Wednesday, February 12, 1997
FILM:
‘The English Patient,’ ‘Jerry Maguire’ fare
predictably well; Madonna, ‘Evita’ passed overBy Brandon
Wilson
Daily Bruin Staff
The energy at the Academy building early Tuesday morning was
almost enough to make it seem later than 5:30 a.m. Despite the
ungodly hour, the press and all else present were abuzz as the
nominees for the 1996 Academy Awards were announced by Academy
president and film director Arthur Hiller and last year’s Best
Supporting Actress Mira Sorvino.
Sorvino began the proceedings by announcing the Best Supporting
Actor category, which included Cuba Gooding Jr. for his turn as
flamboyant jock Rod Tidwell in "Jerry Maguire," Mamet-veteran
William H. Macy for his role as the hapless and immoral Jerry
Lundegaard in "Fargo," Armin Mueller-Stahl for his iron-fisted
patriarch in "Shine," newcomer Edward Norton for his role as a
criminal on trial in "Primal Fear," and James Woods for his
performance of aged and unrepentant Klansman Byron De La Beckwith
in "Ghosts of Mississippi."
Snagging a Best Supporting Actress nod for the second year in a
row (last year for "Nixon"), Joan Allen led the category with a
nomination for her turn in "The Crucible," sentimental favorite
Lauren Bacall was nominated for her Golden Globe winning turn as
Streisand’s mother in "The Mirror Has Two Faces," Juliette Binoche
received a mention for her role as a nurse in "The English
Patient," Barbara Hershey was cited for her turn as the duplicitous
aristocrat Lady Serena in "The Portrait of a Lady," and Marianne
Jean-Baptiste took the last spot with her nomination as a woman
reunited with the mother her who gave her away in "Secrets and
Lies."
The Best Actor category was a rather predictable list, with one
huge exception. The Golden Globe winners were accounted for: Tom
Cruise for his role as a sports agent slowly evolving into a human
being in "Jerry Maguire," and Aussie stage veteran Geoffrey Rush
for his role as the disturbed piano virtuoso David Helfgott in
"Shine." Also on hand were Ralph Fiennes for his romantic lead in
"The English Patient," Woody Harrelson for his portrayal of smut
kingpin/free speech crusader Larry Flynt in "The People vs. Larry
Flynt," and the surprise of the morning: Billy Bob Thornton’s
nomination as a mildly retarded parolee in "Sling Blade" (which he
also wrote and directed).
More new faces cropped up in the Best Actress race: Diane Keaton
was the only familiar name in the category, nominated for her role
as a dying woman in "Marvin’s Room." New to the proceedings are
three actresses from the U.K.: Brenda Blethyn for her role as a
beleaguered mum reunited with the daughter she gave away in
"Secrets and Lies," Kristin Scott Thomas (who simply deserves a
special award for endurance after surviving her 1986 debut in
Prince’s ghastly "Under the Cherry Moon") was nominated for her
role in "The English Patient," and Emily Watson was nominated for
her amazing performance as a young innocent turned martyr in
"Breaking the Waves." Frances McDormand (who once was nominated for
Best Supporting Actress for "Mississippi Burning") was recognized
for her portrayal of intrepid Brainerd lawwoman Marge Gunderson in
"Fargo."
McDormand’s director/husband Joel Coen (one half of the
incomparable Coen Brothers duo) was one of the nominees for Best
Director for his work on "Fargo." Also nominated was Anthony
Minghella, who struggled long and hard to bring "The English
Patient" to the big screen, two-time winner Milos Forman was cited
for his work on "The People vs. Larry Flynt," Scott Hicks was
nominated for his direction of the Australian melodrama "Shine" and
Britain’s Mike Leigh rounded out the category with a nomination for
his work on "Secrets and Lies."
Three in the Best Director race are also up for Best Original
Screenplay, including Joel and Ethan Coen for "Fargo," Mike Leigh
for "Secrets and Lies" (even though Leigh’s trademark technique
calls for story and character development through weeks of improv
with his actors), and Scott Hicks with Jan Sardi for "Shine."
Cameron Crowe joined the ranks with his nomination for the script
of "Jerry Maguire," and American indie icon John Sayles was cited
for his screenplay for "Lone Star."
The legendary playwright Arthur Miller received a nomination for
Best Adapted Screenplay (from material previously published in
another medium) for his classic "The Crucible," Anthony Minghella
received his second nod for his screenwriting chores on "The
English Patient," surprise-of-the-morning Billy Bob Thornton also
received his second nomination for his turn as writer on "Sling
Blade," Kenneth Branagh was cited for his full-length "Hamlet" and
John Hodge (who last year gave up screenwriting to return to his
career practicing medicine) was nominated for his adaptation of
Irvine Welsh’s cult novel "Trainspotting."
Among the Best Foreign Language films were current releases
"Ridicule" (France), "Kolya" (Czech Republic) and "Prisoner of the
Mountain" (Russia).
And now, the big one: for Best Picture we have "The English
Patient," "Fargo," "Jerry Maguire," "Secrets and Lies" and
"Shine."
While the various nominations for "The English Patient" and
"Jerry Maguire" (Crowe’s film has become mainstream Hollywood’s
sole representative in the Oscar bid) were widely predicted, the
nomination of "Fargo," which many considered too off-beat and too
dark for Academy tastes, came as a mild surprise to many, making
for yet another interesting entry into the already fascinating
career of the Coen Brothers. "Shine" was also an odds-on favorite
for multiple nominations, as was "Secret and Lies" to some degree.
But it is the coup of Billy Bob Thornton and his
little-movie-that-could "Sling Blade" that will be heralded as this
year’s Cinderella, whether Thornton takes any statues home or
not.
Of course, it’s the omissions that usually set tongues a-wagging
once nominations are released, and none are so striking as the
shut-out of "Evita" and Madonna. Rarely does the winner of a Best
Actress Golden Globe (for Musical or Comedy) not even get an Oscar
nomination, let alone not take the prize. Another longshot favorite
not to materialize was Courtney Love’s bid for Best Supporting
Actress for her role in "The People vs. Larry Flynt." Despite
whatever praise these two earned last year, they’ll have to get a
lot more praise and pay a lot more dues before the conservative
Academy will even begin to consider them.
Most surprising is the proliferation of indie cinema in Oscar’s
sacred ranks. From the "Fargo" nominations, to the nominations of
Billy Bob Thornton, and inclusion of some performances in far
off-Hollywood productions, like Emily Watson and/or Marianne
Jean-Baptiste, it is encouraging to see the Academy looking a
little farther to find nominees on whom to bestow their honor. Of
course, the quality of mainstream Hollywood films has everything to
do with the increasing diversification on Oscar ballots, and once
again, we see that line between indie and Hollywood getting ever so
blurry and harder to find.
Columbia TriStar
Tom Cruise was nominated for Best Actor for the film "Jerry
Maguire," which also won a Best Picture nomination in the 69th
Annual Academy Awards.