"Shark Tale" (DreamWorks) Bill Damaschka
"Shrek 2" (DreamWorks) Andrew AdamsonAndrew Adamson

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
"Before Sunset" (Warner Independent PicturesWarner Independent Pictures) Screenplay by Richard Linklater& Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke - Story by Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan
"Finding Neverland" (Miramax) Screenplay by David Magee
"Million Dollar Baby" (Warner Bros.) Screenplay by Paul Haggis
"The Motorcycle Diaries" Screenplay by José Rivera (Focus Features and Film Four)
"Sideways" (Fox Searchlight/20th Century Fox) Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
"The Aviator" (Miramax, Initial Entertainment Group Written by John Logan and Warner Bros.)
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman (Focus Features) Story by Charlie Kaufman & Michel Gondry & Pierre Bismuth
"Hotel Rwanda" (United Artists in association with Written by Keir Pearson & Terry George, Lions Gate Entertainment through MGM Distribution Co.)
"The Incredibles" (Buena Vista) Written by Brad Bird
"Vera Drake" (Fine Line Features, Alain Sarde and UK Film Written by Mike Leigh Council in association with Inside Track Films)

ART DIRECTION
"The Aviator" (Miramax, Initial Entertainment Group Art Direction: Dante Ferretti and Warner Bros.) Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Finding Neverland" (Miramax) Art Direction: Gemma Jackson, Set Decoration: Trisha Edwards
"Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events" Art Direction: Rick Heinrichs, (Paramount and DreamWorks) Set Decoration: Cheryl A. Carasik
"The Phantom of the Opera""The Phantom Of The Opera" Art Direction: Anthony Pratt (Warner Bros.) Set Decoration: Celia Bobak
"A Very Long Engagement" Art Direction: Aline Bonetto - (Warner Independent Pictures)

CINEMATOGRAPHY
"The Aviator" (Miramax, Initial Entertainment Group Robert Richardsonand Warner Bros.)
"House of Flying Daggers" (Sony Pictures Classics) Zhao Xiaoding
"The Passion of the Christ" (Icon and Newmarket) Caleb Deschanel
"The Phantom of the Opera" (Warner Bros.) John Mathieson
"A Very Long Engagement" Bruno Delbonnel (Warner Independent Pictures)

COSTUME DESIGN
"The Aviator" (Miramax, Initial Entertainment Group Sandy Powell and Warner Bros.)
"Finding Neverland" (Miramax) Alexandra Byrne
"Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events" Colleen Atwood, (Paramount and DreamWorks)
"Ray" (Universal) Sharen Davis
"Troy" (Warner Bros.) Bob Ringwood

DOCUMENTARY
"Born into Brothels" (THINKFilm) Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski - A Red Light Films, Inc. Production
"The Story of the Weeping Camel" (THINKFilm) Luigi Falorni and Byambasuren Davaa - A Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film München Production
" Super Size Me" (Roadside Attractions/Samuel Morgan Spurlock Goldwyn Films) A Kathbur Productions/The Con Production
"Tupac: Resurrection" (Paramount) Lauren Lazin and Karolyn Ali An MTV - Amaru Entertainment, Inc. Production
"Twist of Faith" Kirby Dick and Eddie Schmidt - A Chain Camera Pictures Production

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
"Autism Is a World" Gerardine Wurzburg - A State of the Art Production
"The Children of Leningradsky" Hanna Polak and Andrzej Celinski - A Hanna Polak Production
"Hardwood" Hubert Davis and Erin Faith Young - A Hardwood Pictures and National Film - Board of Canada Production
"Mighty Times: The Children’s March" Robert Hudson and Bobby Houston - A Tell the Truth Pictures Production
"Sister Rose’s Passion" Oren Jacoby and Steve Kalafer - A New Jersey Studios Production

