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A Eta -------------------- Le ---------- " > PORT PERRY "WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2000-9 Some shocks, disappointments in nominations oa SCREENING 8 > JETT By John Foote With the announcement Tuesday of the Academy Award nominations for film excellence in 1999, the countdown to the biggest night in the film business begins. This years nominations provided several jaw-dropping surprises, both for what and who was nominated, as well as for what and who was not. , Easily the biggest shock of the day was the best picture nomination for The Cider House Rules, a well reviewed picture that played well on the festival circuit and found a loyal following. Obviously that fol- lowing was made up of Academy voters, who nominated the film in seven cate- gories. | think there was some mild sur- prise when The Green Mile earned a best picture nod as well, though the picture had at one time been touted as the film to beat. Mixed critical opinion and a slow box office likely cost the film nominations, as it scored just four, and with no best actor nomination is unlikely to win the top prize. Canadians Jim Carrey and Norman Jewison were shut out in their respective categories, Carrey for his galvanizing per- formance as comic Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon, and Jewison for his fine direction of The Hurricane. At this point in his career, Jim Carrey must be wondering ES A Fd "what he needs to do in order to gain as an actor. It was just last year that he was shut out of the same category for his deserving turn in The Truman Show (1998), and having surpassed that with Man on the Moon, he must wonder what the Academy has against him. Jewison's snub is a tad more acceptable because the force of The Hurricane really is the central performance of Denzel Washington, who is electrifying as unjustly convicted Rubin Carter. American Beauty led the pack with eight nominations, hardly a surprise as the film has earned accolades since opening at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. This bold study of a dysfunctional family is without question the leading con- tender to take home the lions' share of the hardware come Oscar night. The Insider, a searing study of corporate cowardice between CBS TV and the major tobacco companies earned seven nomina- tions including best picture and best director, but sadly actor Christopher Plummer was left off the supporting actor list for his superb work as Mike Wallace. The popular summer box office smash The Sixth Sense racked up an impressive six nominations (how fitting) including best picture, and two nominations for director- . writer M. Night Shymalan. Haley Joel Osment, the haunted little tyke who sees dead people, was nominat- ed for his supporting performance in the film, as was Toni Collette in the supporting actress category for her work as his mom. The best actor category is dominated by strong acting talent including leading contender Denzel Washington for The Hurricane, Kevin Spacey in American Beauty, Richard Farnsworth in The Straight Story, Russell Crowe in The Insider, and a huge shock, Sean Penn in the Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown. Penn's nomina- tion left more than a few critics shaking their heads in disbelief, as many felt Carrey was perhaps a more worthy nomi- nee this year. Best actress has Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry going up against her idol, Meryl Streep, for Music of the Heart. Streep's nomination is her twelfth, tying her with Katherine Hepburn for the most career nominations, though Streep earned hers in 20 years compared to Hepburn's 50. Jane McTeer was nominated for Tumbleweeds, Annette Bening for American Beauty, and Julianne Moore for The End of the Affair, but 1 think all have conceded the race to Swank. Left out was Sigourney Weaver's fear- less performance as the anguished mother in Map of the World, and Reese Witherspoon as the vengeful teenager in Election. Tom Cruise should finally win his Oscar for supporting actor in Magnolia, though he will get a run for his money from young Osment, and one is unwise to discount Michael Caine from the race for his won- derful, warm performance in The Cider House Rules. Michael Clarke Duncan was nominated for his work as the gentle, heal- ing giant in The Green Mile, and Jude Law scored a nod for The Talented Mr. Ripley, a film many thought would gain several other nominations. Best supporting actress is a field of first time nominees. In addition to Collette, we have Samantha Morton from Sweet and Lowdown, Katherine Keener in Being John Malkovich, Chloe Sevigny in Boys Don't Cry, and Angelina Jolie in Girl Interrupted. Best director provided the usual argu- ments as to how a film is nominated with- out a best director nomination and how a director gets nominated without a best film nomination. Sam Mendes for American Beauty, Lasse Hellstrom for The Cider House Rules, M. Night Symalan for The Sixth Sense, Michael Mann for The Insider all have best film nominations, but Spike Jonze for Being John Malkovich is here without the film nod. Poor Frank Darabont, ignored here for The Green Mile .- was also passed over for his now classic film, The Shawshank Redemption. Other jolts came in the manner that Man in the Moon was so utterly ignored... not even a nomination for best song or screenplay. Bob Hoskins perhaps should have been nominated for Felicia's Journey, and there were strong early hopes for Tom Hanks (again) in The Green Mile. The Canadian film The Red Violin earned a nomination for musical score, and box office hits The Matrix and The Phantom Menace racked up three apiece in the technical categories. Disney's Tarzan was all but snubbed, nailing just one nomination, and South Park : The Movie earned a nomination for... best song. Toy Story 2, the Golden Globe winner for best comedy film, received just a single nomination in the song category, and The Talented Mr. Ripley, touted as a contender was virtually ignored. Totally ignored were Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead, which did not deserve any nominations, and Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, which deserved several and got nothing. The countdown begins. PORT ERRY STAR «Bi ANEW & " The Port Perry Star is pleased to announce preparations are underway for Discover Scugog 2000. Copies of last year's production of Discover Scugog are all but depleted and the next edition of Scugog's tourist information booklet. is scheduled to be available for groups and tourist offices by early March. To make sure it's the best publication to date, we need the help of everyone in the commu- nity! If your organization or group has listings of any events planned throughout 2000 details must be submitted in writing to the Port Perry Star office no later than Feb. 22, 2000. Events published in Discover Scugog should be open to the general public. (e.g. fairs, bazaars, strawberry socials, etc.) Sorry, no extensions of this deadline due to production and printing schedules. Anyone wishing to promote their events, activities or services with advertisements, is asked to contact the advertising department at the Port Perry Star, 985-7383. Deadline for advertising is Feb. 22, 2000. Last year, at Trade Shows, Information Booths and local outlets, Discover Scugog was one of er Group/Organization Event Brief Description of activities Date(s) ..................... Time ....... Location of event Contact for Information Phone # EE EE I IE EE EE TE TE RE. TE I I DEE CBE IE EE TE A A A FT TE TE BE EE BE IEE IEE A . vos wow mow wm ww Boe WER wee Ee ese PT TEE JE TT ST ST SE JE SE te + + + 8 ® * sos a a se +s se ss 2 "se es. the most asked for pieces of information by people wanting to know more about our communi ty. This is your chance to make sure visitors to Scugog Township know about your business, or group's activities during 2000. Call today!" ° Fill out the enclosed Activity Listing form and drop it by The Port Perry Star office with a description of any events your group has planned for 2000. We'll do our best to have it included. Activity Listing forms are available at the Star Office. Call today for more information 985-7383