The 75th Annual Academy Awards

     A year ago, I commented on the absurdity of my friend's obsession with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and how it negatively influenced him in picking his favorite nominees for the awards. This year, I am that friend. If The Return of the King doesn't win all that it deserves, I will forever detest the Academy. What's interesting this year, however, is that ROTK isn't up for the two categories that The Two Towers was up for at the 75th Annual Awards, sound editing and cinematography. I'm a little pissed off that The Magdalene Sisters isn't up for anything (as expected), nor is Scarlett Johansson for either of the films she stared in (which is unexpected). However, let the voting commence! Some of the nominees were big surprises, and I couldn't be more happy about this. The committee has done their job so far. Let's just hope that the voting for the winners goes this well. Please Note: I have not seen Monster, Pieces of April, City of God, Dirty Pretty Things, The Triplets of Belleville, all but three of the documentaries and animated short films, and none of the foreign films or live action shorts, hence, I do not consider myself eligible to pick them personally, even though I've counted many of them as predictions. Here is my annual list...

My Picks Listed in Bold.

My Predictions are Highlighted.

Best Picture

• The Return of the King

• Lost in Translation

• Master and Commander

• Mystic River

• Seabiscuit

Best Actor

• Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean

• Ben Kingsley for House of Sand and Fog

• Jude Law for Cold Mountain

• Bill Murray for Lost in Translation

• Sean Penn for Mystic River

Best Actress

• Keisha Castle-Hughes for Whale Rider

• Diane Keaton for Something's Gotta Give

• Samantha Morton for In America

• Charlize Theron for Monster

• Naomi Watts for 21 Grams

Best Supporting Actor

• Alec Baldwin for The Cooler

• Benicio Del Toro for 21 Grams

• Djimon Hounsou for In America

• Tim Robbins for Mystic River

• Ken Watanabe for The Last Samurai

Best Supporting Actress

• Shohreh Aghdashloo for House of Sand and Fog

• Patricia Clarkson for Pieces of April

• Marcia Gay Harden for Mystic River

• Holly Hunter for Thirteen

• Renee Zellweger for Cold Mountain

Best Director

• Fernando Meirelles for City of God

• Peter Jackson for The Return of the King

• Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation

• Peter Weir for Master and Commander

• Clint Eastwood for Mystic River

Best Foreign Film (NO PICK)

• The Barbarian Invasions for Canada

• Zelary for Czech Republic

• The Twilight Samurai for Japan

• Twin Sisters for The Netherlands

• Evil for Sweden

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Robert Pulcini & Shari Springer Berman for American Splendor

• Braulio Mantovani for City of God

• Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson for The Return of the King

• Brian Helgeland for Mystic River

• Gary Ross for Seabiscuit

Best Original Screenplay

• Denys Arcand for The Barbarian Invasions

• Steven Knight for Dirty Pretty Things

• Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds for Finding Nemo

• Jim Sheridan & Naomi Sheridan & Kirsten Sheridan for In America

• Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation

Best Animated Feature

• Brother Bear

• Finding Nemo

• The Triplets of Belleville

Best Art Direction

• Girl with a Pearl Earring

• The Last Samurai

• The Return of the King

• Master and Commander

• Seabiscuit

Best Cinematography

• City of God

• Cold Mountain

• Girl with a Pearl Earring

• Master and Commander

• Seabiscuit

Best Sound Mixing

• The Last Samurai

• The Return of the King

• Master and Commander

• Pirates of the Caribbean

• Seabiscuit

Best Sound Editing

• Finding Nemo

• Master and Commander

• Pirates of the Caribbean

Best Original Score

• Danny Elfman for Big Fish

• Gabriel Yared for Cold Mountain

• Thomas Newman for Finding Nemo

• James Horner for House of Sand and Fog

• Howard Shore for The Return of the King

Best Original Song

• "Into the West" from The Return of the King by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox

• "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" from A Mighty Wind by Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole

• "Scarlet Tide" from Cold Mountain by T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello

• "The Triplets of Belleville" from The Triplets of Belleville by Benoit Charest and Sylvain Chomet

• "You Will Be My Ain True Love" from Cold Mountain by Sting

Best Costume Design

• Girl with a Pearl Earring

• The Last Samurai

• The Return of the King

• Master and Commander

• Seabiscuit

Best Documentary Feature

• Balseros

• Capturing the Friedmans

• The Fog of War

• My Architect

• The Weather Underground

Best Documentary Short Subject (NO PICK)

• Asylum

• Chernobyl Heart

• Ferry Tales

Best Film Editing

• City of God

• Cold Mountain

• The Return of The King

• Master and Commander

• Seabiscuit

Best Makeup

• The Return of the King

• Master and Commander

• Pirates of the Caribbean

Best Animated Short Film

• Boundin'

• Destino

• Gone Nutty

• Harvie Krumpet

• Nibbles

Best Live Action Short Film (NO PICK)

• Die Rote Jacke (The Red Jacket)

• Most (The Bridge)

• Squash

• (A) Torzija (A Torsion)

• Two Soldiers

Best Visual Effects

• The Return of the King

• Master and Commander

• Pirates of the Caribbean

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