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4B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine -
The Academy's toughest choice:
Film's top talent vies for Best Actress

The Michigan Daily - Weekend Magazine -1T

Mock Oscars honor those
forgotten on Sunday night

ByJohn Laughlin
Daily Arts Writer
Last year honored some of Hollywood's most
glamorous actresses with roles that show-
cased their diverse - and sometimes surpris-
ing - talents. Renee sang. Julianne once again
proved her incomparable talent. Diane showed off
her sexiness for all to see, while Nicole and Salma
toned theirs down to portray historical figures. They
all deserve their nominations but only one can win.

By Josh Neidus
Daily Arts Writer

Well, boys and girls, it's that time
again, Oscar time. Now if you're like
me, you watch to see who wins, but
you also know that the movies you
like are never nominated, and that's
because the categories they belong in
aren't Oscar worthy. So after much
consideration, and much ass kissing
to my editor, I put together my own
awards. And now, it is with great
pleasure that I bring you the first
annual Daily Mock Oscars.
To kick off the ceremonies with a
bang, we'll start with the award for
the Biggest Bad Ass. Unfortunately
for "Two Towers," Aragorn and
Legolas split their votes, and Steven
Seagal, although putting in tremen-
dous effort in "Half Past Dead," is
sadly just too fat and old. Instead,
after shocking the Empire with his

ability to wield a light saber, Yoda
bitch slaps the Academy to take home
this award. When questioned about
any foul play that may have swayed
the judges, the Master claimed, "Jedi
mind tricks, I used not."
The Biggest Chick Flick is an
award presented to the movie most
likely to repel any guy who wasn't
forced into the theater by a woman,
not to be confused with "Shallow
Hal's" literal interpretation of the cat-
egory. "A Walk to Remember" was
definitely a movie to forget and
"Tuck Everlasting" should have been
called "Tuck Never-ending;" thus, by
process of elimination, congratula-
tions to "Sweet Home Alabama."
We continue with the self-
explanatory Best-Movie-Starring-A-
Rapper-That-Probably-Doesn't-
Have-Any-Acting-Talent-But-Still-
Made-A-Pretty-Damn-Good-Movie-
Anyways Award. Very few can actu-

ally pull off the jump from music to
the big screen, but unfortunately,
that doesn't stop Ja Rule and DMX
from trying and trying. Ice Cube
may have nabbed this award for the
original "Friday," but "Barbershop"
just couldn't stop Marshall Mathers
from taking the trophy back to "8
Mile."
See MOCKS, Page 168

' I

ut'y"of Mi"amax

Nicole Kidman

Courtesy oT Miramax
Julianne Moore Is up for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

In a sharp turn
from British spin-
sters and
absinthe-con-
suming courte-
sans, women
were given the
opportunity to
play some of the
greatest roles to/j
date on screen
from Salma
Hayek in "Frida"
to Nicole Kidman
in "The Hours."
Previous years'
nominations
never saw such a
high caliber of
acting portrayed,
and audiences Renee Zeliweger
can only expect
that these women will garner high-
powered roles in the future, not to men-

tion higher pay-
checks.
Twice recog-
nized for her per-
formances is
Julianne Moore
with her critically
acclaimed role in
"Far From
Heaven" and a
Best Supporting
Actress nomina-
tion for her role in
"The Hours."
Renee Zellweger
stepped out of the
romantic comedy
genre and into her
role as the spot-
Courtesy ofMiramax light-craving
Roxie Hart in the
adaptation of the
Broadway classic "Chicago," while
Diane Lane was thrust into the spot-

light with "Unfaithful."
These five women make up this
year's list of nominees for Best Actress
with each individual as talented as the
next in roles all unique and challeng-
ing, one has to wonder: Who will the
Oscar go to?
The critics, it would seem, favor
Julianne Moore for her role in "Far
from Heaven." What complicates this
notion, however, is the fact that Nicole
Kidman was already awarded the
Golden Globe for "The Hours." Much
of the time the Golden Globes are a
good indication as to what to expect
on Oscar night, but there is more than
a good chance that Moore could snag
the Oscar.
Moore has been nominated in both
the female categories and she is due for
an Academy Award, but likewise,
Kidman has not received an Academy
Award to date. The dark horse candi-
date of the category is definitely Salma



Xt


N4

Hayek, who could surprise us all by
taking home the award for her portray-
al of the trouble-ridden "Frida."
Make-up artistry worked wonders for
both Salma Hayek and Nicole Kidman.
Through the
magic of the cos-
metics and pros-
thetics, Hayekx
was transformed
from the youthful b '
to aged Frida
Kahlo, while
Kidman played
the estranged
Virginia Woolf.j
Both actors were
transformed into
their characters,
adding credibility
to their parts and
helping to erase
their glamorous
star identities.
J u 1 i ann e
Moore's role as
Cathy in "Far
from Heaven" was that of a housewife
whose world gets turned upside down
by the discovery of her husband's
homosexuality. Moore's Cathy goes on
to find a companion in the most unlike-
ly (and socially unacceptable at the
time) relationship of all - her black
gardener. Moore's role is one of great
depth and true emotion set against the
backdrop of 1950s New England.
In another film dealing with adul-
tery, "Unfaithful," Diane Lane broke
through as Connie Summer, a
woman who ends up having an affair
when she comes to the conclusion
that she doesn't have all she wants in
life. The role is fantastic in that the
stereotypical situation of a cheating
husband on his wife is reversed.
Lane is able to present a new female
position.on screen through both lust
and language.
In perhaps one of the more radical
shifts of personality and acting ability
- but perhaps foreshadowed by her
role in "Bridget Jones' Diary" -
Renee Zellweger mastered the role of
media icon Roxie Hart in "Chicago."
The adapted musical racked up 13
nominations and Zellweger's incredi-

ble performance clearly exemplifies
the film's overall excellence. Her
sweet star qualities are perfect for the
character of Roxie as she embodies
the femme fatale and the girl next
door at the same
time. Zellweger
also demon-
strates her depth
as an actress as
she sings and
precisely per-
forms Bob
Fosse's dance
moves with her
stage-trained
.co - star,
Catherine Zeta-
Jones.
In this year of
r e fr e s h in g
female perform-
ances that dared
to challenge the
term "screen
siren," Kidman
is the favorite
going into Sunday night's festivities.
Yet, while Kidman, Lane, Hayek and
Zellweger certainly turned in career-
defining performances, the Oscar
should go home with Moore, who has
never been more giving as an actress
or more deserving of accolade.


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