Rob writes: Thought this might be of interest to your readers. I did the research myself so you can use it if you like.
Out of the 75 Best Picture Oscars awarded, this is how the winners were spread.
Romance/Love Story (comedic or serious) 9 Musical 12 Life Story or Parable (either true or not) 22 Historical Epic (regardless of whether it is biography, romance, political etc) 10 Political or with main point being Political Message 17 Comedy 4 Thriller/Horror 1 Fantasy/Science Fiction 0
Out of the approximately 400 nominated best pictures only 23 could be considered fantasy and only one, Forrest Gump, actually won and some would argue it wasn’t really a fantasy but more of a life story/parable/political/comedy. Almost all of the others were the biggest movies of their year and six of them are in the top 20 domestic box office of all time. Here are the other fantasy movies that were nominated but lost. It’s an impressive list.
Wizard of Oz, It’s A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, King Solomon’s Mines, Mary Poppins, Dr Strangelove, Doctor Doolittle, A Clockwork Orange, The Exorcist, Star Wars, Heaven Can Wait (twice), Raiders of the Lost Ark, ET, Field Of Dreams, Ghost, Babe, The Green Mile, The Sixth Sense, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, LOTR Fellowship and LOTR Two Towers.
Also not one of these movies won for best director (except Gump gain.) It’s worth noting that Heaven Can Wait was nominated twice (also in 1943) and lost twice.
Adjusted for inflation 35 of the top 100 domestic movies were fantasy another 15 were animations (only one of which was nominated in the last 25 years – Beauty & The Beast.)
Doesn’t bode well for the movie but who knows he might buck the trend.
Ringer Spy Nazz attended the MANY press confrences during the ROTK media blitz last month. In this article he chats with Director of Photography Andrew Lesnie.
Special thanks to Rip It Up Magazine in South Australia for this transcript.
Andrew Lesnie at the ROTK Premiere in NZ
Andrew Lesnie – Academy Award winning cinematographer of The Lord Of The Rings films (for The Fellowship Of The Rings) Cinematography: The art or technique of movie photography, including both the shooting and development of the film.
Andrew Lesnie won an Academy Award for his work on The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and was nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers Award and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts cinematography award, among other awards and accolades.
Lesnie held the Australian Cinematographers Society’s coveted Milli Award for 1995 and 1996, making him Australia’s Cinematographer of the Year two years running. He also won the 1997 Australian Film Institute Award for best cinematography for Doing Time for Patsy Cline, and a 1997 A.C.S. gold award for the same film. He won the 1996 A.C.S. Golden Tripod Award for Babe, in 1995 for Temptation of a Monk, and in 1994 for Spider and Rose. His other feature credits include Two if by Sea, The Sugar Factory, Fatal Past, The Delinquents, Dark Age, Boys in the Island, Daydream Believer and Unfinished Business, among others.
Lesnie also handled second unit photography on Farewell to the King, Incident at Raven’s Gate and Around the World in Eighty Ways, and shot the documentaries The Making of The Road Warrior, Stages (about Peter Brook and the Paris Theatre Company in Australia), and The Comeback, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. His television credits include “The Rainbow Warrior Conspiracy,” “Melba” (A.C.S. Merit Award), and “Cyclone Tracy” (A.C.S. Golden Tripod Award for best photographed miniseries). In addition, Lesnie has garnered A.C.S. Awards for the short films The Outing and The Same Stream.
How are you feeling?
AL: “Good, glad we’re almost done.”
These films seem to be a return to classic cinema right down to the great close-ups and an almost David Lean style. When you came into this, how much input did you have. For instance, we’ve seen the storyboards of the initial concepts can you help us see where your influence came in?
AL: “No! Next question [laughs]!”
How was the food?
AL: “The food was great [laughs].”
“I don’t know what I wanted. I never go into a project that set in my ways. I try to have as few preconceptions about what I’ll do as possible: what it’s going to look like, how we’re going to do it etc. You end up just trying to immerse yourself in, I suppose, the subtext of the story.
