ANALYSIS: ALL'S FAIR IN `LOVE' AND WAR.Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Writer The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences must feel collectively good about itself for choosing the literary over the lethal at Sunday's awards ceremony. With seven Oscars, including the best picture prize, ``Shakespeare in Love'' took down longtime front-runner ``Saving Private Ryan,'' which earned a deserved statuette for director Steven Spielberg Noun 1. Steven Spielberg - United States filmmaker (born in 1947) Spielberg and four technical craft awards for the evening's second highest tally. However literate ``Love'' may seem, though, can the academy voters truly convince themselves in the morning that this seductively clever entertainment even stands close to ``Ryan'' as a milestone of visual storytelling? The category is, after all, called best picture, not best written or spoken lines. But heck, let's be charitable. It's the end of the millennium, and everybody's a little out of whack about it. There's no reason why this year's Oscars shouldn't fit right in with the overall zeitgeist. Indeed, for both good and ill, the 71st Academy Awards was awash in change of era summings-up, scab-pickings and generational reconciliations. Spielberg's thanks to his father for teaching him to honor the past essentially keynoted the whole evening. From John Glenn's surprise appearance to Martin Scorsese's elegant montage of the departed Frank Sinatra's best filmed moments; from Gen. Colin Powell's simple tribute to our greatest generation's wartime sacrifices to the troublesome emblem of that same age group's political agonies and human frailties, Elia Kazan Noun 1. Elia Kazan - United States stage and screen director (born in Turkey) and believer in method acting (1909-2003) Elia Kazanjoglous, Kazan ; from that Roy Rogers
Leonard Franklin Slye (November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), who became famous as Roy Rogers, was a singer and cowboy actor. hymn to cowboy heaven to the too little, too late (but nonetheless crucial) acknowledgment of our most prescient pre·scient adj. 1. Of or relating to prescience. 2. Possessing prescience. [French, from Old French, from Latin praesci cinematic futurist, the never-Oscar'd Stanley Kubrick Noun 1. Stanley Kubrick - United States filmmaker (born in 1928) Kubrick , it was truly a night of taking stock. All Hollywood style, naturally, but a welcome and perhaps even necessary change from the usual unfiltered Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. Remove this template after wikifying. This article has been tagged since self-congratulation. And thanks to Jim Carrey “James Carrey” redirects here. For the murder conspirator, see James Carey. James Eugene Carrey (born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian actor and comedian. blurting out the banished, non-p.c. phrase ``And the winner is ...,'' we were reminded of what this show always was, is and will be really all about. As for those winners, Roberto Benigni copping the best actor award for ``Life Is Beautiful'' hopefully means that Americans will appreciate foreign films to at least partially the extent that the rest of the world enjoys our movies. (Benigni is the first male actor to win for a non-English language performance.) That, at least, is the optimistic way of spinning the fact that difficult but towering work from ``Gods and Monsters' '' Ian McKellen and ``Affliction's'' Nick Nolte Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, model, and producer. Biography Early life Nolte was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the son of Helen (née King), a department store buyer, and Franklin Nolte, a farmer's son who scared the voters off. That said, with Nolte co-star James Coburn's supporting actor supporting actor n → attore m non protagonista award, the voters seemed to go back to their recently abandoned practice of noticing long-overlooked veterans. But rather than making it a purely sentimental journey, they recognized Coburn for playing an uncompromisingly vicious character - in an unrelentingly dark film that represents a newer, healthier academy trend to acknowledge true and daring independent filmmaking. The female acting choices were anything but adventurous, but delightfully so. And the ``Shakespeare'' ladies, weepy Gwyneth Paltrow and regal Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA, (born 9 December 1934), usually known as Dame Judi Dench, is an Academy Award, Golden Globe, Tony, three-time BAFTA, and six-time Laurence Olivier Award-winning English actress. , made a symbolically felicitous fe·lic·i·tous adj. 1. Admirably suited; apt: a felicitous comparison. 2. Exhibiting an agreeably appropriate manner or style: a felicitous writer. 