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Staff reporter
What follows are the Oscar Nominations. After each category, I have presumptuously dared to specify who I think should win given these nominees, along with the ones I realistically expect to win. Also bear with me as I put in print my personal favorite for 1998 in each of the category. My predictions, of course, are bound to be highly inaccurate, but hey, I'm having fun with them. Also, to quote veteran screenwriter William Goldman, "nobody knows anything."
Best Picture of the Year
Elizabeth (Gramercy)
Life Is Beautiful (Miramax)
Saving Private Ryan (DreamWorks)
Shakespeare In Love (Miramax)
The Thin Red Line (Fox)
All of best picture nominees are period films, three of them set during WWII and two in Elizabethan England. Both Miramax and newcomer Joseph Fiennes can celebrate, having contributed to two nominees each. I'm pleasantly surprised that The Thin Red Line made the list; not because I think it's one of the best films of the year, but because its a sprawling, slowly-paced film that does not rely on a narrative, and as such is a rarity in modern Hollywood. On the other hand, the omission of The Truman Show is shocking, while my preferences for Lolita and A Simple Plan are obviously a cry in the wilderness. This comes as a surprise, having consistently found my tastes and the choices of the Academy to be in sync.
It is now virtually certain that this year the award will go to a highly ambitious, visually striking, viscerally affecting film with a simplistic storyline, artificial characters, and frequent moments of emotional manipulation.
Who will win: Saving Private Ryan.
Who should win: Shakespeare in Love.
My favorite: Lolita.
Best Achievement in Directing
Roberto Benigni, Life Is Beautiful
John Madden, Shakespeare In Love
Terrence Malick, The Thin Red Line
Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan
Peter Weir, The Truman Show
Who will win: Steven Spielberg.
Who should win: Roberto Benigni.
My favorite: Robert Redford, The Horse Whisperer.
Actor in a Leading Role
Roberto Benigni, Life Is Beautiful
Tom Hanks, Saving Private Ryan
Ian McKellen, Gods And Monsters
Nick Nolte, Affliction
Edward Norton, American History X
Can't say much here; I've seen only two out of five performances. Benigni I liked; Hanks I didn't. Hanks is popular, but he already has two bald golden guys on his mantelpiece. Nolte's film wasn't widely seen, and Norton can be perceived as too young. I would expect the award to go to a well-known, but underappreciated veteran actor.
Who will win: Ian McKellen.
Who should win: Roberto Benigni.
My favorite: Jeremy Irons, Lolita.
Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth
Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station
Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare In Love
Meryl Streep, One True Thing
Emily Watson, Hilary And Jackie
My opinion is absolutely worthless here, having seen only one (Gwineth Paltrow) out of five nominated performances, although I believe it is the one with the most momentum right now.
Who will/should win: Gwyneth Paltrow.
My favorite: Kristin Scott Thomas, The Horse Whisperer.
Actor in a supporting role
James Coburn, Affliction
Robert Duvall, A Civil Action
Ed Harris, The Truman Show
Geoffrey Rush, Shakespeare In Love
Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan
As always, the most hotly contested category and the hardest one to predict.
Who will win: Ed Harris, overdue for an award.
Who should win/my favorite: Billy Bob Thornton.
Actress in a supporting role
Kathy Bates, Primary Colors
Brenda Blethyn, Little Voice
Judi Dench, Shakespeare In Love
Rachel Griffiths, Hilary And Jackie
Lynn Redgrave, Gods And Monsters
A very good year for this category. Excellent performances which didn't make the cut include Kimberly Elise in Beloved, Joan Allen in Pleasantville, and Christina Ricci in Buffalo 66.
Who will win: Judy Dench, for a showy and commanding performance.
Who should win/my favorite: Kathy Bates.
Best screenplay written directly for the screen
Bulworth, screenplay by Warren Beatty & Jeremy Pikser, story by Warren Beatty
Life Is Beautiful, screenplay by Vincenzo Cerami and Roberto Benigni
Saving Private Ryan, written by Robert Rodat
Shakespeare In Love, written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
The Truman Show, written by Andrew Niccol
I fail to comprehend what Saving Private Ryan is doing in this category; other than that, nice picks.
Who will/should win: Shakespeare In Love.
My favorite: The Spanish Prisoner, David Mamet.
Best screenplay based on material previously produced or published
Gods And Monsters, Bill Condon
Out Of Sight, screenplay by Scott Frank
Primary Colors, screenplay by Elaine May
A Simple Plan, screenplay by Scott B. Smith
The Thin Red Line, screenplay by Terrence Malick
Who will win: Out of Sight.