EDITOR
"The Aviator" (Miramax, Initial Entertainment Group Thelma Schoonmaker and Warner Bros.)
"Collateral" (DreamWorks and Paramount) Jim MillerJim Miller and Paul Rubell
"Finding Neverland" (Miramax) Matt Chesse
"Million Dollar Baby" (Warner Bros.) Joel Cox
"Ray" (Universal) Paul Hirsch

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"As It Is in Heaven" Sweden, A GF Studios Production
"The Chorus (Les Choristes)" France, A Galatée Films/Pathé Renn/France 2, Cinema/Novo Arturo Films/Vega Film AG Production
"Downfall""Downfall" Germany, A Constantin Film Production
"The Sea Inside" Spain, A Sogecine and Himenóptero Production
"Yesterday" South Africa, A Videovision Entertainment Production

MAKEUP
"Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events" Valli O’Reilly and Bill Corso, (Paramount and DreamWorks)
"The Passion of the Christ" Keith Vanderlaan and Christien Tinsley, (Icon and Newmarket)
"The Sea Inside" (Fine Line Features and Sogepaq) Jo Allen and Manuel García

ORIGINAL SCORE
"Finding Neverland" (Miramax) Jan A.P. Kaczmarek
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" John Williams (Warner Bros.)
"Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events" Thomas Newman (Paramount and DreamWorks)
"The Passion of the Christ" (Icon and Newmarket) John Debney
"The Village" (Buena Vista) James Newton Howard

ORIGINAL SONG
"Accidentally In Love" from Music by Adam Duritz, Charles Gillingham, "Shrek 2" (DreamWorks) Jim Bogios, David Immergluck, Matthew Mallery and David Bryson, Lyric by Adam Duritz and Daniel Vickrey
"Al Otro Lado Del Río" from Music and Lyric by Jorge Drexler "The Motorcycle Diaries" (Focus Features and Film Four)
"Believe" from Music and Lyric by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri "The Polar Express" (Warner Bros.)
"Learn To Be Lonely" from Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber "The Phantom of the Opera" (Warner Bros.) Lyric by Charles Hart
"Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)" from Music by Bruno Coulais "The Chorus (Les Choristes)" (Miramax) Lyric by Christophe Barratier

ANIMATED SHORT
"Birthday Boy" Sejong Park and Andrew Gregory - An Australian Film, TV and Radio School Production
"Gopher Broke" Jeff Fowler and Tim Miller - A Blur Studio Production
"Guard Dog" Bill Plympton - A Bill Plympton Production
"Lorenzo" Mike Gabriel and Baker Bloodworth - A Walt Disney Pictures Production
"Ryan" Chris Landreth - A Copper Heart Entertainment & National Film Board of Canada Production

LIVE ACTION SHORT
"Everything in This Country Must" Gary McKendry - A Six Mile LLC Production
"Little Terrorist" Ashvin Kumar - An Alipur Films Production
"7:35 in the Morning (7:35 de la Mañana)" Nacho Vigalondo - An Ibarretxe & Co. Production
"Two Cars, One Night" Taika Waititi and Ainsley Gardiner - A Defender Films Limited Production
"Wasp" Andrea Arnold - A Cowboy Films Production

SOUND EDITING
"The Incredibles" (Buena Vista) Michael Silvers and Randy Thom
"The Polar Express" (Warner Bros.) Randy Thom and Dennis Leonard
"Spider-Man 2" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Paul N.J. Ottosson

SOUND MIXING
"The Aviator" (Miramax, Initial Entertainment Group Tom Fleischman and Petur Hliddal and Warner Bros.)
"The Incredibles" (Buena Vista) Randy Thom, Gary A. Rizzo and Doc Kane
"The Polar Express" (Warner Bros.) Randy Thom, Tom Johnson, Dennis Sands and William B. Kaplan
"Ray" (Universal) Scott Millan, Greg Orloff, Bob Beemer and Steve Cantamessa
"Spider-Man 2" (Sony Pictures Releasing) Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Joseph Geisinger

