Sheridan movie picks up Academy Award nominations in three major categories, writes Michael Dwyer, Film Correspondent.
One ring rules them all. As expected, The Return of the King, the final film in Peter Jackson's epic trilogy based on Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings, led the field when the nominations for the 76th Academy Awards were announced yesterday. It took 11 nominations - a remarkable achievement given that it received no nominations in any of the four acting categories - and it was followed by Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with 10, Cold Mountain (seven), Seabiscuit (seven) and Mystic River (six).
Ireland is strongly represented by Jim Sheridan's In America, which was nominated in three of the most important categories - Samantha Morton as best actress, Djimon Hounsou as best supporting actor and Jim Sheridan and his daughters, Naomi and Kirsten, for best original screenplay.
Surprisingly, the film did not get a nomination for its song, Time Enough For Tears, written by Bono, Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer, and performed over the closing credits by Andrea Corr. Although it is set primarily in New York, the film was shot mostly in Dublin.
This year's nominations yielded many surprises, in terms of omissions and inclusions. The most unexpected acting nominee was the 12-year-old New Zealander, Keisha Castle-Hughes, who was shortlisted as best actress for the low-budget Whale Rider. However, Scarlett Johansson, the young US actress who was hotly tipped to collect two nominations - as best actress for Girl With a Pearl Earring and best supporting actress for Lost in Translation - failed to be nominated in either category.
The expensive American Civil War epic, Cold Mountain, took seven nominations, including best actor (Jude Law) and best supporting actress (Renée Zellweger), but lost out in the important categories of best picture, director and screenplay. And the overrated Girl With a Pearl Earring, which recently received 10 BAFTA nominations, was shortlisted for three Oscars - best cinematography, art direction and costume design.
Meanwhile, the powerful Brazilian crime drama, City of God, which had not been regarded as a strong contender despite receiving excellent reviews, did remarkably well for a sub-titled film, collecting four nominations - for best director, screenplay, cinematography and film editing.
Here is how the contenders fared in the principal categories.
Best picture
There were six front-runners for the five places, and Cold Mountain lost out in the final reckoning. As expected, The Return of the King and Master and Commander made the cut, along with Mystic River, Lost in Translation and Seabiscuit. The nominations in this category are widely regarded as academic this year, given that The Return of the King is considered a certainty to take the best picture Oscar, as a reward for the achievement that is the entire trilogy.
Best director
Sofia Coppola, the writer-director of Lost in Translation, makes Academy history as the first American woman to be nominated for the best director Oscar. The only women nominated for that award in the past were the Italian film-maker, Lina Wertmuller (for Seven Beauties in 1976) and the New Zealand-born Jane Campion (for The Piano in 1993). Sofia's father, Francis Ford Coppola, won the best director Oscar for The Godfather, Part II in 1974.
The only other US director - and the only former winner of the award - to be nominated this year is Clint Eastwood for Mystic River. As was confidently expected, New Zealand director Peter Jackson (The Return of the King) and Australian film-maker Peter Weir (Master and Commander) were nominated. The big surprise was the well-merited selection of Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles for City of God.
Best actor
The two front-runners for the Oscar both made the list, with Sean Penn taking his fourth nomination for Mystic River, and Bill Murray securing his first for Lost in Translation. Ben Kingsley, who won the best actor Oscar for Gandhi in 1983, is back in contention for House of Sand and Fog. Jude Law, a former best supporting actor nominee, makes the best actor shortlist for the first time, for Cold Mountain. And Johnny Depp gets his first Oscar nomination for his engagingly outsized portrayal in Pirates of the Caribbean. The two principal contenders who failed to be make the grade were Russell Crowe (Master and Commander) and Tom Cruise (The Last Samurai).
Best actress
In an unusually strong year for this category, there were a dozen feasible contenders for the final five places. As expected, South African actress Charlize Theron is on the list for her portrayal of executed serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, as are the English-born Naomi Watts for 21 Grams and the only US nominee, former winner Diane Keaton for Something's Gotta Give.