“I’d read the books as a teenager, but obviously you’re up for reading the books again. The project was well under way when I came in. The art department and visual effects departments had been well under way there was quite a range. I came aboard pretty late in the scheme of things, even though I did three and a half months of prep.
“So I came aboard and y’know, I read the books, I read the scripts, I talked to Peter Jackson and he’d done storyboards, so I looked at them. He was always saying, (I’ve done these storyboards but they’re not the bible.” It’s just a game-plan but we can change it.
“Then I started going around to Pre-Viz [the Pre-Visualisation Department, which essentially amount to computer generated, moving storyboards]. So I’m watching the guys in Pre-Viz three dimensionally doing shots. It ends up that Peter’s dumping me in there because they’re trying to do the stairway at Khazad-Dûm. They’re really quite talented young guys and graphic designers but they’ve got no concept of (shots’ as such. What they’ve got, of course, are these virtual cameras that can go anywhere so they’ve got these insane shots that are moving a lot but aren’t really communicating anything.
“So I’m spending days in there [chuckles], trying to formulate these sequences saying, (you can say the same thing only with a lot less movement and much more economically.’ So anyway, it was like my pre-production was spent more in I’d like to say I had this massive think tank and came up with this big, formative game-plan; but it was just a result of conversations and immersing myself in the artwork, reading the booksŠ you start dreaming a bit and coming up with ideas. We decided there were certain stops that appealed to me [camera and lens term. An aperture stop is a physical constraint, often a lens retainer, that limits the diameter of the axial light bundle allowed to pass through a lens.. A field stop is the aperture located at an image plane of an optical system that determines the size and shape of the image]. Sometimes you can’t really put a reason on why certain things pop up or stand out. Hopefully you’re grounded enough in your craft that your palette is large enough that you know enough things to draw on in any given circumstance. So when you get an instinctive feeling for things you can say, ŒI feel that that’s appropriate.’ But if anyone asks you to rationalise it, you might be completely stuffed!
“At the same time, I know that Peter is a filmmaker who likes to be flexible. He can change his mind at the drop of a hat so you gear up in a way that allows for that. You start designing lighting scenarios that allow for him to change his mind and come around to do this and that, instead of that and this. Then you can keep up a certain momentum up on the floor which is also very important too for the castŠ not to actually grind things to a halt for too long. So you start trying to imagine how you want this world to be, but also juggling that with the practical working systems of the shoot.”
Let’s go back a step. How old were you when you first read the book of The Lord Of The Rings?
AL: “About 17.”
Were you already into the craft of cinema by that stage?
AL: “Yeah I think so. Maybe not cinematography but film-making, definitely. I had a Super8 camera out there and I was making little thrillers.”
Did you picture any sequences from the book in your head when you were reading it?
AL: “No but it did leave me with several graphic images. The image I most remember out of absolutely everything was one that was emblazoned in my mind. I imagined the two little figures [of Frodo and Sam] climbing up the slope of Mount Doom, which was in the foreground and in the background, on these huge plains, there were just millions of people fighting. It probably hit me then that you could tell really personal stories within a really epic context.
“In this particular image, knowing the back stories, that these two little figures that were climbing were going to directly affect the outcome of what was happening down below. That makes where they’re going, how they’re going critically and whether they’re going to get to where they’re going, critically important. Even if you didn’t know their whole story, their success or failure will affect everything that’s going on down below and I learned how important that could be as a dramatic device. It’s like it raises the stakes and makes everything more excitingŠ without ever knowing why. You’re telling more of the story at once.
“People ask me what cinematography is and I always answer that it’s conveying the subtext of a scene. You look for what a scene is about, when you stand there onset, even before the actors turn up to block it through. You stand there and, even though you may have asked it several times before or even have left it until the day, you sit there and ask what the scene is about. Now it’s a pretty basic question but it’s sometimes the most important question. I look at some films that people haven’t asked themselves that question and they’ve gone and filmed it and they definitely haven’t answered that question! In the entire process of making it, I see films where I look at scenes and go, Œthis is about nothing. This isn’t progressing the film in any way shape or form [laughs]. I’m learning nothing more about the characters and it’s adding no depth to this film.’ At which point you go, Œwell obviously, no one asked themselves the question.’ It seems basic but it’s too often overlooked.”
