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“The Aftermath: The 76th Annual Academy Awards”

February 29. 2004. The four hour and ten minute 76th Annual Academy Awards are now in the movie history books. As usual, movie fans all over the world were treated to the American film industry’s most glorious evening where movie stars and their projects are given the royal treatment in the name of its cinematic celebration. This is the first time that the Oscar ceremony had been held in the physical month of February instead of the traditional last Sunday in March or the occasional overlapping into April. The telecast may have come to us about 4 weeks earlier but that doesn’t take away from the expected glossy treatment that is the anticipated trademark of Hollywood’s most elegant party for its moviemaking movers and shakers.

It does seem that time flew by so fast in terms of us getting out of our system the happenings of last year when the 75th Annual Academy Awards taking place. It was an interesting year where Steve Martin headed the festivities while the Iraqui/US-led coalition was in deadly full force as the world watched nervously. We observed Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Moore daringly pitch a passionate but mostly unpopular stance against President Bush and the wartime goings-on in Iraq. We saw how 25-year controversial fugitive director Roman Polanski finally overcome some of his tumultuous past by finally nabbing a best director Oscar for the riveting and stark Holocaust drama The Pianist. The absent bad boy of rap Eminem took the best original song gold and upset safer preferences Paul Simon and U2 for his pulsating offering “Lose Yourself” from the urban-based film 8 Mile. The hot musical Chicago was on the tip of everyone’s tongue and suddenly captured the imagination at the box office on the way to a best picture Oscar win.

Now a year later, we have what perhaps is one of the Academy Awards’ favorite hosts in the clever and hilarious Billy Crystal who manages to challenge the funnybone with his off-the-cuff antics. Crystal, returning after a three-year absence since hosting the big show, was in rare form with the expected quips. Recurring funny references to the award-winning dominance of New Zealand and its recognized representatives kept folks in stitches throughout the evening. It was great to see Crystal pull the trigger on his tremendous wit as he helped the flow of the elaborate and stylized program.

And of course this year’s nominees were quite a surprise in terms of selection in the various categories. It wasn’t surprising at all that the fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King did marvelous in its nominated categories. But who knew that Oscar-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson and his prominent pet project would sweep with 11 wins? It was an exceptional night for the Tolkien tale that captured the sweeping imagination around the globe.

As for my predictions regarding Oscar, I did relatively well and probably the best since I have been handicapping the golden statuette throughout the years. Of the 24 categories, I got 16 correct and 8 incorrect. Had I had the ability to telegraph the runaway victories regarding TLoTR: The Return of the King, my picks would have been next to flawless. Sorry if I seem kind of self-congratulatory in my efforts to predicting who and what would win. (smile) It has been the first time since I managed to get all the six main categories correct (best actor, best actress, best supporting actor, best supporting actress, best director and best picture). I suppose I deserve some right to gloat about this accomplishment, huh?

Overall, it’s a tough sell in assessing whether the 76th Annual Academy Awards were too lengthy for its own good. This is an argument that’s somewhat impossible to debate because the concept of Oscar Sunday is a holiday onto itself so why nit pick at how long the program is when you know how majestic it will be because of the impact of its grandiose presentation?

Anyhow, the following winners and nominees from the 76th Annual Academy Awards will be showcased below. Keep in mind that the Oscar winners in each category will be denoted in bold black ink with a star (*) next to their names. Hopefully this year’s celebration will be palatable for most ardent film enthusiasts to appreciate with great anticipation. I guess we’re already in suspense as to what the 77th Annual Academy Awards will bring to the forefront in 2005. But for now, let’s just soak up the current moment at hand, shall we?

And now, the 76th Annual Academy Award winners and nominees are as follows:

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

DIRECTING
CITY OF GOD (Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund)
*THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (Peter Jackson)
LOST IN TRANSLATION (Sophia Coppola)
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD (Peter Weir)
MYSTIC RIVER (Clint Eastwood)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
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

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Keisha Castle-Hughes - WHALE RIDER
Diane Keaton - SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Samantha Morton - IN AMERICA
*Charlize Theron-MONSTER
Naomi Watts - 21 GRAMS

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alec Baldwin - THE COOLER
Benicio Del Toro - 21 GRAMS
Djimon Hounsou - IN AMERICA
*Tim Robbins-MYSTIC RIVER
Ken Watanabe - THE LAST SAMURAI

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Shohreh Aghdashloo - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
Patricia Clarkson - PIECES OF APRIL
Marcia Gay Harden - MYSTIC RIVER
Holly Hunter - THIRTEEN
*Renee Zellweger-COLD MOUNTAIN

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
*THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS
EVIL
THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI
TWIN SISTERS
ŽELARY

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
BROTHER BEAR
*FINDING NEMO
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
CITY OF GOD
*THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MYSTIC RIVER
SEABISCUIT

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS
FINDING NEMO
IN AMERICA
*LOST IN TRANSLATION

CINEMATOGRAPHY
CITY OF GOD
COLD MOUNTAIN
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
*MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
SEABISCUIT

FILM EDITING
CITY OF GOD
COLD MOUNTAIN
*THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
SEABISCUIT

ART DIRECTION
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
THE LAST SAMURAI
*THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
SEABISCUIT

COSTUME DESIGN
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
THE LAST SAMURAI
*THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
SEABISCUIT

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BALSEROS
CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS
*THE FOG OF WAR
MY ARCHITECT
THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
ASYLUM
*CHERNOBYL HEART
FERRY TALES

MAKEUP
*THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

MUSIC (SCORE)
BIG FISH
COLD MOUNTAIN
FINDING NEMO
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
*THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

MUSIC (SONG)
*”Into The West”-THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
"A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" - A MIGHTY WIND
"Scarlet Tide" - COLD MOUNTAIN
"The Triplets of Belleville" - THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE
"You Will Be My Ain True Love" - COLD MOUNTAIN

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
BOUNDIN'
DESTINO
GONE NUTTY
*HARVIE KRUMPET
NIBBLES

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
DIE ROTE JACKE (The Red Jacket)
MOST (The Bridge)
SQUASH
(A) TORZIJA ([A] Torsion)
*TWO SOLDIERS

SOUND
THE LAST SAMURAI
*THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
SEABISCUIT

SOUND EDITING
FINDING NEMO
*MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

VISUAL EFFECTS
*THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

SPECIAL HONORARY OSCAR: Director Blake Edwards

SPECIAL MENTIONED TRIBUTES FOR LEGENDARY LATE OSCAR-WINNING ARTISTS:

I. Kathryn Hepburn
II. Bob Hope
III. Gregory Peck

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Frank Ochieng
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