March 21, 2003 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

eveningsout Winwood

Who will go home with the little golden man?

by Kaizaad Kotwal

It's time for the 75th annual Academy Awards, and GLBT-related cinema has had a grand year overall.

Keep in mind, though, that nominations and picks for who walks off with the 82 inches of gilded fame on March 23 often has less to do with who deserves to win and more with marketing and compensation for past snubs. Besides, by the next morning most people will remember the fashions on the red carpet far more than who won and who "was simply delighted just to be nominated."

Art Direction: Chicago, Frida, Gangs of New York, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Road to Perdition

Why the amazingly beautiful Far From Heaven was snubbed is inexplicable, Chicago could win if the film sweeps at the awards.

Cinematography: Chicago, Far From Heaven, Gangs of New York, The Pianist, Road to Perdition.

Andrew Lesnie should have been nominated for his mesmerizing work with The Two Towers. Conrad Hall, who died of cancer last month, gave the rather overrated Perdition a beautifully lush and mysterious look just like he did for his Oscar winning work on American Beauty.

Costume Design: Chicago, Frida, Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Pianist

This is a fairly open category, although Chicago will probably win for the colorful and sexy costumes of the 1920s era dazzlingly recreated for this lush musical.

Music (Song): Chicago, 8 Mile, Frida, Gangs of New York, The Wild Thornberrys Movie

From 8 Mile, Eminem's song, satirically witty and potently political, deserves the award. But the odds-on favorite to win is U2 for their patriotically manipulative song from Gangs. Writing (Adapted Screenplay): About a Boy, Adaptation, Chicago, The Hours, The Pianist

David Hare's masterful adaptation of Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Hours deserves the prize for interweaving three story lines with emotional deftness and clarity. Bill Condon's imaginative adaptation of Chicago could win, especially if the musical sweeps the awards with its 13 total nominations.

Writing (Original Screenplay): Far From Heaven, Gangs of New York, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Talk to Her, Y Tu Mamá También

Pedro Almodovar's enigmatic and moving Talk to Her is by far the best screenplay of the year. Additionally, he may be given this award as a consolation for losing out in the Best Director race.

Foreign Language Film: El Crimen Del Padre Amaro, Hero, The Man Withour a Past, Nowhere in Africa, Zus & Zo

Mexico's Padre Amaro is utter tripe and how it even got a nomination is a mystery. The lesbian-related Zus and Zo is a strong contender, but look for Hero to take the prize.

Actor in a Supporting Role: Chris Cooper (Adaptation), Ed Harris (The Hours), Paul Newman (The Road to Perdition), John C. Reilly (Chicago), Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can)

Given the field, Cooper should win for his strong turn as an orchid thief in the disappointingly quirky Adaptation. However, had Dennis Quaid not been passed over for his stellar performance as a '50s husband who struggles to come to terms with his homosexuality in Far From Heaven, this prize could easily have gone to him.

Actress in a Supporting Role: Kathy Bates (About Schmidt), Julianne Moore (The Hours), Queen Latifah (Chicago), Meryl Streep (Adaptation), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Chicago)

actor (male or female) ever with 13 nods. But it is Zeta-Jones who is the one to beat for her foxy Velma Kelly, who sings and dances with explosive sexuality.

Actor in a Leading Role: Adrien Brody (The Pianist), Nicolas Cage (Adaptation), Michael Caine (The Quiet American), Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York), and Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt)

Adrien Brody deserves the award for his subtle yet explosive performance as

Renée Zellweger in Chicago

Wladyslaw Szpielman in the Holocuast-based memoir of a real-life survivor. Jack Nicholson was effectively not his usual self, playing a man caught in the existential angst of the twilight of his widower life.

Actress in a Leading Role: Salma Hayek (Frida), Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Diane Lane (Unfaithful), Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven), Renée Zellweger (Chicago)

Meryl Streep should have been nominated for her performance as a lesbian struggling with the ennui of her 10-year relationship and with the impending loss of her former lover to AIDS in The Hours. Expect Nicole Kidman to win for her strong portrayal of the iconic Virgina Woolf and edge out Hayek's bisexual artist Frida and Zellweger's murderous Roxy Hart.

Directing: Rob Marshall (Chicago), Martin Scorsese (Gangs of New York), Stepehen Dalrdy (The Hours), Roman Polanski (The Pianist), Pedro Almodovar (Talk to Her)

Openly gay Daldry's directing of The Hours was well modulated just like his earlier nomination of Billy Elliot. Polanski has reinvented a hackneyed genre with his quietly devastating Holocaust film. Almodovar is deservingly nominated for his marvelously surreal and poignantly human Talk to Her.

Best Picture: Chicago Gangs of New York, The Hours, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Pianist

Gangs of New York would never have qualified had Martin Scorsese been given the honors.when he deserved them in the past for his outstanding work with Raging Bull, Goodfellas and the Last Temptation of Christ. Talk to Her and Bowling for Columbine are far better than the boring and overblown Gangs. The other contenders are all strong.

The Hours could win in an upset, but Chicago is the one to beat based on popularity and box-office numbers. Along with last year's brilliant Moulin Rouge, by honoring Chicago, the Academy is hoping to revive the musical genre for mass audiences once

· In a category with grand performances by all the nominees, Streep entered the record books with this year as the most nominated; again.

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