Potential Oscar Candidates for 2002

So far only two films I've seen could be seen as genuine Oscar Contenders - Moulin Rouge and AI.

Moulin Rouge didn't get a great reception in America. This could hurt it. But I'd certainly give it a best picture, director, actor, actress, and a supporting actor nod for Jim Broadbent. It should be nominated for editing and best song too - "Come what May".

AI. Not exactly a success but it could definitely figure. I wouldn't be surprised if Spielberg got a best director nom. And Osment should be nominated for best Actor. I will be genuinely upset if Jude Law doesn't snag a nomination. And if there is a shortage in the supporting actress category then Frances O'Connor could figure. Script? Maybe. Cinematography - A Certainty to win.

Other films that should be genuine contenders.

Gangs of New York. Scorsese needs to be recognised by the Academy. Let's hope this works. Day Lewis could be given a supporting nom. And Diaz is long overdue a nomination.

Ali. This is a real contender. Mann's films are improving all the time. The Insider is a masterpiece. This might be the favourite. Will Smith, if he acts as well as he looks in this film, should definitely be a favourite for the best actor award. I hear that Mario Van Peebles is excellent as well. Maybe a supporting nod?

Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter should be in the technical categories. The Coens will get another script nomination. Amelie should win best foreign film.

Am I forgetting anyone?

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I seriously doubt A.I. or Moulin Rouge will be up for major Oscars (picture, director, acting categories). But then, this is the same Academy who gave frippon' Gladiator awards.


So far the only thing I think will break into some major noms is Memento (an official 2001 release for Academy consideration), which has a virtual lock for Screenplay but should also be on track for Director and Actor (Guy Pearce).

Johnny Depp may finally get recognition, for his work in the otherwise disappointing Blow.

Ben Kingsly could well sneak into the Supporting Actor category for Sexy Beast - though the supporting categories are always overflowing with worthy performances.

Another example of that would be Hector Elizondo, who will get some buzz for his work in Tortilla Soup. Unfortunately nobody saw it.

If Nicole Kidman does finally get her nomination (after being flat-out robbed for To Die For and Eyes Wide Shut), I hope it will be for The Others rather than Moulin Rouge.

As a former Oscar winner and mutliple nominee, you can't discount Anthony Hopkins - though I would almost guarantee it would be for Hearts in Atlantis, and not for playing Dr. Lecter again.

Samuel L. Jackson was fantastic in The Caveman's Valentine, but again, nobody saw it, so that's unlikely.

That goes triple for the German actress Franka Potente, who was amazing in the art-house hit The Princess & the Warrior. But nobody saw it AND it's subtitled (most of the Academy can't even read).

Even with this ultra-patriotism going on right now, Pearl Harbor was too lightweight to get big Oscars.


As with most years, the majority of the Oscar nominations will come from films released from October to December, so it's of course much too early to really speculate.

But if I were a betting man, the only thing I'd plop money on with confidence at this point is Memento.

[Edited by Holden Pike on 10-04-2001]

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My store was supposed to have gotten this in back in August(maybe it was a typo), but we never got it and it pissed me off, cause I have been wanting to see this for some time now.

Memento, YES!
Shrek might get a nod for animation


Can't think of any other movies that might be getting nods, but I think the ones I was thinking of, val, and holden already mentioned

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"Shrek" will win something. LOTR will probably wind Best Adapted Screenplay over "Harry Potter" simply because it's a much more difficult book to adapt. I wonder if we'll see a Best Picture nomination for "Shrek" and LOTR? The latter may very well be deserving of a nomination (not the actual prize, however...unless it's truly mind-blowing)...and I can envision the Academy doing a repeat of their "Babe" nomination (that should've won, BTW)...or the "Beauty and the Beast" nod awhile back..."Shrek" may be worth...but if it is, it's just barely...so I wouldn't bet on it.

I think "Memento" will win 2-3 awards, and might get a Best Picture nomination. Argh...so many great movies! "Final Fantasy" will probably beat the crap out of every other movie vying for an effects/animation award. I wouldn't be surprised if "Ali" took home a few Oscars either. It's amazing how many Oscar-worth pictures (well, seemingly Oscar-worthy...haven't seen them yet) have yet to come out yet! The end of this year is going to be amazing. The visual effects/animation awards are becoming incredibly heated. "Shrek," "Final Fantasy," and "Monsters, Inc." all look worth of such an award. That's tough competition...two of those films are going to be robbed.