VISUAL EFFECTS
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, John Richardson (Warner Bros.) and Bill George
"I, Robot" (20th Century Fox) John Nelson, Andrew R. Jones, Erik Nash and Joe Letteri
"Spider-Man 2" (Sony Pictures Releasing) John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara and John Frazier

ACADEMY AWARDS (Oscars) - Nominations by MOVIE

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/oscar/char ... 004&p=.htm

11 - The Aviator (Miramax)
7 - Finding Neverland (Miramax)
7 - Million Dollar Baby (WB)
6 - Ray (Universal)
5 - Sideways (Fox Searchlight)

4 - Lemony Snicket (Paramount)
4 - The Incredibles (Buena Vista)

3 - Hotel Rwanda (United Artists)
3 - Spider-Man 2 (Sony)
3 - The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket)
3 - The Phantom of the Opera (WB)
3 - The Polar Express (WB)
3 - Vera Drake (Fine Line)

2 - A Very Long Engagement (Warner Independent)
2 - Closer (Sony)
2 - Collateral (Dreamworks)
2 - Eternal Sunshine (Focus)
2 - Harry Potter 3 (WB)
2 - Shrek 2 (Dreamworks)
2 - The Chorus (Miramax)
2 - The Motocycle Diaries (Focus)
2 - The Sea Inside (Fine Line)

1 - Before Sunset (Warner Independent)
1 - Being Julia (Sony Classics)
1 - Born Into Brothels (Think Films)
1 - House of Flying Daggers (Sony Classics)
1 - I, Robot (Fox)
1 - Kinsey (Fox Searchlight)
1 - Maria Full of Grace (Fine Line)
1 - Shark Tale (Dreamworks)
1 - Super Size Me (IDP)
1 - The Story of the Weeping Camel (Think Films)
1 - The Village (Buena Vista)
1 - Troy (WB)
1 - Tupac: Resurrection (Paramount)

ACADEMY AWARDS - It's Here!!!!!

Animated Feature - The Incredibles
Makeuo - Lemony Snicket

So far, the awards are very even :razz:

Just got back and was so surprised to see Million Dollar Baby win, i mean, i so wanted and thought that Aviator's technical (categories) advantage would be enough to pull through.......dammit

And more depressing, Phantom didn't win any awards and i've heard Beyonce butchered the song........ :???: :???:

Emmy Rossum, though looking hotter than ever and what a surprise, she showed up in red not another white/cream dress, she's been listening to her fans \:D/ \:D/ Great dress and definately one of the best dressed today :razz:

RAGING BULLS**T

The Academy's Bologna Has a First Name -- It's O-S-C-A-R…
http://www.oscarwatch.com/Kris/



Let's just call it what it is. But, I promised not to throw a hissy fit should the severely undeserving MILLION DOLLAR BABY beat out the best film nominated for Best Picture this year, so, let's move on to my reactions.

The Good:

~ Counting Crows' performance. I don't know, I just dug it. A welcome change up in the pacing of the evening.

~ “I hope they missed.” A new addition to the greatest ad-libs in Oscar history from Jeremy Irons.

~ ETERNAL SUNSHINE's screenplay win. For some reason, I really didn't think it would happen. Kaufman assuredly deserves this a hundred times over. Glad to see the writing team take it home.

~ Yo-Yo Ma's “In Memoriam” cello performance. A nice touch.

~ Thelma Schoonmaker's speech. One of the more touching moments of the night.

The Bad:

~ First and foremost - snubbing Martin Scorsese…again. Talk about “marginalizing“ one-self. He belongs in the pantheon of Hitchcock, Hawks, and Kubrick. After last night, I hope he stays there. It's a more esteemed place to be.

~ Antonio Banderas' and Carlos Santana's performance of “Al Otro Lado Del Rio.” Jorge Drexler looked pissed , and understandably so. Glad he got the chance to belt out a verse himself upon winning the award.

~ Annette Bening -- What, does she smoke a doobie before these things? Get a personality!

