February 5, 2004

Entertainment News

Print More

The Lord of the Globes

The 61st Annual Golden Globes answered the prayers of fantasy fiends everywhere as the Hollywood Foreign Press awarded The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King the most awards for any film last Sunday night. In addition to winning Best Picture and Best Director the film also nabbed Best Original Song and Best Score. The film’s triumph came as a surprise to some because prestigious award shows tend to ignore fantasy. Sunday displayed a refreshing balance in television and film, awarding both newcomers and veterans alike. Lost in Translation took home Best Motion Picture for Comedy, Bill Murray recieved Best Actor in a comedy, and daddy’s-little-girl Sofia Coppola won for Best Screenplay. Sean Penn and Tim Robbins both won for Mystic River, while Renee Zellwegger received yet another award from the Foreign Press (the third year in a row) for her performance in Cold Mountain, the film’s only award of the evening. Charlize Theron won for her role in Monster, showing that beautiful women who get ugly get awards. In a rather unsurprising turn, Diane Keaton won for Something’s Gotta Give. The television series 24 took the award for best drama. Veteran actors in the drama category were overlooked as Anthony LaPaglia received an award for the new show Without a Trace. There was a collective “What the Fuck?” heard across the country as the BBC America series The Office snagged Best Comedy, with Ricky Gervais winning for Best Actor. Frances Conroy received the award for Best Actress in a Drama for Six Feet Under, even though this category has been dominated by younger actresses in recent years. Sarah Jessica Parker received top honors yet again for her work in Sex and the City, and the truly amazing mini-series Angels in America took home five awards including those for veterans Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Mary-Louise Parker, and newcomer Jeffrey Wright. The night produced some memorable moments, including Robin Williams making reference to Paris Hilton while introducing Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and The Office’s Ricky Gervais noting during his acceptance speech, “I’m not from these parts. I’m from a little place called England. We used to run the world before you.”

Eye-catching Oscar Noms

The Academy Award nominations were announced bright and early Tuesday morning with some noms that caught everyone by surprise. Nicole Kidman was not nominated for her work in Cold Mountain (neither is the film) and her ex-husband Tom Cruise and his film were also given the boot. The five movies honored in the Best Picture category were The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (third time’s the charm?), Mystic River, Lost in Translation, Seabiscuit, and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Sofia Coppola became only the third woman — and the only American — ever to receive a Best Director nomination for Lost in Translation. Some other surprises included a nomination for Fernando Meirelles for his direction of City of God and Johnny Depp for Best Actor in Pirates of the Caribbean. In perhaps the most unusual announcement, Keisha Castle-Hughes received a Best Actress nod for Whale Rider making her, at 13, the youngest actress ever nominated in that category. Naomi Watts snaged a nom for her work in 21 Grams, as did Samantha Morton and Djimon Hounsou for In America. The Lord of the Rings received the most nominations this year with Master and Commander trailing close behind. Let’s hope these awards aren’t as boring and predictable as they always are.

Archived article by Amanda Hodes