The Oscar nominations


	rediff.com critics list their Academy Awards nominees!

-- Arthur J Pais

veryone seems to expect (for excellent reasons) The Return Of The King to hog the Oscar nominations. I would not be surprised if it got more than 10. Its only weakness would be in the acting categories. I expect Cold Mountain to be a strong contender, too.

It would be more exciting to watch which of the many smaller films, including 21 Grams, In America, Lost In Translation, House Of Sand And Fog would garner one or two nominations, at least in the acting and screenplay departments. Early in the year, Seabiscuit looked like a strong candidate but I suspect many Oscar voters would be inclined to vote for the endearing comedy Elf instead.

Below are my predictions in the main picture category:

BEST FILM

Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King

Mystic River

Cold Mountain

Lost In Translation

Elf

BEST ACTOR

Sean Penn, Mystic River

Russell Crowe, Master and Commander

Johnny Depp, Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl

Ben Kingsley, House Of Sand And Fog

Bill Murray, Lost in Translation

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tim Robbins, Mystic River

Albert Finney, Big Fish

Ian McKellen, ROTK

Dijmon Hounsou, In America

Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams

BEST SCREENPLAY (ORIGINAL)

Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation

John August, Daniel Wallace, Big Fish

Guillermo Arriaga, 21 Grams

Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan and Kirsten Sheridan, In America

Jon Favreau, David Berenbaum, Elf

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BEST DIRECTOR

Peter Jackson, Return Of The King

Clint Eastwood, Mystic River

Anthony Minghella, Cold Mountain

Sofia Coppola, Lost In Translation

Jon Favreau, Elf

BEST ACTRESS

Charlize Theron, Monster

Scarlett Johansson, Lost In Translation

Dianne Keaton, Something's Gotta Give

Nicole Kidman, Cold Mountain

Uma Thurman, Kill Bill Vol I

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River

Jessica Lange, Big Fish

Rene Zellweger, Cold Mountain

Maggie Gyllenhall, Mona Lisa Smile

Shohreh Aghadashloo, House Of Sand And Fog

BEST SCREENPLAY (ADAPTED)

Anthony Minghella, Cold Mountain

Vadim Perelman, Shawn Otto, House Of Sand And Fog

Brian Helgeland, Mystic River

Peter Weir and John Collee, Master and Commander

Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh and Peter Kackson,
Return Of The King

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The Oscar nominations

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