A 13-year-old New Zealander became the youngest ever to be nominated for a best actress Oscar on Tuesday. The announcement of the name of Keisha Castle-Hughes, who starred in Whale Rider, was one of many surprises on a morning when the final film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy ruled with 11 nominations.
International acting talent was recognized with a raft of nominations for New Zealanders, South Africans, Australians, Japanese and others, with British actors up for an Oscar including Jude Law (Cold Mountain), Sir Ben Kingsley (House of Sand and Fog) and Samantha Morton (In America). Screenwriter Steven Knight was nominated for Dirty Pretty Things, director Stephen Frears' film of the twilight life of immigrants in London.
Cold Mountain, directed by Anthony Mingella, which had been tipped as a contender for awards, got a comparatively chilly reception, being ignored in both the best film and best director categories. Its star, Nicole Kidman, had also been seen as a likely nominee for her portrayal of a southern belle awaiting the return of Jude Law's Confederate soldier.
PHOTO: EPA
Predictably, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the third episode of the J.R.R. Tolkien epic, received the greatest recognition.
New Zealander Peter Jackson, who took the Golden Globe for best director and best film on Sunday, was nominated again, partly in tribute to the seven years he has dedicated to bringing the books to life.
But attention focused yesterday on the unexpected names on the lists, mainly films with Hobbit-sized budgets compared to the Hollywood blockbusters.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles was nominated for City of God, a harrowing account of gang warfare in Rio de Janeiro. The film had not made the foreign-language shortlist last year and was allowed into contention under a new rule. American Splendor, a quirky and much-praised tiny film based on the downbeat comic book stories of the eccentric Harvey Pekar, was also recognized.
Surprise
Sofia Coppola, who made Lost in Translation, was named in the best director category, only the third woman to have made the cut and the first American woman to do so. Jim Sheridan's semi-autobiographical film In America, which he co-wrote with his daughters, also fared well. Heavy spending on Seabiscuit's promotional budget in the final days of voting appears to have paid off with a best film nomination for the traditional tale of the racehorse that defied the odds.
PHOTO: DPA
The greatest surprise, perhaps, was the naming of Keisha Castle-Hughes for the small Maori movie, Whale Rider. She had not been on most critics' radar as a likely nominee, not least because of her age.
Coincidentally, the film Thirteen, a much-lauded non-formulaic story of the grimmer sides of teenage life in California, was recognized with a nomination for Holly Hunter in the best supporting actress category for her role as a puzzled mother.
Often criticized for being too parochial and homogeneous, the lists of nominees this year embraced a variety of nationalities. The Iranian actress, Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog), Benin actor Djimon Hounsou (In America), and Japanese star Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) were all recognized.
Diane Keaton (Something's Gotta Give) was the only American in the best actress nominees' list where she will be a joint favorite with the South African Charlize Theron (Monster). The Australian Naomi Watts (21 Grams) joins them, Morton and Castle-Hughes on the list.
The announcements from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were made at 5.30am in Los Angeles in order to catch the morning television news programs on the east coast which are three hours ahead of the film capital. Former nominee Sigourney Weaver read out the names to press and publicists.
The name of Johnny Depp, nominated for the first time for his splendidly idiosyncratic portrayal in Pirates of the Caribbean was greeted with cheers. Tom Cruise (The Last Samurai) had been seen as a likelier contender but was ignored in what will be seen as contest between Sean Penn (Mystic River) and Bill Murray (Lost in Translation), both of whom picked up Golden Globes on Sunday.
There were surprises, too, in the foreign-language categories althoughBarbarian Invasions, the Canadian film that deals light-heartedly with approaching death, was named and will be a favorite.
FBI screens screeners
The surprises will shift attention from the news that some of the "screeners" sent out to members of the academy have since become the property of pirates who have no connection with the Caribbean. The FBI has made one arrest and an investigation is under way into how a dozen films should have ended up for sale as DVDs so swiftly when academy members had to sign forms saying they would guard them closely.
The winners will be announced on Feb. 29 in Los Angeles when comedian and actor Billy Crystal will once again be the master of ceremonies.
Last year's event was most notable for taking place in the shadow of war and for the angry attack on George Bush made by documentary maker Michael Moore after he won his Oscar. Of the nominees this year, probably the most outspoken on such issues as the war in Iraq is Sean Penn but he dislikes such events and did not show up to collect his Golden Globe on Sunday, a stance which may count against him when academy members cast their final votes.
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