3. age pair - Paltrow was the youngest of the best-actress nominees and Dench the eldest of the supporting actresses. A nice end-of-century twosome if ever there was one. Favorite award of the evening: Bill Condon Bill Condon (born William Condon on October 22, 1955) is an Academy Award winning American screenwriter and director. Biography Condon was born in New York City and attended Regis High School and Columbia College of Columbia University, where he studied philosophy. for his brilliantly adapted, psychologically astute ``Gods and Monsters'' screenplay. Favorite non-surprise: as previously admitted, ``Shakespeare's'' original (though some claim pilfered) script was a joy to ... well, behold's not the right word, but Marc Norman Marc Norman (born Los Angeles, California, 1941) is an American screenwriter. He won, with Tom Stoppard the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, in the 71st Academy Awards of 1998, for his script of "Shakespeare in Love". and Tom Stoppard's cascades of good ones gave us the most fun to be had in a theater this year. Favorite snub: The punishingly pretentious ``The Thin Red Line'' got all that it deserved - zilch. The evening's most anticipated controversy, the lifetime achievement award to landmark filmmaker and blacklist (1) A list of e-mail addresses of known spammers. See spam, spam filter, Blacklist of Internet Advertisers, greylisting and blackholing. Contrast with white list. (2) A list of Web sites that are considered off limits or dangerous. name-namer Kazan, proved, well, wimpy Wimpy sloppily dressed comic strip character; always “forgets” to pay for hamburgers. [Comics: “Popeye” in Horn, 657–658] See : Irresponsibility . Of course, ending the film clips on the note of Marlon Brando's pained, post-testifying walk in Kazan's ``On the Waterfront'' could be taken either way. But by adamantly refusing to directly acknowledge the controversy this particular honor has dredged up, the academy actually honored, and settled, nothing. It will be interesting, but no doubt depressing, to read the postgame partisan quarterbacking. Was presenter Martin Scorsese Noun 1. Martin Scorsese - United States filmmaker (born in 1942) Scorsese trying to hide behind Kazan before the old man forced him to accept a hug televised worldwide? Did co-presenter Robert De Niro Noun 1. Robert De Niro - United States film actor who frequently plays tough characters (born 1943) De Niro purposely give his caress at arm's length arm's length adj. the description of an agreement made by two parties freely and independently of each other, and without some special relationship, such as being a relative, having another deal on the side or one party having complete control of the other. ? And was that mohawk-gone-weedy haircut of his some arcane, subversive ``Taxi Driver'' reference? Out in the audience, Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beaty (born March 30, 1937) is an Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning American actor, producer, screenwriter and director, known as Warren Beatty. Biography Early life and Education , that most dedicated of Hollywood leftists who also happens to owe his movie career to Kazan, appeared to lead the standing ovation (Meryl Streep Noun 1. Meryl Streep - United States film actress (born in 1949) Streep , Kathy Bates Bates , Katherine Lee 1859-1929. American educator and writer best known for her poem "America the Beautiful," written in 1893 and revised in 1904 and 1911. and Helen Hunt Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Academy Award-winning American actress, perhaps most widely known for her role in the television sitcom Mad About You. were among the Oscar winners who followed). The notable non-applauders broadcast were Nick Nolte and Ed Harris For other persons of the same name, see Edward Harris. Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, known for his performances in The Right Stuff, The Abyss, Apollo 13, Pollock, and - and was a statement being made by having ABC's cameras single out these two never-wons to represent the quiet protesters? Only Chris Rock had the guts to really say anything, and he took a cheap shot using the rodent word. If anything hopeful emerges from this whole, misguided fiasco, it may only be that it doesn't trigger a whole new generation of recalcitrant recriminations - like the old ones, which, it has taught us, will never die. On a cheerier note, the ceremony's expansive spirit was nicely symbolized by Benigni and Spielberg holding hands when the Italian's ``Life Is Beautiful,'' which the ``Schindler's List'' director had reportedly criticized, won the foreign language film award - although that whole category, from presenter Sophia Loren to the extended screening of ``Life'' footage over clips from the other foreign language nominees, smelled mighty like a set-up. Like the three Oscars for ``Life,'' the feature documentary award for the Spielberg-presented Holocaust film ``The Last Days'' continued the academy's habit of honoring works that examine the century's vilest crime. On the other end of the spectrum, the documentary short award for ``The Personals'' director Keiko Ibi surely broke boundaries as the first Oscar ever bestowed on a former Miss Japan Grande Prix. Probably not as big a step toward an international film culture as the night's clown prince, Benigni's, loose-limbed leaps. Looking again to the future, Irving Thalberg award recipient Norman Jewison's plea that young filmmakers ignore demographics and commercialism in favor of good storytelling seemed like the evening's most futile suggestion, ``Shakespeare'' semi-sweep or no. But somebody had to say it. Actually, ``Shakespeare's'' big win could feasibly be attributed to that other major controversy of this year's Oscar season: its distributor, Miramax Films', conspicuously costly get-out-the-vote campaign. It's a tradition as old as Hollywood to spend a lot of money in order to attract attention. And if the final Oscars of this century are any indication, that's one thing we can count on working well into the Y2K See Y2K problem and Y2K