Sixth Annual Gay Guide to the Oscars: just when we thought it would be the straightest Academy Awards in years, along came Gosford Park, Mulholland Drive, and, yes, even Monsters, Inc. Here's our take on what's gay and what's not at Hollywood's self-love fest. (The Hollywood Issue).A Beautiful Mind Why It's Here It's considered a front-runner in many top categories--including Best Picture, Best Director (Ron Howard), Best Actor (Russell Crowe), Best Supporting Actress supporting actress n → attrice f non protagonista (Jennifer Connelly), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Akiva Goldsman)--even though it veers way off from Sylvia Nasar's John Nash biography, on which it's based. And therein lies a tale [see cover story, page 38]. Why We Care Controversy aside, we're mostly excited about the work of out production designer Wynn Thomas, to say nothing of out actor Anthony Rapp, playing a character who we're pretty sure actually existed. Alas, neither was named among Mind's eight nominations. Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (French for Red Mill or windmill) is a traditional cabaret, built in 1889 by Joseph Oller, who already owned the Paris Olympia. Why It's Here Recipient of eight nominations (including Best Picture and Best Actress for Nicole Kidman), it was shafted out of at least two more--Best Director for Baz Luhrmann [see story, page 60] and Best Actor for Ewan McGregor. Why We Care If you have to ask, you're reading the wrong magazine; Moulin Rouge came close to giving Hedwig and the Angry Inch a run for its money as gayest musical of 2001. We're also thrilled that the costumes (by Catherine Martin and gay designer Angus Strathie Angus Strathie is an Australian costume designer. Biography Angus Strathie has had a long professional career in costume design. A friend and longtime colleague of Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, one of his earliest projects was the cult favourite Strictly Ballroom, a ) picked up a nomination. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Why It's Here Nomination-wise, Rings rules them all with a total of 13. Why We Care It's payback time for Sir Ian McKellen, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as wizard Gandalf the Grey--and this time there's no Roberto Benigni in the room. (Yes, it was McKellen's heartbreaking performance in Gods and Monsters that was snubbed by the Academy three years ago in favor of that Italian seat-climber.) No, there's no overt gay content in the Rings saga, but many a viewer has commented on the simmering homo subtext sub·text n. 1. The implicit meaning or theme of a literary text. 2. The underlying personality of a dramatic character as implied or indicated by a script or text and interpreted by an actor in performance. , and hobbit-lovers found themselves wishing that Burger King had introduced the Samwise-Frodo sandwich after watching the best-buddy frolicking of Sean Astin and dinner-plate-eyed Elijah Wood. Gosford Park Why It's Here Robert Altman goes Merchant-Ivory for a total of seven nods, including Best Picture. Why We Care The movie's cast of characters--and murder suspects--includes real-life gay actor Ivor Novello [see page 55] as well as a fictional gay producer, played by Bob Balaban [see page 52]; an ambitio-sexual valet, played by Ryan Phillippe; and various gay servants, not to mention characters portrayed by out actors Stephen Fry and Derek Jacobi as well as Helen Mirren, that pinup pin·up n. 1. a. A picture, especially of a sexually attractive person, that is displayed on a wall. b. A person considered a suitable model for such a picture. 2. for the sapphic set. And then there are Richard E. Grant's eyebrows, which are the facial-hair equivalent of George Sanders playing Addison DeWitt in All About Eve. Iris Why It's Here Yet another deserved nomination for Dame Judi Dench, plus nods for Jim Broadbent and Kate Winslet. Just as with Titanic, Kate and an older actor are up for playing the same character at different ages. Why We Care Iris does a great job of matter-of-factly handling the bisexuality of its real-life subject, British novelist Iris Murdoch. Kudos to director and co-writer Richard Eyre's beautiful mind for not dropping the bisexuality for fear that people might think it's a side effect of Alzheimer's. On a lighter note, we think Dame Judi has the world's best lesbian hair (which she used earlier this year to play an actual lesbian in The Shipping News). Jerry Falwell alert: This film contains Teletubbies. Mulholland Drive Why It's Here The ever-iconoclastic David Lynch snags another Best Director nod. Why We Care The Straight Story this ain't, what with the hot lesbian action between newcomers-to-watch Naomi Watts and Laura Elena Harring. In the Bedroom Why It's Here This year's Cinderella story, a low-budget indie that was lauded by critics and racked up five major nominations (including Best Picture) with its story of a family rocked by violence following an affair. Why We Care It's pretty much a zero on the gay scale, but we like it so much, we're determined to find connections. Let's see, there's Nick Stahl, who sandwiched this straitlaced college-guy role in between performances as a closeted clos·et·ed adj. Being In a state of secrecy or cautious privacy. gay bully in Bully and an androgynous an·drog·y·nous adj. 1. Biology Having both female and male characteristics; hermaphroditic. 