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Show ' 1 51 f .7' .4 7 iC 7- .Mi " - - A PS."- - "t - T it if H ' & 11 jtf&vrW:tsL " "ft I j1 O I; I If I were handing out the statues, I'd give one to Kate Hudson, even if that ttjeenvelope told me not to. v HI .'V - rf jm X jues- 1 "The Contender" WSfcmpafoe, "Shadow of the Vampxh - . Shreck, the great actor from "Nosferatu." "Shadow of the Vampire" theorizes Shreck really was a vampire. Dafoe goes into the role so completely that it's impossible to recognize him. But let's face it, this year is all about Benicio. Although "Traffic" is an ensemble piece, Mr. Del Toro beat Hanks and Crowe for the Best Actor award from the Screen Actors Guild, so he shouldn't have any trouble picking up an Oscar for Supporting Actor. i I F F ' k l r i... A. W " fTJf.. ll S ST I Ars 1 3 IT BsntioDel Tbro, Traffic" iibtrtFmney, "Erin Brockovich'' tionable. her talent is not Ja&quin Ihcenix, "Gladiator" The talentedluliette Binoche's s in a French totyn in "Chocolat" Popp: Mary isn't really worth an award. The Academy should have Considered Gillian Anderson's work in "Hou je of Mirth" to fill Roberts' or Binoche's spot But the Academy has never looked too 0 closely at quality, so Roberts has the Oscar. . "4 Vameron Crowe, "Almost Famous" Lee Hall, "Billy Elliot" Susannah Grant, "Erin Brockovich" Da-AH. Franzoni, John Logan and . . William Nicholson, "Gladiator" " Kenneth Lonergan, m(ou Can Count on Y 0 the Academy members really believe D Joaquin Phoenix and Albert Finney were ' members who get to vote fcr the screenplay awards are allegedly writers, the "Gladiator" team won't win. better than Jack Black and Todd Luiso in i Judi Bench, Xhocolat" Mama Cay Harden, "Pollack Kate Hudson, "Almost Famous Frances McDormand, "Almost Famous" Julia Walters, "Billy Elliot" - tt n to the consolation category. Famous" didn't get nominated for any other major award, "Chocolat" has about a s good a chance of winning Best Picture as "Almost Famous," and neither "Billy Elliot" nor "Pollock" will pick up any awards until this category comes up, unless Ed Harris sleeps with several Academy members and gets the Oscar for Best Actor. If we were betting men, we'd say "Almost Famous" has a chance of winning. Welcome . Jeremy's Pick: Kate Hudson is Hollywood royalty. As Goldie Hawn's daughter, she's pretty much guaranteed a statue. As Jon Voigt's daughter, Angelina Jolie won the Oscar last year for "Girl Interrupted," which few people saw and fewer liked. Hudson increased her odds by having a great performance in a great movie. Her work as a groupie who calls herself Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" is poignant. She communicates sadness beneath her energetic exterior. While the Academy could give it to Judi Dench based on the factor, they should give it to Hudson for the off factor. Shane's Pick: All right, somebody tell the Academy to get off this Judi Dench tip. Good lord, her name pops up every year. Hell, she won a few years ago despite being in "Shakespeare in Love" for about 15 seconds. Wait for next year, when she gets the nomination for her role as M in the new Bond movie. Sure, she was great in "Chocolat." All right, so I didn't see it. But I'm sure she was fine. But does she deserve the Oscar over either Frances McDormand or Kate H'jdson? As 4 Kevin Costner would say, hell iah. - old-veter- "High Fidelity," Toby Maguire and Robert Downey Jr. in "Wonder Boys," Owen Wilson in "Shanghai Noon," Jason Lee, Billy Crudup and Philip Seymore Hoffman in "Almost Famous," Mark Wahlberg and John C. Reiily in "The Perfect Storm" and even Phoenix's better performance in "Quills?" That's the short list. Shane's Pick: ! seriously almost puked when the Oscar nominations were announced a couple of rrtonths ago. Seriously. I could feel the bile billowing in my belly. The cause? Joaquin Phoenix. Say that again Joaquin Phoenix. One more time Joaquin Phoenix. That's about how many times I had to say it out loud before it started to sink in. Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the little turd in "Gladiator?" My god, he was stiffer in that movie than his brother River. He was terrible. I would have taken Costner, accent and all, over Joaquin Phoenix. While there are some really great actors on this list not named Joaquin Phoenix, I will personally burn Los Angeles to the ground if Benicio Del Toro doesn't win for his role as a Mexican police officer in "Traffic." This guy would win the Best Actor category if he were nominated, not that that means much this year. But still, with his performance in "Traffic," Del Toro has established he should be the next "it" thing in he should walk away with un Holly-wood...a- Oscar. Jeremy's Pick: My thoughts on Joaquin Phoenix and Albert Finney are already and I will need medical attention if one of their names is announced. As for Jeff Bridges, this is one of his least impressive performances, and he can only be on the list to make up for his overlooked performance in "The Big Lebows-ki.- " well-know- n, BS' ,W- -j i&OfaS;tfr'mfc, Best Original Screenplay is Cameron Crowe's for "Almost Famous." Kenneth Loner-gan'- s "You Can Count on Me" is the only other screenplay with dialogue as as Crowe's, but it doesn't have any hype m a. well-crafte- SeriiikY d behind it. Robert Nelson Jacobs, "Chocolat" Wang, James Schamus and KouJung Tsai, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Stephen Gaghan, "Traffic" Steven Kloves, "Vonder Boys" Hui-Lin- g mini-serie- hi I award is sometimes a The screenplay appearance of justice in a mockery of an awards show. This is probably because there are two awards to give to undeserving screenwriters, and the Academy members get confused filling out the ballot. Orson Welles, the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarentino won their statuettes in this category. Jeremy's Picks: The Writers Guild of America had the good sense not to nominate "Gladiator," and instead gave a nod to Christopher y Guest and Eugene Levy's "Best in Show." The guild also nominated D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack and Scott Rosenberg's adaptation of Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity," which received no Oscar dog-sho- w mocku-mentar- The Adapted Screenplay award goes to Stephen Gaghan's screen version of the BBC s "Traffick." I'd love to see Steven Kloves win for "Wonder Boys" but it isn't going to happen. The Academy wants to recognize "Traffic," and this might be its only award besides Del Toro. Shane's Pick: Original Screenplay? Those still exist in Hollywood? Well all right then, I'll be sweet and short and go with Crowe's "Almost Famous." Crowe is one of the best writers in Hollywood, and he proved it...again. As far as adapted, I'm bummed "Charlie's Angels" didn't make the list, but what the hell, not even it could stand up to either "Traffic" or "Wonder Boys." And even though I'm a huge "Traffic" fan, I hope Kloves wins for "Wonder Boys." It's a truly hilarious movie and one of those stories that winds and twists and keeps you on your toes every second. If I were a pimp for Blockbuster, I'd recommend you rent it tonight. And we're having a sale on the same microwaveable popcorn you can buy next door at Dan's only $8 with a movie rental. Since many of the Academy That leaves Willem Dafoe's vampire pretending to be an actor playing a vampire in "Shadow of the Vampire" and Benicio Del Toro's honest Mexican cop in "Traffic." Dafoe really sunk his teeth into the role of Max . MAR22 2001 - |