compliant. Y2K - Year 2000 millennium. THE WINNERS BEST PICTURE: ``Shakespeare in Love'' BEST DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg, ``Saving Private Ryan'' BEST ACTOR: Roberto Benigni, ``Life is Beautiful'' BEST ACTRESS: Gwyneth Paltrow, ``Shakespeare in Love'' BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: James Coburn, ``Affliction'' BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Judi Dench, ``Shakespeare in Love'' FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: ``Life is Beautiful,'' Italy CINEMATOGRAPHY cinematography: see motion picture photography. cinematography Art and technology of motion-picture photography. It involves the composition of a scene, lighting of the set and actors, choice of cameras, camera angle, and integration of special : ``Saving Private Ryan'' ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard, ``Shakespeare in Love'' ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Bill Condon, ``Gods and Monsters'' ART DIRECTION: ``Shakespeare in Love'' SOUND: ``Saving Private Ryan'' SOUND EFFECTS EDITING: ``Saving Private Ryan'' ORIGINAL MUSICAL OR COMEDY SCORE: ``Shakespeare in Love'' ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE: ``Life is Beautiful,'' Nicola Piovani ORIGINAL SONG: ``When You Believe,'' from ``The Prince of Egypt,'' Stephen Schwartz DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: ``Dancemaker'' DOCUMENTARY (short subject): ``The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years'' COSTUMES: ``Shakespeare in Love'' FILM EDITING:``Saving Private Ryan'' MAKEUP: ``Elizabeth'' ANIMATED SHORT FILM: ``Bunny'' LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM: ``Election Night (Valgaften)'' VISUAL EFFECT: ``What Dreams May Come'' SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL AWARD: Avid Technology Inc. THALBERG AWARD: Norman F. Jewison HONORARY AWARD: Elia Kazan VOICES ``This is a terrible mistake because I used up all my English. ... I would like to be Jupiter and kidnap everybody and lie down in the firmament making love to everybody. '' - Roberto Benigni, after winning best actor ``I have been beaten by Roberto Benigni. He has jumped into my ocean. '' - Jim Carrey ``The biggest-grossing films are not always the best films '' - Norman Jewison, lifetime achievement award winner ``Happy Trails, Roy.'' - Val Kilmer after his tribute to Roy Rogers ``Thank you all very much. I think I could just slip away.'' - Elia Kazan ``I would like to thank Emily Watson, Fernanda Montenegro, my friend Cate Blanchett and the greatest one who ever was - Meryl Streep.'' - Gwyneth Paltrow ``They say the show is running long. I like things that run long.'' - Kevin Costner ``We have to follow academy protocol, Steven Spielberg first, the rest of you on your own.'' - Robin Williams, joking about the Academy Awards policy on fire evacuations ``This is a movie about life and art, and art and life combining. It's called magic.'' - ``Shakespeare in Love'' producer and Miramax honcho Honcho A slang term describing the leader or person in charge of an organization. Notes: The CEO of a company could be referred to as the honcho or "head honcho." See also: CEO, CFO, COO, Insider, Leprechaun Leader Harvey Weinstein ``Another century went by.'' - Whoopi Goldberg, in her closing remarks ``I've produced this show. It's like a dinosaur you have to drag across the stage.'' - Norman Jewison ``Look at this crowd. It's like the million white-man march here. '' - Chris Rock `` `A Bug's Life' - wasn't that `The Linda Tripp Story'? '' - Whoopi Goldberg ``I am the African Queen. '' - Whoopi Goldberg ``He believed that the first take was the best take ... but very often the first take was all he needed. '' - John Travolta, introducing a tribute to the film work of Frank Sinatra ``It was my own fault ... I screwed up. '' - Jim Carrey, presenting the editing award, feigned feigned adj. 1. Not real; pretended: a feigned modesty. 2. Made-up; fictitious. Adj. 1. an emotional breakdown over not being nominated for ``The Truman Show'' ``Thank you, Sophia ... I want you!'' - Roberto Benigni to Sophia Loren ``The first time I saw (``Affliction'') ... in Telluride Telluride (tĕl`yərīd), town (1990 pop. 1,309), seat of San Miguel co., SW Colo., on the San Miguel River in the San Juan Mts., inc. 1887. , people started saying it's really an academy nomination performance. I said, `Really?' I guess it was. '' - James Coburn ``We don't make films like they do in America. Though some wonderful films do get made, we're still babies compared to America. '' - Judi Dench TALLY 7 - ``Shakespeare in Love'' 5 - ``Saving Private Ryan'' 3 - ``Life is Beautiful'' CAPTION(S): 5 Photos, 3 Boxes Photo: (1--Cover--Color) Gwyneth in `Love' David R. Crane/Daily News (2--Color) Roberto Benigni became the first male actor to win for a non-English language best actor performance. David R. Crane/Daily News (3--Color) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: James Coburn, ``Affliction'' David R. Crane/Daily News (4) Tom Hanks, left, shakes hands with astronaut John Glenn, who made a surprise appearance at Sunday's 71st Academy Awards ceremony. David R. Crane/Daily News (5--Color) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Judi Dench, ``Shakespeare in Love'' David Waters/Long Beach Press Telegram Box: (1) THE WINNERS (see text) (2) VOICES (see text) (3) TALLY (see text) |
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