~ Technical difficulties. What the hell, guys? Dropping crap in the back -- repeatedly, cutting out Marty's dialogue briefly on the film introducing the Humanitarian Award, the foul up with the microphone and the guy running back to the backstage area!?! Get it together. Better yet, get a new producer.

~ The format. I'm sorry, I don't dig the beauty pageant stuff, but at least it's not as bad as giving awards in the friggin audience. Speaking of this…

Best line of the night:

“Next year they're gonna be giving Oscars out in the parking lot.” - Chris Rock

Overall I scored 15/24, not one of my better showings. With my alternates, it was 19/24, again, not one of my better showings.

2004 is tired. Even on a shortened season, it's just been done for over a month, it seems. With that, it is so time to move on to the 2005/06 season. Check back later today for my year-in-advance column for a year of movies that, for a change in pace, it seems I can get excited about.

Hope you all enjoyed the ceremony.

Classic Hollywood with a Touch of Bling at Oscars

http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/stor ... wire_story

Monday, February 28, 2005 1:08 a.m. ET

By Claudia Parsons

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Dressed to kill, decked out in jewels so over the top they looked fake and teetering on jewel-encrusted shoes worth more than a small car, Hollywood's beautiful people proved again on Sunday why the Oscar red carpet is the world's greatest catwalk

Inspired by the year's most-nominated film "The Aviator," the main look was sleek and sophisticated with dresses that harked back to Hollywood's Golden Era of the 1930s and 1940s.

But not everybody was playing along. In keeping with the Academy's bid to attract a younger audience by choosing edgy comedian Chris Rock as host of the evening, stars from the music world were on hand to keep the bling quota high.

Beyonce Knowles took her turn on the red carpet in black velvet Versace but dressed up to perform the nominated song from "Phantom of the Opera" in the biggest diamond necklace and earrings she could find, more chandelier than chic.

Walking the red carpet before the Oscars are handed out is almost as important for some as what goes on inside the theater, a chance to shine in front of tens of millions of television viewers and make front pages around the world.

Loyal fans, many of them returning every year for decades, screamed and clapped for their favorite stars -- although occasionally at the prompting of an Academy official -- and a dozen or more cooks and caterers watched from the roof of the theater.

---

AND SEXY'

Australian actress Cate Blanchett, who won the best supporting actress Oscar for her performance as Katharine Hepburn in "The Aviator," carried one of Hepburn's gloves in her purse. "I don't want to make a big deal of it," she said before the ceremony. "It's for good luck."

Blanchett chose a pale yellow Valentino couture gown with a jeweled corsage on the shoulder and a burgundy band around the waist. But she admitted after winning that she was more comfortable in men's clothes.

"Definitely when I was playing (Hepburn) I felt more at home in the suits than the dresses," Blanchett said.

From Laura Linney to Renee Zellweger, many of the stars sacrificed practicality for style, choosing strapless figure-hugging mermaid dresses that flared only at the knee, forcing them to teeter along on high heels.

For her third musical number of the show, Beyonce also chose the mermaid look, in her case shimmering jewels all over.

Jewels were not confined to the hands, neck and ears. Shoe designer Stuart Weitzman lent "Ray" star Regina King a pair of sandals trimmed with diamond earrings owned by Marilyn Monroe.

Putting to bed her tomboy image, best actress winner Hilary Swank looked a different woman from the gutsy boxer in sweats that she played in "Million Dollar Baby." She wore a smoky purple-tinged blue long sleeved dress by Guy Laroche with a high neck and a plunging back that had a classic vintage look.

Karen Loftus, fashion reporter for In Touch weekly, described the turnout as "sleek, sophisticated and sexy."

"It was beautiful, classic old Hollywood," she said, noting that there were no major fashion disasters by the big stars.

Natalie Portman, nominated as best supporting actress, bucked the trend, opting for a taupe chiffon dress whose ancient Greek look was reminiscent of one the year's less successful films, "Alexander," and a diamond hairband.