Forgot Memento, I feel so stupid. Anyway it doesn't strike me as a very Academy-friendly film. Maybe a screenwriting nomination but little else, I'm afraid. It violates too many Academy rules - non American cast and crew, not very successful commercially, not a studio movie, released early in the year.

Shrek, which I didn't like, but every other person seemed to adore, could have been a runner for best picture, but the new category of best animated film will probably defect it. I hope Monsters Inc. is a blast and beats the stuffing out of that ugly ogre.

Really apart from Gangs of New York and Ali, there doesn't seem to be anything too huge coming out soon. Not forgetting LOTR and Harry of course, but they're not Oscar friendly.

Will Frank Darabont's film starring Jim Carrey and Sam Mendes film with Tom Hanks and Jude Law be out in time? They sound promising.

I don't think Memento will actually win anything other than screenplay (unfortunately), but I do suspect it'll get nominations for Christopher Nolan's direction and Guy Pearce's performance. Joe Pantoliano will, I'm afraid, be lost in the over-abundance of Supporting Actors.

"Memento" had a foreign cast/crew? They all seemed American to me. At least most of them. As for money: I would agree, but I don't think "American Beauty" or "Almost Famous" made a whole lot domestically.

Also, I have to disagree: I think LOTR will pick up an Oscar or two...if either Harry Potter, or LOTR (most likely the latter) doesn't pick up a "Best Adapted Screenplay" statue, I'm going freak out. And, despite what everyone is saying, I do think LOTR could be worthy of a Best Picture nomination...I really do. The excitement and hype surrounding it will be much fresher than that of most other movies...seeing as how it's coming out at the end of the year.

Lord of the Rings has a better chance of getting a non-technical award than Harry Potter but I just don't see it happening.

Critics, I fear, are already sharpening their pencils for these two films anyway. Critics, as you may know, don't like films that are overloaded with hype.

Memento, I may be wrong, had an Australian as its lead, and had a British writer/director. Also, though it was filmed in the States, it was released internationally before it arrived in America and so probably had European financing.

Just checked by the way and Frank Darabont's film with Jim Carrey about a blacklisted writer who loses his memory will be out in time for Oscar season. Should be a contender. Hopefully Carrey will at least get a nomination this time.

I thought so too,but I'm holding my breath for Guy Pierce to just be nominated for best actor.He really deserves that,I don't even care if he wins...just the nomination would please me.The editing had to be a b****to work with too,the whole thing being in reverse...that should win something!

What should be nominated, so far:

Emma Thompson for Wit, actress (I know she's ineligible, but Jesus if she doesn't deserve it)
Haley Joel Osment for A.I., actor
Guy Pearce for Memento, actor
Memento for Screenplay
Ghost World for Adapted Screenplay
Steve Buscemi for Ghost World, supporting actor
Franka Potente for the Princess and the Warrior, actress
Steven Spielberg for Director, AI
Moulin Rouge for editing
Piper Perabo for Lost & Delirious, actress
A.I. for picture
The Princess and the Warrior for picture
The Princess & The Warrior, AI for cinematography
Terry Zwigoff for director, Ghost World


Predictions - guaranteed for a nomination:

Will Smith as best actor for Ali
Martin Scorsese as best director for Gangs of New York
Gangs of New York for picture
Pearl Harbor for song
Moulin Rouge for editing
Ben Kingsley for Sexy Beast, supporting actor


I don't think Harry Potter will be nominated for anything, ditto for Shrek, and I don't think LOTR will do that well either.

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Sherk is an automatic nomination for best picture, moulon rouge also.

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I'll wager you some cold hard cash that Shrek doesn't get a Best Picture nomination. As much or as little as you want to bet, I'm game.

