Feeling like a critic after the Oscar nominations? Here's your chance to view the entries in the 35th Ann Arbor Film Festival. Tonight at the Gypsy Cafe, the Film Festival committee will be watching the local screen gems and you can come too. The evening of free fun begins at 7 p.m. and it's at 214 N. 4th Ave. For more informnation, call 995-5356. Wednesday February 12, 1997 5 AP PHOTO Arthur Hiller, president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts, and Sclences and actress Mira Sorvino announce nominees for best picture at the Academy headquarters In Beverly Hills, Calif. "Fargo"'s Coen brothers Ethan (left) and Joel (right), pictured with Director of Photography Roger Deakins, received seven nominations for their film. Both Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. are nomnat- ed for lead actor and supporting actor, respectively, for their roles in "Jerry Maguire." Academy announces Award nominees By Bryan Lark Daily lm Editor * My awards show has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R. And now that awards show has more than just a first name - Oscar is now accompanied by names like Cruise, Bacall, Harrelson, McDormand, Rush and Jean-Baptiste. If you don't recognize some of those names, you aren't alone. It was a festival of small names and big egos yesterday morning as the nominations for the 69th Annual Academy Awards were announced in Hollywood. Read by Academy president Arthur Hiller and Oscar winner Mira Sorvino, the nominations ranged from surprising (Billy .ob Thornton?) to dismally predictable as the focus of the "ards shifted onto the worthy world of independent cinema. Independently released, "The English Patient" proved itself to be extremely healthy, garnering 12 nominations including Best Picture, Best Director and three acting honors. Its 12 nods place the film as the second-most-nominated film of all- time, behind 1950's "All About Eve." Other independent films receiving multiple nods include the Coen Brothers' "Fargo," and the Australian wonder "Shine" with seven each and the tiny British production "Secrets & Lies,' totaling five nominations. Not to be outdone, the studio system also made a strong owing with Sony's "Jerry Maguire" and Disney's "Evita" getting five accolades each. Perhaps more notable than anything that was nominated were the people and films that did not get any nominations, glaring omissions that included Madonna. Samuel L Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Denzel Washington. "Big Night;' "Swingers;" Ewan McGregor and anything related to "The People vs. Larry Flynt." Though none of the omissions qualify as injustices (ike last year's lack of nominations for Nicole Kidman and John Travolta), there are some frustrating mysteries surrounding this year's Oscar nominations. Mysteries such as Diane Keaton's left-field nomination for "Marvin's Room," "Evita" not getting nominated for costume design, and "Independence Day" and "Twister" getting more nominations (two each) than "Lone Star" create an overall feeling pf "What thl hell just happened there? But perhaps the most mysterious of all is the phenomenon of "Sling Blade,' a film released in only 10 theaters thus far. Garnering two high-profile nominations for Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay, the film's writer. director and star Billy Bob Thornton stands poised to make the Oscars his own, not to mention becoming the first Oscar nominee ever to be named Billy Bob. With all of the strange honors, mysteries and omissions, the Oscar telecast will certainly be memorable, with host Billy Crystal certain to enjoy himself with catch-phrases like "Show me the money" and unique names like Armin and Cuba. "Armin, Cuba. Cuba, Armin." Regardless of what names are called or ridiculed on March 24, there is only one name synonymous with excellence in the film industry - Oscar. The 69th Annual Academy Award Nominees nest Picture "The English Patient" ' 'Fargo" ,Jerry Maguire'" "Secrets & Lies" "Shine" Lead Actress Brenda Blethyn, "Secrets & Lies" Diane Keaton, "Marvin's Room" Frances Metormand, "Fargo" Kristin Scott Thomas, "The English P tientn" Eniiy Watson, "Breaing The Waves". Lead Actor Tom Cruise, "Jerry Maguire" flalph Fiennes, "The English Patient" . Woody Harrelson, 'The People vs. Lary Flynt" Golfrey Rush, "Shine. F y 4ol i Thomrton, "S ing Blade" - Supporting Actress Joan Allen, "The Crucible' Lauren Bacall, "The Mirror Has Two Faces' Juliette linoche, "The English Patient" Barbara Hershey, 'The Portrait of a Lady" Marianne Jean-Baptiste, "Secrets & Ues" Supporting Actor Cuba Gooding Jr., "Jerry Maguire" Wiliam H. Macy, "Fargo" Armin Mueller-Stahl. "Shine" Edwafd Norton, 'Primal Fear" James Woods, "Ghosts of Mississippi" OrigInal Screenplay 'Fargo' - Ethan Coon & Joel Cohen "Jerry Maguire" - Cameron Crowe "Lone Star' - John Sayles "Secrets & Lies" - Mike Leigh "Shine' -Jan Sardi Director Anthony Minghella, "The English Patient" Joel Coen, "Fargo" Milos Forman, "The People vs. Larry Flynt" Mike Leigh, "Secrets & Lies" Scott Hicks, "Shine" Adapted Screenplay "The Crucible" - Arthur Miller "The English Patient" - Anthony Minghella "Hamlet" - Kenneth Branagh "Sling Blade" - Silly Bob Thornton "Trainspotting" - John Hodge Origlnai Song "Because You Loved Me,' "Up Close and Personal" 'For The First Time,' "One FinestDay' "1 Finally Found Someone," "The Mirror Has Two Faces" "That Thing You Do!, "That Thing You Doi" 'You Must Love Me," "Evita" 'L-ughnasa Sakes the stage in A By Stephanie Love Daly Arts Wiiter If you didn't make it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, there is still a chance to let go of your primal instincts. Starting * morrow at the Mendelssohn Theatre, e conflict between the passionate intensity of Celtic paganism and the ritual of rural Irish Catholicism comes to Ann Arbor in Brian Friel's Tony Award-winning play "Dancing at Lughnasa." Guest-directed by Kim Rubinstein, a Chicago-based theatre professional and acting teacher at Northwestern University, Friel's drama is performed students in the Department of p Theatre and D r a m a . Rubinstein also directed the suc- cessful national Thurs. - Sat. a *a..'. i4' "Anap noI Marsalis makes Hill appearance (without the Muppets) Elif Celebi takes a drag in the Theatre Department's "Dancing at Lughnasa." m t8 allure of the hidden pagan culture, which has persisted for centuries in the back hills of County Donegal, attracts the Mundy sisters. "This play is not about plot, rather how people affect each other and the tiny moments EVIEW between family - the relationship between fantasy Lughnasa and reality, hope Mendelssohn Theatre and despair" ickets call 7641450 Rubenstein said 3 p.m., Sun. at 2 p.m. lue~Ei ad A r'rncrdinvl Additionally, this particular play does not allow as much freedom for the director as other productions because of the specific nature of Friel's writing. According to Rubinstein, "many plays have a lot of room for the direc- tor. This is a well-made play in the sense that there's a perfect construc- tion, specific in the directions. The role of the director is to find all the tiny moments between people which create the action, and finding a balance One of the most gifted and controversial figures in the jam world today, Wynton Marsalis, will be In Ann Arbor tonight at 8 at Hill Auditorium. Marsalis, flanked with muscle like Cassandra Wilson and the great and powerful John Hendricks, will be performing his nrew oratorio, "Blood on the Fields." Those looking for a happy marriage of slave-era folk music and traditional European art music forms are advised to attend. Tickets are $18-$38. For more information, call 762538. F9 M?, %AI~ lb hi ~ U~* AV I