2. Being neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine, as in dress, appearance, or behavior. lost soul with eyeliner in The Sleepy Time Gal [see page 70]. There's nominee Tom Wilkinson, who played supporting roles in both Priest and Wilde, and Marisa Tomei, who had a lesbian turn onstage in Tony Kushner's Slavs! And let's not forget Sissy Spacek, whose performance as Carrie made her the patron saint of high school misfits, gay and straight, everywhere. Ghost World Why It's Here Speaking of high school misfits, this delicious adaptation of Dan Clowes's graphic novel got a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination for Clowes and director Terry Zwigoff. Why We Care Steve Buscemi, robbed of a Best Supporting Actor nomination this year, essentially launched his illustrious film career in Bill Sherwood's groundbreaking gay indie Parting Glances. And that opening sequence, in which Thora Birch shimmies to a number from the Bollywood musical Gumnaam, was just too fabulous. Monster's Ball Why It's Here The always-beautiful Halle Berry received her first Academy notice for her gritty, down-and-dirty role as a death-row widow who starts her life over with the unlikely help of the prison guard (Billy Bob Thornton) who took her husband to the chair. Why We Care Is Billy Bob a lesbian or what? Last year he got to make steamy love on-screen on·screen or on-screen adj. & adv. 1. As shown on a movie, television, or display screen. 2. Within public view; in public. with Berry and with Cate Blanchett (in Bandits) before going home to Angelina Jolie. Some dykes have all the luck. Bridget Jones's Diary Why It's Here A little accent and a little love--Texan Renee Zellweger got a Best Actress nod for convincing the English-speaking world that she could step into the alcohol-stained shoes of the fin de siecle Fin` de sie´cle 1. Lit., end of the century; - mostly used adjectively in English to signify: belonging to, or characteristic of, the close of the 19th century. heroine beloved of single women and gay men the world over. Why We Care Like nearly all urban singleton women, Bridget has a gay pal (Tom, played by James Callis), and like almost no women, she has Robbie Williams singing a song about her on the soundtrack ("Have You Met Miss Jones?"). Beyond that, we are all of us Bridget Jones deep inside. The Affair of the Necklace Why It's Here A Best Costume Design nomination for Milena Canonero. Why We Care It's the softer side of Swank--after Hilary butched it up in Boys Don't Cry, along comes this overstuffed o·ver·stuff tr.v. o·ver·stuffed, o·ver·stuff·ing, over·stuffs 1. To stuff too much into: overstuff a suitcase. 2. To upholster (an armchair, for example) deeply and thickly. movie to remind us, yes, she can be a girly girl. A.I. and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Why They're Here Each of these fantasies is represented in the "lesser" categories, like Visual Effects (A.I.), and John Williams is competing against himself as the composer for both movies. Why We Care It's the eye candy factor: Jude Law's Gigolo gig·o·lo n. pl. gig·o·los 1. A man who has a continuing sexual relationship with and receives financial support from a woman. 2. A man who is hired as an escort or a dancing partner for a woman. Joe robot in A.I. left a lot of gay men wishing for better living through circuitry, while Harry Potter's provocatively named Sean Biggerstaff as Quidditch team captain Oliver Wood left many wanting to chase after that golden snitch snitch Slang v. snitched, snitch·ing, snitch·es v.tr. To steal (something, usually something of little value); pilfer. See Synonyms at steal. v.intr. . The Royal Tenenbaums Why It's Here Wes Anderson's glossy take on Franny and Zooey Franny and Zooey former child prodigies’ lives are misshapen by their early exploitation. [Am. Lit.: J. D. Salinger Franny and Zooey] See : Precociousness and other New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of stories is vastly underrepresented un·der·rep·re·sent·ed adj. Insufficiently or inadequately represented: the underrepresented minority groups, ignored by the government. , with just an Original Screenplay nomination. Why We Care Blink during the litany of adulteries committed by Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow) and you'll miss her lesbian liaison in Paris. Margot hops into lesbianism lesbianism: see homosexuality. lesbianism also called sapphism or female homosexuality, the quality or state of intense emotional and usually erotic attraction of a woman to another woman. faster than a Smith freshman and out again even faster. Monsters, Inc. Why It's Here It's up for the inaugural Best Animated Feature award, and its nomination in both music categories brings Randy Newman's tally of Oscar nods up to a gazillion ga·zil·lion n. Informal An indefinitely large number: "The crowd cheered wildly . . . as gazillions of balloons poured down from the rafters" Tom Shales. and two. Why We Care At last, a family movie about the horrors of the closet! Black Hawk Down Why It's Here Best Director and Best 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 nominations, among others. Why We Care We don't really, even though we tried to squeeze in a Boys in the Bandages joke. If we're going to watch men and women in (or out of) uniform, let them be naked and glistening glis·ten intr.v. glis·tened, glis·ten·ing, glis·tens To shine by reflection with a sparkling luster. See Synonyms at flash. n. A sparkling, lustrous shine. like Colin Farrell and Matthew Davis in Tigerland. Memento Why It's Here This convoluted movie about a man with short-term memory short-term memory n. Abbr. STM The phase of the memory process in which stimuli that have been recognized and registered are stored briefly. loss relies heavily on its screenplay and editing to make sense, so it's only fair that it's named in both categories. Why We Care We knew five minutes ago, but then we forgot. |
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