for the complete listing of winners go to the oscars website and search for the 2003 winners.
Best Picture: SEABISCUIT
A touching film about a horse that brought the nation and the people around him hope during the Great Depression. The use of narration with photos from the great depression and other things around the time, make it a well planned great picture worthy of the title of best picture.
Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn in MYSTIC RIVER
Sean Penn in a pivotal role as a father finding out his daughter is dead, and his search for the killer to get revenge. The sight of Sean Penn crying and dealing with the death of his daughter is very well done.
Actor in a Supporting Role: Tim Robbins in MYSTIC RIVER
Tim Robbins as a man dealing with his abuse at a young age by priests, his speech about "Vampires" in the movie sold me on his potential oscar win.
Actress in a Leading Role: Samantha Morton in IN AMERICA
Samantha Morton, as the wife and mother in a family two daughters and their dad of Irish decent, deal with life in New York City, and also the burden of the loss of their young family member who died. Samantha's acting shows off the struggle her character has with not only with her husband but her pent up grief over her son who died.
Actress in a Supporting Role: Marcia Gay Harden in MYSTIC RIVER
Marcia Gay Harden, playing the wife to Tim Robbins character, she shows off the worry her character has when her husband comes home and the fear that ensues that causes a crucial outcome in the plot.
Animated Feature Film: FINDING NEMO
The latest and last Disney/Pixar animated film, The story of a lost clownfish and his father's search to find him. Along the way we meet interesting characters and learn lots of interesting things like how a story being told about a father's search for his lost child (a bit exagerrated to make it sound interesting) makes the son appreciate his father. This is also according to Disney the latest in the "single Father/Parent" storyline in Disney history.What comes up is a heartfelt story that will touch everyone's heart.
Art Direction: SEABISCUIT
Cinematography: SEABISCUIT
Costume Design: SEABISCUIT
Directing: Clint Eastwood MYSTIC RIVER
Out of all the director's nominated.
Clint Eastwood is one of the last of the autuers of film, His work in Mystic River is one of his best. He know just what to ask his crew and actors what to do, and even does narration for the teaser trailer.
Documentary Feature: MY ARCHITECT
From Oscar.com " When Louis Kahn died in 1974, his legacy included more than just his influential contributions to modern architecture:
Kahn had led separate lives with three different sets of women and children. In an attempt to come to terms with his complicated feelings for his father, Kahn's illegitimate son Nathaniel embarks on an exploration of his work."
Documentary Short Subject: CHERNOBYL HEART
From Oscar.com " In Belarus, the country most seriously contaminated by the Chernobyl accident, the terrible effects of radiation are seen in the high levels of cancer, birth defects, and heart conditions suffered by the region's children." A very sad and terrible event in 1987, The worst Nuclear accident in world history, When ever I hear anything about Chernobyl (or as the Ukranian's now call it Chornobyl) including a PC Survival Game "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl" set in the future, I feel bad and upset that nuclear technology although very helpful is a serious threat to humanity and the world as a whole.
Film Editing: SEABISCUIT
Foreign Language Film: TWIN SISTERS (Germany)
From Oscar.com " In Germany during the 1920s, twin sisters are separated following the death of their parents. One sister is raised by a well-to-do aunt in Holland
while the other grows up in difficult circumstances on a German farm owned by an uncle." The idea of Twins seperated and living in opposite situations is something I think Oscar would like. A sort of compare/contrast character study.
Makeup: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
The makeup in the previous movies where fantastic so its likely that this is a definate pick.
Hey, it won, so it shows how good it is.
Music (Score): FINDING NEMO
A sweet score that fits the movie good.
Music (Song): "You Will Be My Ain True Love" from COLD MOUNTAIN
I can sum this up in a name "Sting". My favorite music artist.
Short Film - Animated: NIBBLES
From Oscar.com " A father takes his sons fishing in the forests of Canada
...with a few stops along the way."
I can sum this up in one word "Canada", My destination for relaxing in Summer.
Short Film - Live Action: SQUASH
From Oscar.com " Alexandre's boss belittles him as they play squash,
and then challenges him to either win the game or lose his job."
A hard game but an easy one to film. as well as the ultimate challenge used in the plot.
Sound Mixing: SEABISCUIT
Sound Editing: FINDING NEMO
Visual Effects: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
The use of computer animation in the crowd battle scenes by having each character (called an Agent in the computer program) have an AI routine where it adjusts its placement and actions by recognizing the actions of other characters around it. This technique is quite special in that future movies with large crowd battle scenes will use this software to aid in the believability of the action of large crowd battle scenes.
Writing (Adapted Screenplay): AMERICAN SPLENDOR
Not only is this movie adapted from a comic book biography of a guys life, 2 actually, (quite unique).
but the added boost to the screenplay is the documentary style interviews with Harvey Pekar
and his associates who are actual people, while the movie is going on. Kind of like the movie "Adaptation" a unique way of doing a screenplay.
Writing (Original Screenplay) IN AMERICA
Written by Jim Sheridan & Naomi Sheridan & Kirsten Sheridan.
using parts of their lives as well as using them as springboards to the ideas in their sad but powerful original screenplay.
