10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, December 11, 1998 Except for 'Ryan,' no films stand out in Oscar race I Los Angeles Times HOLLYWOOD - It's a race that could give Las Vegas oddsmakers night- mares. As 1998 dwindles away, the only sure thing about this year's Academy Awards competition is that Steven Spielberg's World War 11 battle drama, "Saving Private Ryan," is a virtual lock for one of the five best-picture nominations. But beyond that, say many who close- ly monitor the Oscar race, the remaining four nominations are up for grabs. For that reason, 1998 is shaping up as the year of the dark horse in films. Whether it's "Life Is Beautiful," the grand jury prizewinner at this year's Cannes Film Festival or two Elizabethan-era movies - "Shakespeare in Love" and "Elizabeth" - even small- er contenders know they have a fighting chance this year. As a result, independent film distribu- tion companies and art-house banners housed at major studios are cranking up their publicity machines and Web sites and flooding members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with cassette tapes in hopes of being nominated for Hollywood's highest honor. If the smaller films succeed in garner- ing a nomination - and there is no guar- antee at this point they will, with some heavyweight studio films yet to come - the current Oscar race could mirror 1996, when "Independence Day" stunned Hollywood as the academy nominated four smaller films for best picture: "The English Patient" (which eventually won best picture), "Fargo" "Secrets & Lies" and "Shine." Only "Jerry Maguire" from Columbia Pictures represented the majors. "Last year (when "Titanic" swept the awards), we were fighting over the fifth slot," said Lindsay Law, president of Fox Searchlight Pictures, who is touting "Waking Ned Devine" for this year's contest. "It's much more wide open this year. The independents are just as likely to get those slots as the studios are." "I don't think anyone, even the pun- dits, can name five pictures that are sure- fire best-picture candidates this year" said Dennis Rice, president of world- wide marketing at October Films, which has high hopes for "Hilary and Jackie," starring Emily Watson ("Breaking the Waves"). So, which of the smaller films stands a chance? Miramax is pushing "Life Is Beautiful." Directed by Roberto Benigni, it stars Benigni as an Italian Jewish father who shelters his son from the horrors of internment during the Nazi era. Its tragic themes and historical scope should play well with the acade- my, and the film has been a hit with audi- ences as well - it could end up the high- est-grossing foreign-language film ever. One intriguing contest looming is that between two Elizabethan films - "Shakespeare in Love," starring Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow from Miramax, and "Elizabeth;" starring Cate Blanchett from Gramercy. One film may be nominated for best picture, but can two? Fox Searchlight, perhaps hoping to reignite the spark of last year's surprise British comedy "The Full Monty" which grossed more than $250 million world- wide, is pushing the Irish comedy "Waking Ned Devine" this time around, but the film is only being shown in lim- ited release so far. October Films believes it has a con- tender in "Hilary and Jackie" but it also is touting "High Art," starring Ally Sheedy, and the Merchant Ivory film "A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries." Fine Line Features has two offerings: "Hurlyburly," starring Sean Penn and Kevin Spacey in a dark comedic look at Hollywood, and "The Theory of Flight," starring Kenneth Branagh as a reluctant community-service caretaker of invalid Helena Bonham Carter, who is the vic- tim of a terminal neuromuscular disease. Along with two critical favorites, the Brazilian drama "Central Station" and John Boorman's "The General," Sony Pictures Classics has the popular indie comedy "The Opposite of Sex" as long- shot Oscar hopefuls. But others caution that it's way too early to count out the big studios. Gramercy Pictures President Russell Schwartz acknowledged that it looks good for independents right now, but that could change in a flash when late-year entries finally reach the big screen. "I think everybody thinks they have a chance this year" Schwartz said, "but at the end of the day, it still could be a pre- dominately studio-driven