Nominated as best supporting actress for Sweet and Lowdown four years ago, English actress Samantha Morton gets her first best actress nomination for her portrayal of a woman based on Fran Sheridan, wife of Jim, in In America. Twelve-year-old New Zealander Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) completes the list. Among the many who failed to make the cut were Cate Blanchett (Veronica Guerin and The Missing), Jennifer Connolly (House of Sand and Fog) and Diane Lane (Under the Tuscan Sun)
Best supporting actress
Two former Oscar-winners are back in contention - Holly Hunter (Thirteen) and Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River). A best actress nominee for Chicago last year, Renée Zellweger is the favourite to win for her spirited performance in Cold Mountain.
The highly respected Patricia Clarkson makes the list for Pieces of April, as does Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo for House of Sand and Fog. The likely candidates who not get nominated include Hope Davis (American Splendor), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) and Emma Thompson (Love Actually).
Best supporting actor
In America takes its second nomination here for Djimon Hounsou, as the artist neighbour who befriends the Irish immigrant family in New York.
Benicio Del Toro, a former winner here for Traffic, is back for 21 Grams. Tim Robbins, a former best director nominee for Dead Man Walking, adds to the nominations for Mystic River.
Completing the shortlist are Alec Baldwin (The Cooler) and Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai).
Best original screenplay
This time collaborating with his daughters Naomi and Kirsten, Jim Sheridan gets his third screenplay nomination for In America, his fifth feature film.
The only US nominees are the Pixar team of writers behind Finding Nemo and Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation.
Quebecois writer-director Denys Arcand is nominated for The Barbarian Invasions, as is British writer Steven Knight for Dirty Pretty Things. Knight is probably better known as the creator of the hugely successful TV franchise, Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Among the strong contenders to lose out here were 21 Grams, The Station Agent, Pieces of April and Love Actually.
Best screenplay
adaptation
Whereas Cold Mountain, Master and Commander and House of Sand and Fog all failed to be nominated here, there were nominations, as expected, for Mystic River, Seabiscuit, The Return of the King and the independent production, American Splendor.
The big surprise here was City of God.
Best foreign-language film
Always the most unpredictable category, this was fiercely competitive this year with a record number of 55 national entries. The five that made the shortlist are Evil (Sweden), Zelary (Czech Republic), Twilight Samurai (Japan), Twin Sisters (Netherlands) and The Barbarian Invasions (Canada).
The most notable omissions are Osama, the Afghan drama which won the Golden Globe for best foreign-language film last Sunday night, and the entries from Germany (the awards-laden Good Bye, Lenin!), France (Bon Voyage), Italy (I'm Not Scared), Brazil (Carandiru), Russia (The Return) and Denmark (Reconstruction).
Other categories
The delightful French film, Belleville Rendez-vous, Pixar's Finding Nemo and Disney'sBrother Bear are the three finalists for best animated feature. The formidable shortlist of documentary features to be nominated includes The Fog of War, Capturing the Friedmans, My Architect, Balseros and The Weather Underground.
A significant surprise was the exclusion of The Return of the King from the best cinematography category, where the nominees are City of God, Seabiscuit, Master and Commander, Cold Mountain and Girl With a Pearl Earring. The nominees for best original score are Thomas Newman (Finding Nemo), Gabriel Yared (Cold Mountain), Danny Elfman (Big Fish), James Horner (House of Sand and Fog) and Howard Shore (The Return of the King).
In the category of best original song, Cold Mountain takes two of its seven nominations, for Scarlet Love, written by T. Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello, and Sting's You Will Be My Ain True Love. The other shortlisted songs are Into the West, performed by its co-writer Annie Lennox in The Return of the King; the theme song from Belleville Rendez-vous, The Triplets of Belleville; and Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole's pastiche, A Kiss At the End of the Rainbow, from A Mighty Wind.
Among the many films which had been the subject of Oscar campaigns and failed to receive a single nomination were Love Actually, Kill Bill Vol 1, Sylvia, The Human Stain, The Statement, The Missing, Veronica Guerin, Mona Lisa Smile, Open Range, Calendar Girls and last year's Palme d'Or winner at Cannes, Elephant.
The 76th Academy Awards ceremony will be held in Hollywood on February 29th, with Billy Crystal making a welcome return as compere for the night.
