USA: ROMAN EPIC "GLADIATOR" RECEIVES 12 OSCAR NOMINATIONS AS ALL OSCAR NOMINATIONS ARE ANNOUNCED

Record ID: 393343

  • Title: USA: ROMAN EPIC "GLADIATOR" RECEIVES 12 OSCAR NOMINATIONS AS ALL OSCAR NOMINATIONS ARE ANNOUNCED
  • Date: 13th February 2001
  • Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 13, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) WIDE OF DAIS SET FOR ANNOUNCEMENT OF OSCAR NOMINATIONS
  • Embargoed: 28th February 2001 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND VARIOUS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA9U78ODDA2HDEIDJBHPTCNCVIK
  • Story Text: Roman empire epic ''Gladiator'' conquered the Oscar nominations with 12 total nods Tuesday (February 13) including best picture, best actor for Russell Crowe and best director for Ridley Scott.
    Director Ang Lee's Chinese-language drama ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' the second most nominated film with 10, including best picture and best foreign language film. It marked only the third time a film has been nominated for both best picture and best foreign film in the Oscars' 73 year history.
    "Erin Brockovich,'' in which best actress nominee Julia Roberts portrays an environmental activist, and the drug war drama ``Traffic'' earned best picture nominations for director Steven Soderbergh.
    As he was in the earlier Golden Globe awards in Hollywood, Soderbergh was nominated for best director, twice, for the two films becoming the first director to accomplish that feat since Michael Curtiz did it in 1938.
    Rounding out the best picture nominees was "Chocolat,'' which proved to be a small surprise for many industry watchers because the movie, though well-liked by audiences, had been left out of many of the early awards.
    The Oscars, handed out each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, are the top film industry honors in the United States. They will be awarded this year in a ceremony in Los Angeles on March 25.
    Academy President Robert Rehme called the group of films one of the most eclectic in recent years.
    Included with Crowe in the best actor category were Tom Hanks in `"Cast Away," who is considered a favorite for playing a man stranded for years on an island.
    Longshots against Crowe and Hanks will be Javier Bardem, who plays a Cuban poet and novelist in "Before Night Falls,'' Ed Harris playing the artist Jackson Pollock in "Pollock" and Geoffrey Rush as the infamous Marquis de Sade in "Quills."
    Best actress nominees included box office queen Roberts for "Brockovich" along with two actresses who received strong reviews but little popular attention in small, independent-style films, Laura Linney playing a single mom in ''You Can Count on Me'' and Ellen Burstyn portraying a TV-addicted mother in "Requiem for a Dream."
    Also on the best actress list are Juliette Binoche for her role as the owner of a chocolate shop who turns a small French town upside down in "Chocolat" and Joan Allen for her performance as a female vice presidential appointee under political scrutiny in "The Contender."
    Challenging Scott and Soderbergh will be Lee for "Crouching Tiger," among the best director nominees. Rounding out the list is Stephen Daldry for the British film "Billy Elliott."
    Joining ``Crouching Tiger'' in the foreign language film grouping are Mexico's ``Amores Perros,'' the Czech Republic's ''Divided We Fall,'' Belgium's ``Everybody Famous'' and France's ''The Taste of Others,'' which is the 31st time a French film has been nominated for that award.
    Best supporting actress nominees were Judi Dench in ''Chocolat,'' Marcia Gay Harden in ``Pollock,'' Kate Hudson in ''Almost Famous,'' Frances McDormand in ``Almost Famous,'' and Julie Walters in ``Chocolat.'' Best supporting actor nominees were Jeff Bridges in ``The Contender,'' Willem Dafoe in ``Shadow of the Vampire,'' Benicio Del Toro in ``Traffic,'' Albert Finney in ``Erin Brockovich'' and Joaquin Phoenix for ``Gladiator.'' -ENDS-
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