If there was an award for the biggest dress of the night, a strong contender would be last year's best actress winner Charlize Theron who strode past the cameras in billowing baby blue lace layers and a train that would not have been out of place at a royal wedding.

Model Gisele Bundchen sashayed along on the arm of her boyfriend Leonardo DiCaprio in a floaty white strapless puff of a dress with gold embroidery, in what Loftus said made the best actor nominee the best dressed man of the evening.

"He was wearing Gisele. What better thing can you wear than Gisele?" she asked.

GLOBEMAIL on OScars

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... rtainment/

Morgan Freeman won the first major award of the night for his role in Clint Eastwood's prizefight drama Million Dollar Baby.
"This was a labour of love," Freeman said in accepting the award for best supporting actor.

The night began with an Oscar for The Aviator for art direction.

The best animated feature went to The Incredibles.

The eyes of the world are fixed on the elite of Hollywood as the Academy Awards got under way Sunday night.


Uncertainty was in the air as the show potentially packed with drama yet lacking the box-office muscle to ensure a decent TV viewing audience.

Unlike last year, when The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King dominated the awards as expected and flat-out front-runners took all four acting prizes, the 77th Oscars shaped up as a mixed bag, with only Ray star Jamie Foxx a virtual lock to win.

With no huge hits among top nominees, Oscar organizers worried that TV ratings could dwindle for the live broadcast. The Oscars tend to draw their biggest audiences when blockbusters such as Titanic or Return of the King are in the mix, stoking viewer interest.

Producers of the show hoped the presence of mouthy first-time host Chris Rock might boost ratings, particularly among younger viewers who may view the Oscars as too staid an affair.

Organizers also were trying to spice up the show with new presentation tactics, including herding all nominees on stage at the same time, beauty-pageant style, for some awards.

There was no uncertainty about the enthusiasm on Hollywood Boulevard outside the Kodak Theatre, where excited fans packed into bleachers along the red carpet after waiting for hours to get in.

Clint Eastwood's emotionally piercing prizefight drama Million Dollar Baby and Martin Scorsese's gloriously rendered Howard Hughes saga The Aviator presented the evening's key match-up for best picture.

The other contenders were Finding Neverland, a fanciful look at playwright J.M. Barrie's inspirations in writing Peter Pan; Ray, a hearty portrait of the loves, lusts, failings and musical triumphs of singer Charles; and Sideways, the critics' darling about a dour wretch whose road trip with a buddy leads him to new hope for romance.

Chris Rock brings new edge to Oscars

Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:20 AM GMT
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArt ... D=2005-02-
28T042014Z_01_HOL815597_RTRUKOC_0_OSCARS-ROCK.xml

By Steve Gorman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Sit your asses down!"

With those four words, comedian Chris Rock brought a new tone to the Oscars that network executives and sponsors of the Academy Awards hope will lure back a bigger, younger TV audience to Hollywood's biggest night.

Giving the Oscar producers what they paid for, the first-time host introduced an edgy, provocative mood to the show, with a monologue that was politically charged and racially aware while seeming, at times, to veer close to profane.

Rock, who drew controversy weeks before taking the Oscar stage by suggesting that he and most other African Americans had little reason to watch the awards, opened Sunday's show by acknowledging the record number of black performers vying for acting honours this year.

"We have, like, four black nominees. It's kinda like the Def Oscar Jam tonight," he enthused, in a reference to the HBO comedy series "Def Comedy Jam", a springboard for many black performers.

While flirting with network censors in his choice of words as he urged the star-studded studio audience to take their seats, the opening minutes of the broadcast bore no signs that ABC was forced to bleep put any of his remarks.

The sharp-tongued comic drew some of his biggest laughs with jabs aimed at President George W. Bush, the involuntary star of Michael Moore's scathing documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11."

Rock noted that Moore's film, though shut out of the Oscar competition, was breaking box office records at the time Bush was running for re-election.