awards." "I remember one year when all the nominees came from the end of the year courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures Tom Hanks, star of this summer's hit "Saving Private Ryan," may be in the running for another best acting Academy Award nomination. Stressed Out? Need a place to study Come to Hillel We have private rooms for group projects and open study tables. Need a place to take a break? Come to Hillel We'll have free food and coffee. and were studio pictures," said Michael Barker, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics. Still to come from the majors are such films as Terrence Malick's "The Thin Red Line" from 20th Century Fox, Chris Columbus' "Stepmom" from Columbia Pictures, Steven Zaillian's "A Civil Action" from Disney's Touchstone Pictures, Tom Shadyac's "Patch Adams" from Universal Studios, Nora Ephron's "You've Got Mail" from Warner Bros. and the full-length animated feature "The Prince of Egypt" from DreamWorks SKG. But of all of these, only "The Thin Red Line," a World War II drama set in the Pacific, is creating Oscar buzz for best picture, even though the film isn't 3 1 111 I YOUR QLJCS "AS CN M Search no more for the perfect gift for your overly precocious friends and relatives. UNDERWORLD is the source for the best Christmas your favorite gamer, comic fan. or Otaku could hope for. even finished. The film that could rival "Saving Private Ryan" is Peter Weir's "The Truman Show" starring Jim Carrey. while the Paramount Pictures film d widespread critical acclaim, it isn't seen as having a lock on a best picture nomi- nation. Some films that were seen as possible. Academy Award contenders before their release have sank like a stone in water, much like "The Crucible" did in 1996. One of the more prominent big-studio hopefuls this fall was "Beloved," a slav- ery-era drama starring Oprah Winfrey that received widespread publicity wh, it was released by Touchstone Picture. But the film died at the box office. "It was a monumental disaster," said one source. "They don't reward monu- mental disasters" So Disney is also trotting out its other big guns, like "A Civil Action" and the computer-animated film "A Bug's Life," as well as a real dark-horse candidate called "Rushmore," which became a dar- ling of critics when it was shown at t Telluride and Toronto film festivals. The film is being released in Los Angeles and New York today for one week only for Oscar contention, then gets a wide release in February. Turmoil in the executive suites at Universal could be a problem for the stu- dio's Oscar campaign. A film that might have been a best-picture candidate, "One True Thing," failed at the box office;,~ now the studio is pushing "Pa Adams," starring Robin Williams. PolyGram Films is relying on the criti- cal praise bestowed on the special effects to push Robin Williams' "What Dreams May Come" to a nomination. Paramount is launching a campaign for the dark tale of greed "A Simple Plan," which stars Billy Bob Thornton and Bill Paxton. United Artists, meanwhile, is pro- moting John Frankenheimer's action- filled secret agent-themed mo* "Ronin," while New Line Cinema s waging Oscar campaigns for "Pleasantville," "American History X" and "Living Out Loud." 1429 H ill Street 769-0500 Sunday, December 13 - Thursday, December 17 (9:00 am - 2:00 am) Saturday , December 19 (7:00 pm - midnight) Sunday, December 20 (9:00 am - midnight) I t' 5 ' / A\ h'i ti COMICS (Including MA NGA) BACK ISSUES Graphic Novels RPGs (New & Used!) Card Games (Magic & Star Wars!) A NIME video HK Action video Games Workshop GIFT Certificates The only thing better than an iMac: An iMac for less than $29.99/mo. UNDERWORLD Comics & Games 1202 S. University next to Brown Jug & Footprints Open 7 Days. Friday and Saturday til Midnight, Sunday til 7:00! (734) 998-0547 fax: (734)994-3752 e-mail: underw@ic.net r. J I Apple® Computer couldn't make iMac any easier to set up or use. So they made it easier to buy. Now students can get an iMac for less than $29.99 per month.*For about what you'd spend on a few pizzas, you can have a superfast computer that can get you onto the Internet in 10 minutes right out of the box. You also get a coupon book worth $2,000 in additional value, for things like software, games and accessories. 4 A Large Group of Dr. Marten's '$79.90 i Regular Price $11 0.00-$ 140.00 p Men's and Women's Styles um 11