Who should win: A Simple Plan.
My favorite: Lolita, Stephen Schiff.
Art Direction
Elizabeth
Pleasantville
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare In Love
The Thin Red Line
Who will win: Elizabeth; Academy loves lush-looking period pictures.
Who should win/my favorite: Saving Private Ryan for its unforgettable battle scenes.
Cinematography
A Civil Action
Elizabeth
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare in Love
The Thin Red Line
Who will win: The Thin Red Line, for beautiful nature photography.
Who should win: Saving Private Ryan.
My favorite: What Dreams May Come.
Costume design
Beloved
Elizabeth
Pleasantville
Shakespeare In Love
Velvet Goldmine
Sandy Powell, whose costumes were spectacular in last year's The Wings of the Dove is competing against herself, with nominations for both Shakespeare and Goldmine.
Who will/should win/my favorite: Shakespeare in Love.
Film editing
Life Is Beautiful
Out Of Sight
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare In Love
The Thin Red Line
Who will win: Saving Private Ryan.
Who should win/my favorite: Out of Sight.
Best Foreign Language Film
Central Station
Children Of Heaven
The Grandfather
Life Is Beautiful
Tango
Who will/should win/my favorite: Life is Beautiful.
Makeup
Elizabeth
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare In Love
Who will/should win/my favorite: Saving Private Ryan.
Music (original musical or comedy score)
A Bug's Life, Randy Newman
Mulan, music by Matthew Wilder, lyrics by David Zippel, orchestral score by Jerry Goldsmith
Patch Adams, Marc Shaiman
The Prince Of Egypt, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, orchestral score by Hans Zimmer
Shakespeare In Love, Stephen Warbeck
Who will win: Mulan; it's hard to fight with toons.
Who should win: Shakespeare In Love.
My favorite: Life is Beautiful, and don't tell me it was a dramatic score.
Music (original dramatic score)
Elizabeth, David Hirschfelder
Life Is Beautiful, Nicola Piovani
Pleasantville, Randy Newman
Saving Private Ryan, John Williams
The Thin Red Line, Hans Zimmer
Um, is it just me, or wouldn't Pleasantville and Life is Beautiful be better placed in "comedy score" category?
Who will win: Saving Private Ryan.
Who should win/my favorite: The Thin Red Line.
Music (original song)
I Don't Want To Miss A Thing, Armageddon: music and lyrics by Diane Warren
The Prayer, Quest For Camelot: music by Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, David Foster, Tony Renis and Alberto Testa
A Soft Place To Fall, The Horse Whisperer: music and lyrics by Allison Moorer and Gwil Owen
That'll Do, Babe: Pig In The City: music and lyrics by Randy Newman
When You Believe, The Prince Of Egypt: music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
A bunch of mediocre choices; since Howard Ashman, Disney's brilliant lyricist, passed away, pretty much nothing exciting has come out. I honestly don't remember a single thing about the songs in Armageddon and The Horse Whisperer, and I found the ones in Babe: Pig in the City and Quest for Camelot (with its six songwriters!) to be intensely annoying.
Who will win: The Prayer, Quest for Camelot.
Who should win: When You Believe, The Prince of Egypt.
My favorite: Reflection, Mulan.
Sound
Armageddon
The Mask Of Zorro
Saving Private Ryan
Shakespeare In Love
The Thin Red Line
Who will/should win: Saving Private Ryan.
My favorite: 54.
Sound effects editing
Armageddon
The Mask Of Zorro
Saving Private Ryan
Who will/should win: Saving Private Ryan.
My favorite: The Prince of Egypt.
Visual effects
Armageddon
Mighty Joe Young
What Dreams May Come
Who will/should win/my favorite: What Dreams May Come.
Concerning the following categories, I have to admit that I haven't seen any of the nominees. It is rather a sad commentary on the modern film distribution practices that virtually none of the short or documentary films have been screened. Thus, no comments or predictions.
Documentary features
Dancemaker
The Farm: Angola, U.S.A.
The Last Days
Lenny Bruce: Swear To Tell The Truth
Regret To Inform
Documentary short subjects
The Personals: Improvisations On Romance In The Golden Years
A Place In The Land
Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square
Animated short films
Bunny
The Canterbury Tales
Jolly Roger
More
When Life Departs
Live action short films
Culture
Election Night (Valgaften)
Holiday Romance
La Carte Postale (The Postcard)
Victor
The 71st Annual Academy Awards will be hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, on March 21st, 1999, and broadcast live on ABC at 8:30 p.m.
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