I'm not going to count anything that's not out yet, but I think this year Ali, Gangs of NY, The Man Who Wasn't There, K-PAX, LOTR, Vanilla Sky, The Majestic (the Daronbont one, I think its called that) have Oscar written all over them

So far though, heres what I would nominate

moulin rouge
blow
memento -- deserves the statue
shrek

best actor

guy pierce - memento
johnny depp - blow -- deserves the statue
anthony hopkins - (possibly; for the Hearts in Atlantis)

I forget the other performances I've seen
actress - kidman with the double nom
the others
moulin rouge
renee zellwegger -- bridget jones diary -- globe goes here--

supporting actor

jude law -- ai
joe pantalioni -- memento --deserves the globe --
ray liotta -- blow
paul rubens -- blow

director

spielburg -- ai (he deserves the nomination for the effort, even though the film was a let down to many )
chris nolan -- memento -- winner
maybe Ted Demme for Blow
and the moulin rouge director

what do you dudes think of these picks? I've only seen about 16 films this year, most of them were crap

You're forgetting that we haven't even seen the movies that will surely be contenders.All the smart companies release their "sure-things"at the end of the year.To assure that their movie will be fresh on the minds of the academy come March.Of course earlier released contenders will get a second push at the box office.Last year Billy Elliot didn't get a nomination because the company that released it,also released Chocolat...and they put their money in that one.Billy Elliot was better,it's a lot of politics.I did a research paper on the academy awards...it gave me some insight on why great movies are often overlooked.

Billy Elliot was robbed of a best picture nomination but it wasn't because Miramax pushed Chocolat instead. Miramax didn't produce Billy. Billy Elliot was a Working Title film, I think. Miramax is know for its fondness for Academy Awards and Harvey Weinstein and co. have been very generous let's say to some academy members. That's why the awful, horrible, nauseating Chocolat received a best pic nomination.

Chocolat above Almost Famous and Billy Elliot. I wasn't too pleased.

Sometimes Miramax get it right though. Shakespeare in Love only won because it got a huge push by Miramax and yet that was the right decision. Shakespeare in Love is much more successful than Shaving Ryan's Privates.

This year, Miramax is backing Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York. Please, please, please let this be a classic and give Marty the recognition he deserves.

I dunno, I don't like any attitude that has some famous Director getting an extra boost simply because he "deserves one." I don't really care what he's done in the past...it's like giving the Oscar to Osment just because he's younger, or to Russell Crowe just because Hanks already has so many...or to Scorcese simply because he ought to have one by now. I still think we should judge each year as if no other year has ever existed. They should be in a vacuum.

Has anyone even seen Gangs of New York yet? I think that should be a prerequisit to nominating a movie or director for 'Best'anything.I didn't know that movie had been released.I agree with whoever said Johnny Depp for Blow.He was truely great.
bigval-There was a connection between Billy Elliot and Chocolat.I'm not sure what,I thought it was studio.Could have been producers,now that I think about it.I'll figure it out though...whatever it was,prevented'Billy'from even getting nominated.I think the real travisty was Gladiator winning.

Haley Joel DID deserve the Oscar. Not because he's young, because he was totally believable as a young boy who sees dead people. Who won that year. Michael Caine? "Goodnight you Princes of Maine, goodnight you Kings of New England" Come on. Did you really believe he was a doctor MORE than you believed Osmet was a scared little kid?

Well, I dunno about Caine, but I don't think Osment as the best ACTOR. If he's a 12 year old boy, and he's playing a 10 year old...well, am I supposed to be really impressed? He is a GREAT actor for his age, and a GOOD (borderline very good) actor regardless of his age.

Of course, Billy Elliot could've been robbed of a nomination by the fact that Chocolat was pushed so hard by Miramax even though Miramax didn't have anything to do with Billy Elliot since there are only five nomination slots, Miramax's push (along with their reputation as purveyors of Oscar-worthy films) could have pushed the more-worthy Billy Elliot aside in the minds of the people who make the nominations.

As for Shrek, isn't there a separate Animation category now?

It's really kind of hard to believe that Scorsese hasn't won a Best Director Oscar yet since he is so widely hailed as greatness in the film community. I see he's been nominated three times for Best Director (for Raging Bull, The Last Temptation of Christ and Goodfellas) and never won. If someone on the street had asked me whether Scorsese had won an Oscar before, I would've assumed he had at some point. I'd have assumed he won for Taxi Driver as a matter of fact (forgetting that "Rocky", "Network" and "All the President's Men" were the same year as "Taxi Driver". I'm surprised to see that Scorsese wasn't even nominated for Taxi Driver).