"Can you imagine applying for a job, and while you're applying for that job there's a movie in every theatre in the country that shows how much you suck in that job?" Rock said. "It would be hard to get hired, wouldn't it?"

Citing "another movie nobody wanted to make this year," Rock turned to Mel Gibson's blood-soaked homage to the final hours in the life of Jesus, "The Passion of the Christ."

"I saw 'Passion of the Christ. Not that funny, really," he joked. "Nobody wanted to make 'Passion of the Christ', man. Come on. They made six 'Police Academies' and can't make one 'Passion of the Christ'."

Turning again to race for laughs, Rock complained that Hollywood makes movies "for white people to enjoy -- real movies, with plots, with actors, not rappers, with real names, like, 'Catch Me If You Can', like 'Saving Private Ryan'.

"Black movies don't have real names," Rock continued. "They get names like 'Barbershop'. That's not a name. That's just a location. 'Barbershop', 'Cookout', 'Carwash', ... you know 'Laundromat's' coming soon, and after that, 'Check-Cashing Place'."

Rock closed his monologue by sending "love out to our troops fighting all over the world".

Off-camera friction with ABC over what performers could say during the broadcast bubbled to the surface when Robin Williams took the stage to present the award for best animated feature, and ripped a piece of tape from his mouth.

The gesture was an reference to the network's reported refusal to allow Williams to perform a song lampooning a conservative group that had criticized cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants for appearing in a video the group branded "pro-homosexual."

Million Dollar Baby,' Eastwood take top Oscars

LOS ANGELES, FEB 28 (AP)
http://www.outlookindia.com/pti_news.asp?id=282811

The boxing saga "Million Dollar Baby" was the Academy Awards heavyweight today, claiming best picture and three other trophies, including Oscars honours for director Clint Eastwood, lead-actress Hilary Swank and supporting-actor Morgan Freeman.

Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator" came away with the most Oscars, its five awards including the supporting-actress prize for Cate Blanchett.

Eastwood, who at 74 became the oldest directing winner ever, noted his mother was with him when his Western "Unforgiven" won the 1992 best-picture and directing Oscar.

"She's here with me again tonight, so at 96, I'm thanking her for her genes," Eastwood said. "I figure I'm just a kid. I've got a lot of stuff to do yet."

The 77th Oscars were another heartbreak for Scorsese, the man behind "The Aviator," who lost the directing race for the fifth time. Scorsese matched the record of Oscar futility held by a handful of legendary filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Altman, who also went 0-for-5 in the directing category.

Swank became a double Academy Award winner today for "Million Dollar Baby," while Jamie Foxx took lead actor for "Ray." The wins for Freeman and Foxx made it only the second time blacks won two of the four acting prizes.

Swank, who previously won the best-actress Oscar for "Boys Don't Cry," once again beat out main rival Annette Bening, nominated for the theater farce "Being Julia." Bening had been the front-runner for "American Beauty" five years ago but lost to underdog Swank.

`I don't know what I did in this life to deserve all this. I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream," said Swank, who played an indomitable boxer.

Swank joined Vivien Leigh, Helen Hayes, Sally Field and Luise Rainer as the only actresses with a perfect track record at the Oscars: Two nominations and two wins.

Foxx won for his uncanny emulation of Ray Charles in "Ray." As he had at earlier awards triumphs, Foxx led the Oscar audience in a rendition of the call-and-response chant from Charle' 1959 hit "What'd I Say,'' whose funky electric-piano grooves play over the opening credits of "Ray."

"Give it up for Ray Charles and his beautiful legacy. And thank you Ray Charles for living," said Foxx, who climbed to Oscar glory after an early career built mainly on comedy, including his TV series "The Jamie Foxx Show" and the raunhy sex flick "Booty Call."

Foxx had been a double Oscar nominee, also picked in the supporting category for the hit man thriller "Collateral."

Playing Katharine Hepburn in "The Aviator," Blanchett had the spirit of the Oscars' most-honored actress on her side. Hepburn, the love of Hughes' life in the 1930s before she began her long romance with Spencer Tracy, earned 12 nominations and won a record four Oscars.

