Monday, March 1, 2004

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" cleaned up at last night's Academy Awards, winning Oscars in every category in which it was nominated -- a grand nod to the crowning achievement of the most ambitious movie trilogy of all time.

Of course, I had to let my hopes -- noted with a plus (+) below -- get in the way of my predictions -- noted by a bullet (•).

Best PICTURE nominees

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" • + "Lost in Translation" "Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World" "Mystic River" "Seabiscuit"

WINNER

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"

Best DIRECTOR nominees

+ Sofia Coppola, "Lost in Translation" Clint Eastwood, "Mystic River" • Peter Jackson, "LOTR: Return of the King" Kátia Lund & Fernando Meirelles, "City of God" Peter Weir, "Master & Commander"

WINNER

Peter Jackson

Best ACTOR nominees

Johnny Depp, "Pirates of the Caribbean" Ben Kingsley, "House of Sand & Fog" Jude Law, "Cold Mountain" • + Bill Murray, "Lost in Translation" Sean Penn, "Mystic River"

WINNER

Sean Penn

Best ACTRESS nominees

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

WINNER

Charlize Theron

Best SUPPORTING ACTOR nominees

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

WINNER

Tim Robbins

Best SUPPORTING ACTRESS nominees

Shohreh Aghdashloo, "House of Sand & Fog" Patricia Clarkson, "Pieces of April" Marcia Gay Harden, "Mystic River" Holly Hunter, "Thirteen" • + Renee Zellweger, "Cold Mountain"

WINNER

Renee Zellweger

Best ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY nominees

"The Barbarian Invasions," Denys Arcand "Dirty Pretty Things," Steve Knight "Finding Nemo," Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds "In America," Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan • + "Lost in Translation," Sofia Coppola

WINNER

"Lost in Translation"

Best ADAPTED SCREENPLAY nominees

+ "American Splendor," Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini "City of God," Bráulio Mantovani "LOTR: Return of the King," Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh & Philippa Boynes "Mystic River," Brian Helgeland • "Seabiscuit," Gary Ross

WINNER

"LOTR: Return of the King"

Best ANIMATED FEATURE nominees

"Brother Bear" • "Finding Nemo" + "The Triplets of Bellville"

WINNER

"Finding Nemo"

Best FOREIGN FILM nominees

• "The Barbarian Invasions" (French Canada) "Evil" (Sweden) "The Twilight Samurai" (Japan) "Twin Sisters" (The Netherlands) "Zelary" (The Czech Republic)

WINNER

"The Barbarian Invasions"

Best DOCUMENTARY nominees

"Balseros" "Capturing the Friedmans" "The Fog of War" • "My Architect" "The Weather Underground"

WINNER

"The Fog of War"

Best CINEMATOGRAPHY nominees

"City of God," "Cold Mountain" + "Girl With a Pearl Earring" • "Master & Commander" "Seabiscuit"

WINNER

"Master & Commander"

Best EDITING nominees

"City of God," "Cold Mountain" "LOTR: Return of the King" • + "Master & Commander" "Seabiscuit"

WINNER

"LOTR: Return of the King"

Best SOUND nominees

• "The Last Samurai" "LOTR: Return of the King" "Master & Commander" "Pirates of the Caribbean" "Seabiscuit"

WINNER

"LOTR: Return of the King"

Best SOUND EDITING nominees

Finding Nemo • "Master & Commander" "Pirates of the Caribbean"

WINNER

"Master & Commander"

Best VISUAL EFFECTS nominees

• + "LOTR: Return of the King" "Master and Commander" "Pirates of the Caribbean"

WINNER

"LOTR: Return of the King"

Best ART DIRECTION nominees

+ "Girl With a Pearl Earring" "The Last Samurai" • "LOTR: Return of the King" "Master & Commander" "Seabiscuit"

WINNER

"LOTR: Return of the King"

Best COSTUMES nominees

+ "Girl With a Pearl Earring," Dien van Straalen • "The Last Samurai," Ngila Dickson "LOTR: Return of the King," Ngila Dickson "Master & Commander," Wendy Stites "Seabiscuit," Judianna Makovsky

WINNER

"LOTR: Return of the King," Ngila Dickson

Best MAKEUP nominees

• "LOTR: Return of the King" + "Master & Commander" "Pirates of the Caribbean"

WINNER

"LOTR: Return of the King"

Best ORIGINAL SCORE nominees

Danny Elfman, "Big Fish" Gabriel Yared, "Cold Mountain" • Thomas Newman, "Finding Nemo" James Horner, "House of Sand & Fog" + Howard Shore, "LOTR: Return of the King"

WINNER

Howard Shore, "LOTR: Return of the King"

Best ORIGINAL SONG nominees

"Into the West" from "LOTR: Return of the King" "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from "A Mighty Wind" "Scarlet Tide" from "Cold Mountain" "The Triplets of Belleville" from "The Triplets of Bellville" "You Will Be My Ain True Love" from "Cold Mountain"

WINNER

"Into the West"