The Science Museum will keep the doors of its blockbuster Lord of the Rings exhibition open until midnight this Friday and Saturday – to cope with the demand for tickets as visitors rush to catch the show before it leaves Europe.
The exhibition, which contains over 600 props from the films, has attracted over 200,000 fans young and old since opening last September and closes at 10pm this Sunday.
Visitors enjoy an up close and personal encounter with props, costumes and sets from the films at the same time as the final instalment of the film trilogy, The Return of the King, packs out cinemas.
The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy – The Exhibition has already sold more advance tickets than any previous exhibition at the Science Museum. The exhibition (not the Museum) will stay open until midnight on Friday 9 January and Saturday 10 January and until 10pm on Sunday 11 January to cope with the massive demand for tickets. Visitors will need to book in advance to guarantee entry.
To prevent the advanced filmmaking technology displayed in the exhibition from being copied, the use of cameras and mobile phones is prohibited.
The fascinating exhibition includes:
-Demonstrations of special effects, including the combining of ‘real’ and ‘digital’ action and CGI (computer-generated-image technology).
-A scaling interactive explaining one way that the films managed to make characters seem different heights, and which allows visitors to become Hobbit sized in a scene from The Fellowship of the Ring – and then buy a print of themselves.
-A display on the prosthetics which transformed actors, including Hobbit hands and feet.
-Weapons belonging to Arwen, Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn.
-Outfits including Arwen’s riding costume, Galadriel’s stunning dress and Gandalf’s robes.
The exhibition culminates with a face-to-face encounter with the central icon from the films – The One Ring.
· Tickets can be pre-booked on 0870 906 3890 24 hours (booking fee applies) or at www.sciencemuseum.org.uk
Exhibition Until 11 January 2004
Ticket Prices
Monday – Friday: Adults £9.95 Children/Concessions £6.95 Saturday – Sunday: Adults £11.95 Children/Concessions £8.95 Public information and booking line 0870 906 3890 (booking fee applies) Opening hours
The Museum has extended the weekend opening hours for this exhibition Friday – Saturday 10am – midnight Sunday 10am – 10pm The exhibition will be open Monday – Thursday 10am – 6pm
For more information, images and interviewees contact: Ben Ayers, 020 7942 4357, b.ayers@nmsi.ac.uk
Alternatively visit the Lord of the Rings exhibition media centre at: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/press
Notes to editors:
· Admission to the main galleries of the Science Museum is free.
· The museum is open daily from 10am – 6pm.
· The exhibition is developed and presented by the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in partnership with New Line Cinema.
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John Stewart: My guest tonight – an actor starring in the third instalment of the mega Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Clip shown of Sam, Frodo and Gollum on the cliffs above the Dead City (secret stairs), when Gollum tries to frame Sam for taking the lembas bread. Ends when Gollum says “He took it!”, and the frame freezes on Frodo looking wide-eyed at Sam.
JS: Somebody took it! (audience laughs) Please welcome Elijah Wood! Come on!
Audience claps and the band plays as Elijah comes out and waves. Jon and Elijah shake hands and embrace.
JS: Good to see you.
Elijah Wood: Good to see you as well.
JS: How are ya?
EW: I’m good. Frodo looks pretty ragged that clip.
JS: Oh, he was hungry, he’s tired, he’s with Chris Katan and uh, the other guy… (Elijah laughs and audience laughs) That’s it. Um, now, you’re coming on actually to promote the movie, and we’re hoping to give it a little bump. I know things have been rough with it… (audience starts laughing)
EW: It needs a little help
JS: A little push.
EW: They put… they put us into second high gear, you know… just go out there and rally the troops… get the people into the theatre…
JS: That’s what I’m hoping to do because I think it’s a little film that really can. I think people should see it. (audience laughs)
EW: It’s like… it’s like the little engine that could.
JS: That’s exactly it.
EW: I think that we believe in it, it’s got a lot of love and heart and soul behind it, so…
JS: I agree. I’m looking forward to the fourth one. (audience laughs)
EW: So am I.
