But first, the other categories. Best Actress went pretty much as anticipated, with nominations for Sissy Spacek (“In the Bedroom”), Halle Barry (“Monster’s Ball”) and Judi Dench (“Iris”) coming in as planned. Renee Zellweger’s nomination for “Bridget Jones’s Diary” was a touch unexpected; many believed that Naomi Watts would be rewarded for her star-making performance in “Mulholland Drive.” Rounding out the category: Nicole Kidman in “Moulin Rouge.” Some were afraid the Academy’s votes for Kidman would be split between that movie and her role in “The Others,” which was a bigger box office hit. The actress probably breathed a sigh of relief this morning, as she could have ended up with no nominations at all.
Billy Bob Thornton was in a similar predicament, but wasn’t as lucky. The actor could have been a contender for Best Actor for his roles in both “The Man Who Wasn’t There” and “Monster’s Ball”-but instead, he came up empty-handed (and wasn’t nominated in the supporting category for his hilarious role in “Bandits,” either). A nomination went to Russell Crowe for “A Beautiful Mind,” which makes three nods in three years for the Aussie actor, a first since William Hurt’s similar run in the mid-1980s. As expected, Denzel Washington was also recognized in this category for playing against type as a crooked policeman in “Training Day.” And although “Ali” received only mixed reviews and timid box office, Will Smith ended up nominated for his role as the legendary fighter. That makes a bit of Academy history: for the first time, two black actors have been nominated for Best Actor in the same year. The final two: Tom Wilkinson is up for his work in “In the Bedroom” and Hollywood’s beloved bad boy Sean Penn got the third Best Actor nomination of his career for “I Am Sam.”
The Best Supporting Actress line-up was the easiest to call. Early favorite Jennifer Connelly got a nod for “A Beautiful Mind.” She’s joined by four veterans of the category: Kate Winslet from “Iris,” Helen Mirren from “Gosford Park,” Maggie Smith from “Gosford Park” (she’s won twice before) and Marisa Tomei from “In the Bedroom.” (Tomei famously came out of nowhere to win this award for “My Cousin Vinny” in 1993.)
The Best Supporting Actor’s race is intriguing for a few reasons. Ben Kingsley from “Sexy Beast” and Jim Broadbent from “Iris” were the shoo-ins. Jon Voight from “Ali” was a mild surprise, considering how the film has fallen since its release. Ethan Hawke’s nod for “Training Day” may pull people back to that movie, where they’ll notice he’s got just as much screentime (if not more) as Washington, a Best Actor nominee. Finally, Ian McKellen’s selection here is the only acting nomination for “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” which gained a leading 13 nods in total.
Usually, the Best Director race lines up pretty evenly with the list of Best Pictures. But this year, only three of the filmmakers behind the leading five contenders were recognized. Peter Jackson (“The Lord of the Rings”), Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind”) and Robert Altman (“Gosford Park”) all made the cut. But strangely, the Academy snubbed Baz Luhrmann, whose “Moulin Rouge” is more a result of one person’s vision (Luhrmann even helped produce the soundtrack) than any of the other Best Picture nominees.
Todd Field, an actor who directed and co-wrote the dramatic character study “In the Bedroom,” was similarly ignored. In their place: Ridley Scott, whose “Black Hawk Down” got four nominations, and David Lynch, whose “Mulholland Drive” was completely ignored but for this category. Clearly, the Academy likes him-maybe better than his movies?
The Best Picture race looks to be the most dramatic contest of all come March 24. Traditionally, the movie with the largest number of nominations at the beginning of the night is the one that wins big in the end. Over the last 15 years, that rule has only been broken once: In 1992, “The Silence of the Lambs” (seven nominations) trumped “Bugsy” (which had ten). But despite all its success with critics and crowds, “The Lord of the Rings” is a fantasy movie that lacks the mix of poignancy and punch that marks traditional Best Pictures. For this reason, “A Beautiful Mind,” even with only eight nominations, still remains the real frontrunner.
