Oscar Reflections

Reflections
on
Oscar 2004

Well, as absolutely everyone predicted, THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING completely dominated this year’s Oscar ceremony, proving Jan’s contention that awards for RETURN OF THE KING were really intended to reward the entire RINGS TRILOGY & not just KING itself. (How else to explain a sweep that included every single nominee, including the sweet but totally inconsequential little song INTO THE WEST???)

We’re fine with it. As we said in the note on our Oscar Picks page, if you’ve seen the expanded DVD versions of both THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING and THE TWO TOWERS, (which we have) you’re in a better position to appreciate the enormity of the collective accomplishment. But once Billy Crystal finished his hilarious opening number, it was a pretty boring night.

Even the fashion show was duller than usual, with some of Hollywood’s most stunning ladies (including Oscar winners Charlize Theron & Renee Zellweger as well as presenters Nicole Kidman & Julia Roberts) looking less than their best.

For the record, top candidates for FF2’s 2004 Best Dressed list were Shohreh Aghdashloo, Angelina Jolie, Diane Lane, & Naomi Watts, with top honors going to Jennifer Garner (a gorgeous goddess in her pumpkin-colored number from vintage Valentino).

Special kudos too to Marcia Gay Harden (the very picture of maternal elegance) & Diane Keaton (always herself – completely unapologetic & totally inspirational).

The most exciting news this year came the day the nominations were announced. However, despite Jan’s best attempt to get the word out, almost no one noticed. (When the powers that be changed the date of the Oscars from March to February, they may have known they’d be bumping into the Presidential Primary season, but they could never have anticipated the media frenzy over Mel Gibson’s THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST which completely eclipsed every other event on planet Earth.)

Nevertheless, this year’s news for women filmmakers was huge, & way beyond the Coppola header. Three of this year's Best Actress nominees were in films directed by women, & four were in films written by women. This was absolutely unprecedented.

Women's names appeared in twice in the Best Original Screenplay category & once in the Best Adapted Screenplay category, as well as behind-the-scenes in the Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor & Best Supporting Actress categories. Fully 50% of this year’s highest acting nominations went to roles written by women screenwriters (Castle-Hughes, Keaton, Morton, Murray, Theron).

Remember, it’s up to every one of us to make these numbers “a trend” rather than just “a fluke.” With exciting new filmmakers like Patty Jenkins (director of MONSTER) on the scene, there’s reason for optimism!!!

Click here to read Jan’s full article in Women’s eNews.

Here are all the facts & statistics:

Year	Films	Noms	Directors	Writers	"Impact"
2003	8	15	6	11	37.5%
2002	3	4	1	3	10%
2001	3	6	2	5	15%
2000	2	7	0	2	17.5%

Note: “Percent Impact” was determined by counting the number of nominations given to films in which women served “behind-the-scenes” as either director &/or screenwriter the 8 “major categories” (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay & Best Original Screenplay).

2004 Oscar Nominations

Films & Categories	Roles & Results
AMERICAN SPLENDOR Best Adapted Screenplay	Shari Springer Berman (D/SW)
IN AMERICA Best Actress (Samantha Morton) Best Supporting Actor (Djimon Hounsou) Best Original Screenplay	Kirsten & Naomi Sheridan (SW) Note: Djimon Hounsou won Best Supporting Actor at this year’s Spirit Awards
LOST IN TRANSLATION Best Actor (Bill Murray) Best Director Best Picture Best Original Screenplay	Sofia Coppola (D/SW) Note: Coppola won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar. The film won Spirit Awards in all four categories.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING Best Adapted Screenplay Best Director Best Picture	Philippa Boyens & Fran Walsh (SW) Note: The film won these three Oscars as well as 8 more.
MONSTER Best Actress (Charlize Theron)	Patty Jenkins (D/SW) Note: Charlize Theron won Best Actress at both the Oscars & the Spirit Awards. Jenkins won the Spirit Award for Best First Feature.
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE Best Actress (Diane Keaton)	Nancy Meyers (D/SW) Note: Diane Keaton won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical.
THIRTEEN Best Supporting Actress (Holly Hunter)	Catherine Hardwicke (D/SW) Nikki Reed (SW) Note: Nikki Reed won the Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance.
WHALE RIDER Best Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes)	Niki Caro (D/SW) Note: Niki Caro won the Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film.

Bottom line:

In 2004, 11 women served as director &/or screenwriter on 8 Oscar-nominated films,
& these 8 films garnered a total of 13 Oscars & 9 Spirit Awards!!!

Compare 2003 Oscar Nominations

Films & Categories	Roles & Results
FRIDA Best Actress (Salma Hayek)	Julie Taymor (D) Note: Even though Taymor was not nominated, the film itself received 6 nominations & won 2 Oscars (Best Make-Up & Best Score).
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS Best Picture	Philippa Boyens & Fran Walsh (SW) Note: 2003 was not RINGS’ year.
MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING Best Original Screenplay	Nia Vardalos (SW) Note: Nia Vardalos won the Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance.

Compare 2002 Oscar Nominations

Films & Categories	Roles & Results
BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY Best Actress (Renee Zellweger)	Sharon Maguire (D) Helen Fielding (SW) Note: Shut-Out @ Oscars.
I AM SAM Best Actor (Sean Penn)	Kristine Johnson (SW) Jessie Nelson (D/SW) Note: Shut-Out @ Oscars.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS Best Adapted Screenplay Best Director Best Picture Best Supporting Actor	Philippa Boyens & Fran Walsh (SW) Note: Shut-Out @ Oscars.

Compare 2001 Oscar Nominations

Films & Categories	Roles & Results
ERIN BROCKOVICH Best Actress (Julia Roberts) Best Director Best Original Screenplay Best Picture Best Supporting Actor (Albert Finney	Susannah Grant (SW) Note: Julia Roberts won the Oscar for Best Actress.
POLLOCK Best Actor (Ed Harris) Best Supporting Actress (Marcia Gay Harden)	Barbara Turner (SW) Note: Marcia Gay Harden won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

For related articles on FF2, read:

	JAN CHATS WITH SCREENWRITER BARBARA TURNER
	JAN CHATS WITH PROFESSOR MARTHA LAUZEN
	JAN’S SOAPBOX: 65 FILMS DIRECTED BY WOMEN
	SPOTLIGHT ON THE CELLULOID CEILING: WHAT YOU CAN DO!
	WHY JAN’S ROOTING FOR THE YA-YA’s