JS: What if they… I guarantee you somewhere in Hollywood, someone’s going to go be going “we gotta find a fourth one”… (audience laughs)
EW: Right.
JS: Get me Tolkien on the phone! (audience laughs). Uh…
EW: Exhume the body! Get it out!
JS: There’s gotta be another manuscript (Elijah laughs). With all this… you’ve accomplished all this… tell me the next thing that you would love to do. Is…to be acting, to be anything… what’s the thing you’d love to do the most?
EW: Uh… start a record label.
JS: Seriously?
EW: Yeah, (laughing) I really wanna start a record label. (audience laughs). I’m…
JS: Can I tell you what’s so weird about that?
EW: What?
JS: I happen to play French Horn (audience laughs).
EW: We could… we could release…
JS: You could produce my…
EW: There you go.
JS: Uh, would you… you mean you want to go to clubs and sign bands and that sort of thing or…
EW: Yeah. I mean, I’m a huge, huge music fan and I’ve always wanted to do something in music, but I never wanted to be in a band because I love music too much to mess it up, so… (he laughs, audience and Jon laugh) I thought, you know, I’ll start a label and support acts that I care about and try and get them exposed…
JS: Now, what kind of music do you think you would uh… like what’s the type of music that you enjoy?
EW: It would be pretty varied. My taste is all over the place, so rock, and jazz, and pop…
JS: I enjoy the uh… [not sure of what Jon said here – Mrs. Roxy?] (audience laughs)
EW:I grew… I grew up with rapping…
JS: He taught me to spell. (audience laughs)
EW: Did he? I… he taught me to spell.
JS: You… so you go to clubs and…. do you have somebody in mind right now that you like? Is uh… I don’t want to put you on the spot in terms of a band, but is there… is there someone out there that you’re thinking…
EW: There’s a couple of things… there’s a few things that I’ve got my eye on. Nothing I can really say…
JS: You can’t tell us because then other people dive in there… it’s the whole business.
EW: Well, it’s not necessarily the business… I just don’t know if he would appreciate me mentioning…
JS: Can I say this?…
EW: Yeah?
JS: Keep your eye on this Led Zepplin… I think they’re going places (audience laughs)
EW: You think? I think there’s a bidding war at the moment though…
JS: You think?
EW: Yeah. I don’t….
JS: Is that a dirty business… is that the kind of business you think you could… you could get involved in… I hear everything about the music business, as much as entertainment, is dirty..
EW: It’s worse… the music industry.
JS: The music industry is worse… that’s what I’m suggesting.
EW: Yeah, but I would… I would do it on my own time and not get involved in the politics.
JS: Or, the other way to do it is become a vicious [word beeped out!] (audience laughs)
EW: Well there you go.
JS: Either do it on your…
EW: I have yet to learn those skills, so… (Jon laughs) Exactly!
JS: Why not? That’s my point.
EW: Exactly. Twenty…. I’m about to be 23 and now’s the time.
JS: You’re only going to be… that’s crazy.
EW: Yeah, generally….
JS: You really should get moving. You need to start accomplishing things. Because clearly… (Elijah laughs and audience laughs). When I was 23, uh… I believe I was found laundering naked with my ass cheeks taped together. (audience and Elijah laugh, audience whoops a bit). And that was, if I may say so… one of my better days. (Elijah laughs). Do you have another, uh, movie plan? I mean, this thing went for so long in terms of filming…
EW: Four years…
JS: Do you get back to New Zealand at all?
EW: I do. I do. I’ve been back this year… and last year
JS: A pretty place?
EW: Amazing. Such an amazing place. I mean it…
JS: How many people you’d say are in New Zealand?
EW: Uh… I think it’s… [unsure] three million… in all?
JS: Let me ask you this…
EW: The population’s pretty small.
JS: What are their names? (audience laughs) Is it a place… is there a huge tourist industry? I imagine, there’s… there’s films…
EW: There’s a lot of duncans [not sure of this word] out there, for some reason.
JS: Big on the duncans?
EW: Duncans.
JS: What would be the… the livestock, the animal life.. is there yaks, cattle, what…
EW: Sheep.
JS: Really?
EW: In fact, there are I think 30 or 40 sheep per every New Zealander.
JS: I’m glad they were able to look because I know class size is important for them. (audience laughs)
EW: (laughing) Right.
JS: I don’t even know what the means (Elijah laughs). Uh… do you spend… is it… are the seasons the same as ours, is it….
EW: They’re the same, they’re in reverse, so… it’s in the southern hemisphere, so it would be summer now.
JS: Right, I knew that. (audience laughs)
EW: It’s warm there, yeah… and the water, when you flush the toilets… the water spins in the opposite direction.
JS: Really?
EW: Yeah, and people love that about it.
JS: And this is true… in comedy movies, when you flush the water, it comes up right in your face. (audience laughs)
EW: It does, it does… and you get little… (imitates getting sprayed in the face)
JS: Right, and you do this (imitates getting sprayed)..
EW: Yeah…
JS: And then you turn and look at the camera and go… (simultaneously, Elijah and Jon go “woo!”, putting both hands up and making a goofy face toward the audience) (audience laughs).
EW: Yeah.
JS: Uh, well, I’m so pleased. You’re… you’re one of the nicest people in the business that I’ve known,
EW: Thank you.
JS: and truly a talented guy, I’m just so pleased that everything’s working out for you so well.
EW: Thank you so much.
JS: Good luck with the record label. When you want to hear some real French Horn, you come and let me know.
EW: You know it!
JS: I’ll lay down some beats, that we….
EW: Some fat beats.
JS: Thank you very much.
EW: Rockin’….
JS: Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, in theatres now! Go see it! Elijah Wood! (audience cheers as Elijah shakes hands with Jon)
(New York City) — CINEMARATI, the renowned organization of professional online film critics from across the globe, today announced its distinctive nominations for the fourth annual Cinemarati Awards.
Five films, an intriguing mix of blockbusters and indie treasures, lead the slate. *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* and *Kill Bill: Volume One* received ten nominations apiece. *Raising Victor Vargas,* *Lost in Translation,* and *American Splendor* each received eight nominations.
Unlike other professional awards, the Cinemarati Award Nominees — eight each in twenty-four categories, recognizing the best cinematic efforts of 2003 — now enter Cinemarati’s signature public process, where nominees go head-to-head in matchups voted on by its Member Critics in full view at http://www.cinemarati.org .
This year, lauded performances like those of BILL MURRAY and NAOMI WATTS sit alongside rarely recognized turns by CHIWETEL EJIOFOR (*Dirty Pretty Things*) and VALERIE LEMERCIER (*Friday Night*). Newcomers fare especially well, with multiple nominatons for *In America*’s SARAH BOLGER, *The Station Agent*’s PETER DINKLAGE, and the first-ever triple nominee, ROBERT PULCINI, for his first-time feature directing, writing, and editing work on *American Splendor.*
The recent flap over awards screeners did not affect this year’s deliberations. “Cinemarati Member Critics have never depended upon screeners,” said awards co-chair NICK DAVIS, lead critic at Nick’s Flick Picks. “We appreciate seeing films with a public audience of filmgoers, on a big screen, the way movies were intended to be seen.”
Over the next three weeks, the nominees will be whittled down to one winner in each category through a series of playoff-style votes. The playoff process results in some interesting oddities. This year, in the Best Lead Actress category, Scarlett Johansson in *Lost in Translation* squares off against… Scarlett Johansson in *Girl With a Pearl Earring* in round-one voting.
Results of each round of voting will be posted in the Cinemarati Roundtable, and discussion participants — movie lovers from around the globe — are encouraged to lobby the Member Critics to vote for their favorites in susequent rounds.
“The entire process happens out in the open,” explains founding member MARYANN JOHANSON, of FlickFilosopher.com. “No other critics’ group offers the moviegoing public a peek into the backroom of award discussions, but we at Cinemarati find that it invigorates the dialogue between film audiences and film critics. It’s an exciting experience.”
Winners will be announced on Monday, January 19th.
4th ANNUAL CINEMARATI AWARD NOMINATIONS nominee list
BEST FILM
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lost in Translation Kill Bill: Volume One The Company American Splendor Mystic River Elephant Raising Victor Vargas
BEST NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM
The Triplettes of Belleville City of God Friday Night Millennium Actress The Barbarian Invasions To Be and To Have Irreversible BUS 174
BEST ANIMATED FILM
The Triplettes of Belleville Finding Nemo Millennium Actress Looney Tunes: Back in Action The Animatrix Cowboy Bebop: The Movie Destino Kill Bill: Volume One (anime sequence)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Capturing the Friedmans Winged Migration Spellbound The Fog of War To Be and To Have BUS 174 Lost in La Mancha Love and Diane
BEST DVD AWARD
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Platinum Extended Edition) Looney Tunes: The Golden Collection By Brakhage (Criterion Collection) Alien: Quadrilogy (Box Set) The Adventures of Indiana Jones (Box Set) The Directors Series: Michel Gondry West Side Story (Special Edition) Tokyo Story (Criterion Collection)
BEST LEAD ACTOR
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean:The Curse of the Black Pearl Paul Giamatti, American Splendor Billy Bob Thornton, Bad Santa Sean Penn, Mystic River Peter Dinklage, The Station Agent Jack Black, The School of Rock Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dirty Pretty Things
BEST LEAD ACTRESS
Scarlett Johansson, Lost in Translation Uma Thurman, Kill Bill: Volume One Zooey Deschanel, All the Real Girls Patricia Clarkson, The Station Agent Jamie Lee Curtis, Freaky Friday Naomi Watts, 21 Grams Valerie Lemercier, Friday Night Scarlett Johansson, Girl With a Pearl Earring
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Peter Sarsgaard, Shattered Glass Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams Paul Bettany, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Djimon Hounsou, In America Eugene Levy, A Mighty Wind Will Ferrell, Old School
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Catherine O’Hara, A Mighty Wind Hope Davis, American Splendor Altragracia Guzman, Raising Victor Vargas Holly Hunter, Thirteen Alison Lohman, Matchstick Men Frances McDormand, Laurel Canyon Sarah Bolger, In America Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King A Mighty Wind Raising Victor Vargas Mystic River The Magdalene Sisters The Station Agent City of God Elephant
BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE AWARD
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider Victor Rasuk, Raising Victor Vargas Peter Dinklage, The Station Agent Emma Bolger, In America Sarah Bolger, In America Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dirty Pretty Things Cillian Murphy, 28 Days Later Martin Compston, Sweet Sixteen
BEST DIRECTOR
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill: Volume One Robert Altman, The Company Gus Van Sant, Elephant Alan Rudolph, The Secret Lives of Dentists Peter Sollett, Raising Victor Vargas Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, City of God
THE ORSON WELLES AWARD for the Year’s Best Directorial Debut
Peter Sollett, Raising Victor Vargas Thomas McCarthy, The Station Agent Andrew Jarecki, Capturing the Friedmans Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, American Splendor Billy Ray, Shattered Glass Peter Webber, Girl With a Pearl Earring Jacques Cluzaud and Michel Debats, Winged Migration Eli Roth, Cabin Fever
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill: Volume One Peter Sollett & Eva Vives, Raising Victor Vargas John Requa, Glenn Ficarra, Arnie Marx and Terry Zwigoff, Bad Santa Mike White, The School of Rock Eve Ahlert & Dennis Drake, Down With Love Jim, Naomi and Kirsten Sheridan, In America Thomas McCarthy, The Station Agent
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, American Splendor Craig Lucas, The Secret Lives of Dentists Billy Ray, Shattered Glass Brian Helgeland, Mystic River John Collee and Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Braulio Mantovani, City of God Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, and David Hayter, X2: X-Men United
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Peter Sollett and Eva Vives, Raising Victor Vargas Thomas McCarthy, The Station Agent Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, American Splendor Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake, Down With Love Braulio Mantovani, City of God Billy Ray, Shattered Glass Randy Pearlstein and Eli Roth, Cabin Fever Avner Bernheimer, Yossi and Jagger
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Robert Richardson, Kill Bill: Volume One Harris Savides, Elephant Andrew Lesnie, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Lance Acord, Lost in Translation Tim Orr, All the Real Girls Harris Savides, Gerry Agnes Godard, Friday Night Eduardo Serra, Girl With a Pearl Earring
BEST FILM EDITING
Annie Collins and Jamie Selkirk, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Sally Menke, Kill Bill: Volume One Geraldine Peroni, The Company Sarah Flack, Lost in Translation Lee Smith, Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World Robert Pulcini, American Splendor Daniel Rezende, City of God Tim Squyres, Hulk
OUTSTANDING DESIGN
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Kill Bill: Volume One Down With Love Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Girl With a Pearl Earring Dracula: Pages From a Virgin’s Diary American Splendor Big Fish
BEST SONG (Original or Adapted)
“Swinging Belleville Rendezvous,” The Triplettes of Belleville “Battle Without Honor or Humanity,” Kill Bill: Volume One “More Than This,” Lost in Translation “The Steward of Gondor,” The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow,” A Mighty Wind “The School of Rock,” The School of Rock “You Will Be My Ain True Love,” Cold Mountain “Here’s To Love,” Down With Love
BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Philip Glass, The Fog of War Gabriel Yared, T-Bone Burnett and Jack White, Cold Mountain Benoit Charest, The Triplettes of Belleville Marc Shaiman, Down With Love Alexandre Desplat, Girl With a Pearl Earring Lisa Gerrard, Whale Rider The RZA, Kill Bill: Volume One
BEST FILM-RELATED WEB SITE
GreenCine Daily http://daily.greencine.com/ DVD Beaver http://www.dvdbeaver.com/ Senses of Cinema http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/ The Fog of War http://www.sonyclassics.com/fogofwar Masters of Cinema http://www.carldreyer.com/masters/index.htm #6 The Tulse Luper Suitcases Web Archive http://www.tulselupernetwork.com/ Midnight Eye http://www.midnighteye.com/ Bright Lights Film Journal http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/
EXCEPTIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN CRITICISM
“Liner Notes: By Brakhage,” Fred Camper, http://www.criterionco.com/asp/in_focus_essay.asp?id=13&eid=298 “Noe Exit,” Jessica Winter, *City Pages* http://www.citypages.com/databank/24/1167/article11186.asp “Faster, Pussy Wagon! Kill! Kill!,” R.J. Smith, *Village Voice* http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0340/smith.php “In Search of the Code Inconnu,” Robin Wood, *Cineaction* Issue 62, 2003 – not available online “Awakening to *A.I.*’s Dream,” Gregory Solman, *Senses of Cinema* http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/03/27/ai.html “The Eastwood Variations,” Kent Jones, *Film Comment* http://filmlinc.com/fcm/9-10-2003/eastwood.htm “Their Souls for a Freebie,” Armond White, *New York Press* http://www.nypress.com/16/44/news&columns/feature.cfm “Straw Dogs,” Dana Knowles, *The High Hat* http://www.thehighhat.com/Nitrate/002/straw_dogs.html
ROUNDTABLE FILM OF THE YEAR chosen by visitors to http://www.cinemarati.org/roundtable/
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Kill Bill: Volume One All the Real Girls The Company Lost in Translation Gerry American Splendor Big Fish
END NOMINATIONS
The 2004 international roster of Cinemarati critics features widely read writers from across the planet, representing some of the most heavily trafficked film sites on the World Wide Web, including NETFLIX, FLICKFILOSOPHER.COM, SLANT MAGAZINE, FILM THREAT, MIXEDREVIEWS.NET and APOLLO GUIDE.
