2004 Academy Awards

Hobbits, naval battles and Bill Murray, oh my!

The nominations for the 2004 Academy Awards were released today, featuring plenty of expected nods and a few unexpected ones. For this thread, we'll just stick with the six major awards.

Best Supporting Actress

Shohreh Aghdashloo - House of Sand and Fog
Patricia Clarkson - Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Harden - Mystic River
Holly Hunter - Thirteen
Renee Zellweger - Cold Mountain

Best Supporting Actor

Alec Baldwin - The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro - 21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou - In America
Tim Robbins - Mystic River
Ken Watanabe - The Last Samurai

Best Director

Fernando Meirelles - City of God
Peter Jackson - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Sofia Coppola - Lost in Translation
Peter Weir - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Clint Eastwood - Mystic River

Best Actress

Keisha Castle-Hughes - Whale Rider
Diane Keaton - Something's Gotta Give
Samantha Morton - In America
Charlize Theron - Monster
Naomi Watts - 21 Grams

Best Actor

Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ben Kingsley - House of Sand and Fog
Jude Law - Cold Mountain
Bill Murray - Lost in Translation
Sean Penn - Mystic River

Best Picture
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit

Have you happened to see any of these movies? What do you think of the case these nominees have built for themselves, and who do you think might win?

Conversely, if you think someone or something got snubbed, let it be known. Discuss all things Oscar.

Keisha Castle-Hughes and Johnny Depp were suprises to me. I wanted Depp to get the nomination, his performance in that movie was the only reason it was worth watching. Keisha Castle-Hughes wasn't talked about at all for a possible nomination, and when I heard her name on the list this morning, I was a bit suprised. I haven't seen Whale Rider, though, so I cannot comment on her performance. The radio said that she is the youngest person to ever be nominated for that award, and IMDB.com lists Whale Rider as her first movie ever. Not bad for a 13 year old in their first movie to get nominated for a major academy award.

The only movie I seen in that list was RoTK, and I think it was brilliant. Though it may have some competition with two other movies, but I don't know. :P

I saw RotK. and Pirates of the Carribean. All the other movies I didn' t see, and I see a lot of movies. Therefore based on trailers I saw no entertainment value pushing me to go. I heard Seabiscut was good, and will rent that. And I planned to rent the Last Samurai. But i'm not paying 8 bucks for a ticket to those.

Movie that deserved awards for 2003?? Radio with Cuba Gooding Jr. That was a heartfelt flick, with a great story, based on a true story, and I could personally relate to it. Deserved at least a nomination. But hate critics, and I hate the acadamy awards every year. MTV movie awards has always had the good films up for nomination...Oh I just looked again and Saw Monster got a nomination. I heard that was out of this world good, and a bit creepy

Keisha Castle-Hughes and Johnny Depp weren't surprises for me, both had huge buzz around them and Depp was even nominated for the Golden Globes. The only thing that was shocking was that Keisha was consistantly campaigned as a supporting actress and was nominated for the SAGs as a supporting actress. But I'm glad that the Academy recognized that she was the lead role. The only real surprises came from all the love City of God and In America recieved fromt the Academy. I cannot fathom how the Academy could nominate Djimon Hounsou for a performance that was typical and trite at best. Especially over much more deserving actors.

I was also slightly surprised that Scarlett Johansson was completely shut out, although it was always a possibility that her two steller performances could cancel each other out. Still, I would've liked to see her, Evan Rachel Wood, Uma Thurman and Sean Astin nominated.

Most of the other nominations were pretty predictable, even the Cold Mountain snub. It's silly how all those "hollywood reporters" are announcing this as a "stunning upset" when Cold Mountain never recieved a warm reception from Critics and audiences alike. I can't say I'm completely happy with the nominations, although the nod to Depp delighted me.

And with 11 nominations for RotK, that gives the Lord of the Rings Trilogy a record breaking 30 total nominations, 1 more nomination than the Godfather Trilogy and 9 more than Star Wars franchise.

The only best picture nominee I've yet to see is Master and Commander, but I doubt I'll ever get around to seeing it. Besides, it's a two man race anyway between RotK and Mystic River. Although after the Globes, the MR people can't really be expecting a victory over RotK. *hopes for RotK oscar sweep*

Best Supporting Actress
Not sure.

Best Supporting Actor

Want:Tim Robbins - Mystic River


Best Director

Want:Peter Jackson - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (he deserves it big time)

Best Actress

Want:Charlize Theron - Monster (saw it, she did great. Movie sucked, but she did great)


Best Actor

Want:Bill Murray - Lost in Translation: Go, Bill, Go!


Best Picture
Want:The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

This is easily one of the best Ocar lists in a long time, with talent ahead of star power, yet amid all this, I still predict ROTK to finally take home the prize because of the sheer amount of time, energy, and resources put into the film, and then, it's unsurp ed success.

Peter Jackson deserves a lifetime achievement award, not just the Best Director. He spent the better part of 6 years making, editting, and shooting these films. Anything less than a sweep for ROTK would be a severe kick in the teeth.

I think Sean Penn lost his chance at an Oscar by not attending the GG, and plus, with Billy Murray's great acceptance speech, he finally made some people smile who had long grimaced when he was around. Though, I would be giddy of J. Depp won, this year seems to be Murray's.

As for the other catagories....

Give it to the Monster, Charlize for best Actress,
Tim, the Protester, for Supporting Actor,
And Holly Hunter for Supporting Actress, Thirteen was actually a great movie, though it hardly got any publicity.

I predict ROTK's takes home 8 awards including Best Picture to lead this year.

My only regret was that Sean Astin or Andy Serkis didn't get nominated because their work was really what lifted this film above the first two... but, I understand that it was the whole ensemble that really pushed these films, so it's okay. Honestly, when will the Academy add a Best Ensemble Acting category?

well, this is what i'm goin' for:

Best Supporting Actress
Holly Hunter - Thirteen

Best Supporting Actor
Alec Baldwin - The Cooler

Best Director
Peter Jackson - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Best Actress
Diane Keaton - Something's Gotta Give

Best Actor
Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Best Picture
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

of the other movies up for those awards, the only one i have seen is Master & Commander. all other movies, i haven't seen.

i absolutely loved Alec Baldwin in The Cooler. this is a GREAT movie, and Alec's character is wonderfully playd out. he's conflicted, ambiguously aligned, powerful, and desperate, and you can see things from both sides... for and against his character's quirks.
Thirteen is a great teen drama to which a lot of people will be able to relate, whether they're seeing things from the teens' perspectives OR the parents' perspectives

as for Johnny Depp, i am VERY happy about this. it's about time he got a nod somewhere, and in this movie he STOLE the show. best actor awards are not to be exclusively reserved for seriously dramatic acting jobs - Cptn Jack Sparrow is an enigmatic character and no one could have done this role better.

i'm not a fan of romantic comedies, but i took my mom to see Something's Gotta Give for her bday and i must say, this was an excellent movie, and Diane Keaton's character was definitely a choice role.

as for LOTR, well, let's just say that i am enough of a fan of this movie that i have seen it SIX friggin' times. a 200-minute long movie, six times! it's a cinematic art masterpiece. wow.

LOTR FTW man! I adore the war scenes!! :kaoclove:

But shame there isn't a 1v1 duel with Aragorn & Sauron. :(

PS: The scenes with the Frodo and his sidekick sux. If only the big spider ate the both of them

My favourite thing about the 2004 Academy Awards was the lack of physical violence.

oh trout also, Master & Commander was amazing and, imho, got robbed by Return of the King for Best Picture.