"Thank you, of course, to Miss Hepburn. The longevity of her career I think is inspiring to everyoe," said Blanchett. She added thanks to "Aviator" director Scorsese, saying, "I hope my son will marry your daughter."

"The Sea Inside" (Spain), directed by Alejandro Amenabar, won as best foreign-language film. It told the real-life story of a paralyzed Spaniard (played by Javier Bardem) who fought a legal battle for his right to die.

The Oscar for best original song went to "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" from "The Motorcycle Diaries," which was the first Spanish-language song ever to be nominated.

The superhero action comedy "The Incredibles" won the animated-feature prize, beating 2004's biggest box-office hit, the fairy-tale sequel "Shrek 2.'

It was the second-straight animated Oscar for Pixar Animation, which won a year ago for "Finding Nemo." "The Incredibles'' also took a scond Oscar for sound editing.

Unlike last year, when "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" dominated the awards as expected and flat-out front-runners took all four cting prizes, the 77th Oscars shaped up as a mixed bag, with only Foxx a virtual lock to win.

"Boy, am I glad there wasn't a fourth episode of `Lord of the Rings,'" said John Dykstra, who shared the visual-effects Oscar for "Spider-Man 2."

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind:" took the original-screenplay award for Charlie Kaufman. "Sideways" won the adapted-screenplay prize for director Alexander Payne and his writing partner, Jim Taylor

Lots of low necklines ... and low backlines

BY KAREN HELLER AND TANYA BARRIENTOS
Knight Ridder Newspapers
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 009843.htm

(KRT) - Oscar's problem is that all that good taste threatens to turn a unique evening into a dull affair. There's none of the Golden Globes boozy intimacy or the Grammys bling-bling bluster. This is a night for grown-ups and coached elegance. Gwen Stefani isn't going to show up in lacy Pampers.

Since stylists seized the event, homogenizing appearance to whatever is current and right, the Academy Awards has become a night when the planet's most indulged brats act like staid members of high society.

Only better-dressed. And way better-looking.

Tanya Barrientos: This year was all about cleavage or backage. If you've got the front acreage, the dress went down in front. Best actress Hilary Swank, with no bad angles, went with a perilously low backline. Her lapis Guy Laroche gown risked plumber's crack.

Karen Heller: Melanie Griffith verged on Farrah Fawcett wiftiness. Her silvery va-va-voom Versace dipped toward Rio in front and back. There was a wiggy cello effect in the rear. She and stringy-haired hubby Antonio Banderas looked like they had gone at it in the limo.

T.B.: Strapless was one of the night's biggest trends. Emmy Rossum, Maggie Gyllenhaal, supporting actress nominee Virginia Madsen in midnight blue Versace couture, and Penelope Cruz in a gold Oscar de la Renta were all heavenly.

K.H: Until La Divina Cruz turned around and you caught a Bozo the Clown bow with serious wingspan. And Scarlett Johansson is such a beauty, but what was going on with her `do? Looked like a bird's nest with three diamond eggs in it. Very cockapoo.

T.B.: How about Drew Barrymore's dreadful hair and makeup? Maroon tresses, orange lipstick, pewter eye shadow. Gidget goes Goth.

K.H.: Some other trends for the night were fishtail trains, a la Annette Bening in black off-the-shoulder Armani, chandelier earrings, men in ties or none at all but almost no bows, and all Beyonce all the time.

T.B.: I mean, who does she know to get more air time than Chris Rock?

K.H.: So who looked fabulous? Supporting-actress winner Cate Blanchett, as always, with her luminous pale skin and uncomplicated hair in butter, single-strapped Valentino couture with a full skirt and burgundy - no, make that pinot noir - sash, and a brooch the size of a Cessna.