The Cinemarati member critics are:
Acquarello, Strictly Film School, http://www.filmref.com Catherine Cantieri, Hole City, http://holecity.com/asp/frontpage.asp Shay Casey, Daily Reviews, http://www.daily-reviews.com Jill Cozzi, MixedReviews.net, http://www.mixedreviews.com Nick Davis, Nick’s Flick Picks, http://www.nicksflickpicks.com Michael Dequina, Film Threat/MoviePoopShoot, http://www.moviepoopshoot.com/flimflam Bryant Frazer, Deep Focus, http://www.deep-focus.com/flicker Mark Freeman, Critical Eye, http://home.vicnet.net.au/~freeman Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine, http://www.slantmagazine.com/index.asp Stephen Himes, Film Snobs, http://www.filmsnobs.com Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide/Netflix, http://www.apolloguide.com MaryAnn Johanson, FlickFilosopher.com, http://www.flickfilosopher.com Jeremiah Kipp, Culture Dose/Matinee Magazine, http://www.culturedose.com Nathaniel R., The Film Experience, http://www.thefilmexperience.net Gabriel Shanks, MixedReviews.net, http://www.mixedreviews.com Vern, Then Fuck You, Jack, http://www.geocities.com/outlawvern Jeff Vorndam, About Film, http://www.aboutfilm.com Brian Webster, Apollo Guide/Netflix, http://www.apolloguide.com
For further information about Cinemarati or the 4th Annual Cinemarati Awards, please email gabrielshanks@cinemarati.org, or call (201) 686-9131.
Ringer Spy Nazz attended the MANY press confrences during the ROTK media blitz last month. In this article he chats with producer Barrie Osborne.
Special thanks to Rip It Up Magazine in South Australia for this transcript
Barrie Osborne at the ROTK Premiere in Berlin
Barrie Osborne (producer – now a proud citizen of New Zealand):
How much involvement did the producers have in casting the films?
BO: “Pete and Fran ultimately picked the cast but they would show us testing tapes people they were considering to cast. We’d get together and say, ‘yes that’s a good idea. Don’t like that idea’ There were a few people I had a hand in directly – in particular Hugo Weaving of course. When it came to Elrond, they weren’t sure who to go with. I said Hugo and they said, ‘wow, do you think we could get Hugo?’ I said, yeah.
“Elijah got on the film by sending in his own casting tape because he was totally overlooked.”
What about Viggo?
BO: “Viggo came in late because we had someone else cast in the role [Stuart Townsend]. It was an idea that Pete and Fran had, to go with an unknown Aragorn so he could be this ranger that no one knows about. It would have been an interesting journey but – not that he wasn’t a good actor – he was just too young for the role. He himself felt that.
“We were extremely fortunate to get Viggo. I think early on, [Executive Producer of New Line] Mark Ordesky kinda pushed the idea of Viggo. Then Peter and Fran, when they decided the other actor wasn’t going to work out and we brought in Viggo, there could have been nobody better than Viggo to play that role. He was terrific. Not only did he become King of Gondor but he also became a leader and example for the rest of the cast. He and Ian McKellen were both champion actors, really professional, really dedicated and really committed. So they set the best example to the younger cast members about how you conduct yourself on-set; how to conduct yourself professionally and still have a good time.”
As producer, was there moment were you could have a sigh of relief?
BO: “No [laughter]. I think when it’s all done I really do feel – and I don’t know if I used this analogy already in this group – that I stuck my fingers in the power-point and someone just turned off the electricity after five years; because it’s been a pretty intense experience. Making any movie is an intense experience but we’ve done this for five years – or I have. Normally you finish a movie and take a couple of months off and get to relax and regain your perspective. We’ve never had that opportunity. We’ve gone right from one movie to the next one. It’s been really intense.”
The Academy Awards is that just something that, if it happens, it happens?
BO: “The way I look at is, we made really classic movies and I think those stand the test of time. I know they will. I think the work on these films is as good as the work on any film. Getting honoured is getting nominated. Winning is somewhat a stroke of luck depending on the circumstances, depending on whatever other films are out, depending on what captures people’s imaginations at that particular time. Certainly I’d like to win. It’d be fun to win and it’d be a great honour. I’d love to see Peter win best director. He deserves it and it would also be a great honour but it is dependent on so many other factors that I don’t really feel hung up on it. Going to the awards is a great celebration of film.”
