Monday, March 24, 2003

The smart money was on "Chicago" to dominate last night's Oscars, so nobody was surprised when the inventive and vivacious musical revival took home six statuettes from its 13 nominations. The real news from the 75th Academy Awards, however, was the surprising and surprisingly strong showing by Roman Polanski's holocaust drama "The Pianist," which won Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor for star Adrien Brody.

Brody took the stage to accept his award in a state of shock but had the presence of mind to plant a long, full-on-the-lips kiss on presenter Halle Berry, who seemed rather shocked herself when she came up for air.

Brody's was roundly cheered for his lengthy acceptance speech, which was the most eloquent and compassionate of several throughout the evening that took a political stand for peace and against the war on Iraq. Controversial and unapologetically political filmmaker Michael Moore's acceptance speech was not so warmly received. Enthusiastically applauded for his film, which examines gun violence in America, the audience split 50/50 between cheers and boos as he took a firm and angry stand against the war, with all the other Documentary nominees standing in solidarity with him on stage.

Host Steve Martin was in a tough spot all night, joking on eggshells as he tried to find the right tenor of humor for an atmosphere tainted by the three-day-old war. Many presenters got bigger laughs than the host by playing off Martin's sometimes awkwardly unfunny introductions.

The show ran a relatively short three-and-a-half hours, but the producers still wasted time on filler events like the nine minutes introducing 59 winners from years gone by who stood on bleachers on the stage as if posing for a class portrait.

But with all that said and done, all anyone will remember are the winners, which are listed below along with the nominees.

My predictions are noted by a bullet (•) and my preferences are noted by a plus (+).

Best PICTURE nominees

• + "Chicago"   "Gangs of New York"   "The Hours"   "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"   "The Pianist"

WINNER

"Chicago"

Best DIRECTOR nominees

• + Rob Marshall, "Chicago"   Martin Scorsese, "Gangs of New York"   Stephen Daldry, "The Hours"   Roman Polanski, "The Pianist"   Pedro Amoldóvar, "Talk to Her"

WINNER

Roman Polanski, "The Pianist"

Best ACTOR nominees

Adrien Brody, "The Pianist"   Nicholas Cage, "Adaptation" + Michael Caine, "The Quiet American"   Daniel Day-Lewis, "Gangs of New York" • Jack Nicholson, "About Schmidt"

WINNER

Adrien Brody, "The Pianist"

Best ACTRESS nominees

Salma Hayek, "Frida"   Nicole Kidman, "The Hours"   Diane Lane, "Unfaithful" + Julianne Moore, "Far From Heaven" • Renée Zellweger, "Chicago"

WINNER

Nicole Kidman, "The Hours"

Best SUPPORTING ACTOR nominees

• + Chris Cooper, "Adaptation"   Ed Harris, "The Hours"   Paul Newman, "Road to Perdition"   John C. Reilly, "Chicago"   Christopher Walken, "Catch Me If You Can"

WINNER

Chris Cooper, "Adaptation"

Best SUPPORTING ACTRESS nominees

• Kathy Bates, "About Schmidt"   Julianne Moore, "The Hours"   Queen Latifah, "Chicago" + Meryl Streep, "Adaptation"   Catherine Zeta-Jones, "Chicago"

WINNER

Catherine Zeta-Jones, "Chicago"

Best ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY nominees

+ "Far From Heaven," Todd Haynes   "Gangs of New York," Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian & Kenneth Lonergan   "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," Nia Vardalos • "Talk to Her," Pedro Amoldóvar   "Y Tu Mamá También," Alfonso & Carlos Cuarón

WINNER

"Talk to Her," Pedro Amoldóvar

Best ADAPTED SCREENPLAY nominees

"About A Boy," Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz   "Adaptation," Charlie Kaufman & Donald Kaufman   "Chicago," Bill Condon • "The Hours," David Hare   "The Pianist," Ronald Harwood + (couldn't decide between "Chicago," "Adaptation" & "The Hours")

WINNER

"The Pianist," Ronald Harwood

Best ANIMATED FEATURE nominees

"Spirited Away"   "Lilo & Stitch" • "Ice Age"   "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron"   "Treasure Planet" + (no "should win" pick)

WINNER

"Spirited Away"

Best DOCUMENTARY nominees

"Bowling For Columbine" • "Daughter From Danang"   "Prisoner of Paradise"   "Spellbound"   "Winged Migration" + (no "should win" pick)

WINNER

"Bowling For Columbine"

Best FOREIGN FILM nominees

"El Crimen del Padre Amaro" (Mexico)   "Hero" (China)   "The Man Without a Past" (Finland) • "Nowhere In Africa" (Germany)   "Zus & Zo" (The Netherlands) + (no "should win" pick)

WINNER

"Nowhere In Africa" (Germany)

Best CINEMATOGRAPHY nominees

"Chicago"   "Far From Heaven"   "Gangs of New York"   "The Pianist" • + "Road to Perdition"

WINNER

"Road to Perdition"

Best EDITING nominees

• + "Chicago"   "Gangs of New York"   "The Hours"   "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"   "The Pianist"

WINNER

"Chicago"

Best SOUND nominees

• + "Chicago"   "Gangs of New York"   "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"   "Road to Perdition"   "Spider-Man"

WINNER

"Chicago"

Best SOUND EDITING nominees

• "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"   "Minority Report"   "Road to Perdition" + (no "should win" pick)

WINNER

"Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"

Best VISUAL EFFECTS nominees

• + "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"   "Spider-Man"   "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones"

WINNER

"Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"

Best ART DIRECTION nominees

"Chicago" + "Frida" • "Gangs of New York"   "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"   "Road to Perdition"

WINNER

"Chicago"

Best COSTUMES nominees

"Chicago" + "Frida" • "Gangs of New York"   "The Hours"   "The Pianist"

WINNER

"Chicago"

Best MAKEUP nominees

• + "Frida"   "The Time Machine"

WINNER

"Frida"

Best ORIGINAL SCORE nominees

• + "Catch Me If You Can," John Williams   "Far From Heaven," Elmer Bernstein   "Frida," Elliot Goldenthal   "The Hours," Philip Glass   "Road to Perdition," Thomas Newman

WINNER

"Frida," Elliot Goldenthal

Best ORIGINAL SONG nominees

"Burn It Blue" from "Frida"   "Father & Daughter" from "The Wild Thornberrys" • "The Hands That Built America" from "Gangs of New York"   "I Move On" from "Chicago" + "Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile"

WINNER

"Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile"