6B - The Michigan Daily -Weekeid Maaiie - Thursday, March 20, 2003
The Michigan Daily- Wtekeld NoOle -- Th
Snubbed
By Ryan Lewis
Daily Film Editor
Every year the nominations role
out, and every year they're never
quite right in the minds of most
moviegoers. This year, of course,
there was the critically-acclaimed
"About Schmidt" receiving much less
than many would have speculated. Of
course, the ridiculousness that is the
makeup category, as arbitrary as it
sounds, somehow excluded the won-
derful jobs of both "The Lord of the
Rings: The Two Towers" and the
newest "Star Wars" installment.
Some say it's politics, others refer to
it as a popularity contest, but some-
how the awards have a checkered past
of leaving out the very best that Hol-
lywood actually offered.1
I :
The best films never nominated
Streep leads a talented pack
of supporting nominees
As usual, the heavy-hitters of Holly-
wood have extended their greedy
hands into the Oscar pot - especially
Miramax, garnering three of the five
best picture nominations. Although it
may seem as though any number of
other deserved films appeared on
screen throughout the year, the nomi-
nations, as has become commonplace,
have again been swept by year-end
films; only the lesser categories figure
in otherwise. However, most of those
that have been nominated cannot be
denied their legitimate claim to the
award, and the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences will contin-
ue its long-standing tradition of glam-
our, long nights full of surprises and
winners above all.
Opening in 1929, the Academy
began by rewarding best pictures in two
in which they were many-times-over
more deserving. The Oscars have
received an ever-present stigma for
handing the little golden statuette to a
much less deserving film. Therefore,
in the grand tradition of criticism, and
for all those who have felt cheated in
some point in Oscar history, I give to
you five of the best films never to
have been nominated in the Best Pic-
ture category:
5) "Memento"
Possibly one of the most intriguing-
ly structured films in cinema history,
Christopher Nolan's emergence onto
the American screen found itself up
for only Best Editing and Best Adapt-
ed Screenplay. While the story is as
unique as any, the acting, the twists
and the tremendously intricate and
ethereal backwards format should
have raised the film into the company
of the absurdly overrated "A Beautiful
Mind." Films close but not quite mak-
ing the cut include "Requiem for a
Dream" and "Magnolia."
See SNUBBED, Page 10B
separate categories, but the silent film
"Wings" from 1927 is considered the
first to achieve the highest honor. Since
then, the ceremony has maintained a
FULL SETSFROMBO TH ARTISTS
prestige above all others, sometimes
failing to honor what have since
become known as some of the finest
films of all time - "Citizen Kane,"
"Raging Bull" and "Pulp Fiction" to
name a few - but always granting
awards in a respectable fashion.
But, as that tradition holds, there
have been too many films over the
course of the Academy's history that
were completely shut out of categories
S . I
Actress
By John Laughlin
Daily Arts Writer
The award for Best Supporting
Actress also has its share of premium
talent with Kathy Bates from "About
Schmidt," a surprising Queen Latifah
with "Chicago," Julianne Moore for
her role in "The Hours," Meryl
Streep for "Adaptation" and Cather-
ine Zeta-Jones in "Chicago." It would
seem that the list of names for Best
Supporting Actress rivals that of Best
Actress! This year brings with it a lot
of stars to the best supporting catego-
ry, just as much as Best Actress, and
with it a lot of tension and anticipa-
tion. There are a lot of tough calls
this year and there are sure to be
some upsets as well.
Julianne Moore is the one to look
out for this year. She's nominated in
both female categories this year and
has not won an Oscar to date despite
being nominated in the past for her
role in P.T. Anderson's "Boogie
Nights," for which many thought she
deserved the award.
Catherine Zeta-Jones is also often
viewed as having been robbed, but
for even a nomination for "Traffic" in
which she played the wife of a notori-
ous drug dealer. Zeta-Jones' role as
Velma Kelly in "Chicago" was per-
fectly suited for her star persona -
blending both the sexy and the
sophisticated.
Also from "Chicago," Queen Lati-
fah is nominated for her role as
Matron Morton. Latifah's character
A look at the
underside of U of M
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was one of confidence and boldness.
This actress's path to screen success
has been a quick one and it is already
a great accomplishment to be paired
alongside Oscar veterans Kathy Bates
and Meryl Steep.
Kathy Bates
won the Best
Actress Oscar
back in 1990 fory
here role as Annie
Wilkes in "Mis-
ery." Bold and
always first rate, 7
Bates now finds
herself up for the
Best Supporting
Actress award
this year for her
role as Roberta
Hertzel in "About
Schmidt." The
role included a
revealing nude
scene for the brave actress.
Oscar darling Meryl Streep adds
another nomination to her resume in
the supporting category and it is
somewhat surprising not to find her
in the Best Actress category for her
role in "The
Hours." However,
Streep's work in
"Adaptation" as
New Yorker jour-
6 / nalist Susan
Orlean is definite-
ly just as deserv-
ing as the rest.
With all the com-
petition this year
and against many
who have not yet
won an Academy
Award, it will be
interesting to see
if Streep can snag
another Oscar.
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