T.B.: There was Oprah, with a sparkling gold Vera Wang gown - gold being another trend - and her lusty ringlet hairdo. And Beyonce, natch, arriving in an ebony Versace gown, and then changing five or six times. The only trend with the men was, as usual, black as the new black. They only dared shine with their accessories. A gold hoop in Don Cheadle's and Morgan Freeman's ears. A pair of studs dotting both of host Chris Rock's lobes. Liked his white tie with the Sean John suit. Best actor Jamie Foxx jazzed it up with sparkle on the bridge of his glasses.

K.H.: Orlando Bloom is so beautiful he can get away with the Porter Wagoner neckwear. Johnny Depp, ditto. That looked like some Order of the Grand Vizier around his comely neck. Are we sure he needs horn-rims, or are they merely an affectation so we won't think of him as merely a pretty boy?

T.B.: What's French for "pretty boy"? Speaking of neckwear, the women seemed to be dangling baubles into their bosoms. What's French for that?

K.H.: "Mistress." It was a blue evening, not out of Rock's mouth but on the red carpet. Foxx wore a midnight Armani tux. Kate Winslet chose a periwinkle Badgley Mischka verging tragically close to bridesmaid. On the other hand, Salma Hayek was stunning in Prada with jeweled applique, possibly my favorite gown of the evening.

T.B. Mine, too. There was also lots of red. Sandra Oh in a chianti-colored Michael Kors number. Beautiful Emmy Rossum, looking like a Raphael in a ruby Ralph Lauren, and Renee Zellweger in an overly sweet Carolina Herrera, with white lace trim on the bodice and at the end of her train.

K.H.: She resembled a Whitman Sampler. Renee has to stop playing with the hair. This time, it was way too black against her alabaster skin. What was with that "Mildred Pierce" action in back? You almost expected a hair net. The Counting Crows' Adam Duritz was very Sideshow Bob. He was the event's most incredible cartoon character other than the exquisite Edna Mode.

T.B.: As for the show's beauty pageant format with all the nominees clustered on stage, uhhm, no.

K.H.: "American Idol" is already on often enough.

Rock, Well . . . Didn't

By Tom Shales
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 28, 2005; Page C01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ar ... Feb28.html

Chris Rock jokingly welcomed viewers to "the 77th, and last, Academy Awards" last night -- but this Oscar show, nervously televised from Hollywood on ABC, will more likely turn out to be the first, and last, to be hosted by Rock. Though he's a brilliant and caustic stand-up comedian, Rock's stint as an Oscar host was strangely lame and mean-spirited.

Since we are apparently still living in the aftermath of Janet Jackson's overexposure at the 2004 Super Bowl, and because Rock is a comic known for raw and risque material, there was much hullabaloo in the weeks leading up to the ceremony about whether Rock would misbehave, perhaps earning ABC a scolding and a sanction from the Federal Communications Commission, which now doles out fines the way Hollywood doles out awards.

--

But the only real controversy generated by Rock came during a so-so monologue in which he insulted several actors, Jude Law among them, as being small-timers who got parts only when better actors were unavailable. Rock also had pre-taped a peculiar bit of man-on-the-street comedy in which a collection of Hollywood tourists, most of them African American, said they hadn't seen or even heard of many of this year's nominated films. It was unclear if this routine was some sort of racist commentary or a slap at Hollywood, but either possibility is hardly encouraging.

--

Producer Gil Cates made a few brave tries at shortening the show. Some awards were handed out in the audience, eliminating a few of those agonizing long walks to the stage (which some shrewd winners always draw out by stopping to shake the hands of everybody they met in Hollywood on their way to the top). Nominees and winners of craftsmanship and technical awards were already gathered onstage when their awards were announced.

That led Rock to joke that next year some Oscars will be presented in the parking lot, with winners taking advantage of a quickie drive-through lane.

This year's Oscars featured, for the most part, such a gloom-and-doomy array of nominees that it would have been very hard to turn the show into a fun fest, or even a decently entertaining three hours of self-indulgence. The Oscars remain a work in progress, and very little progress was made this year.