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Sept. 26 - Oct. 3, 2004 |
Independents flock to the Oscars
Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation leads indie pack at this weekend's Academy Awards
By Angela Baldassarre
Originally Published: 2004-02-29
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Oscar Nominations
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If the Oscar nominations last month proved anything, it's that the spirit of independent film is alive and well and here to stay. And for those of us in love with cinema, that's a very good thing.
The definition of what an independent film truly is has been skewed over the years. Movies that were once known as eclectic "art house" films with very little budget and unknown casts are now being bankrolled by the so-called indie houses like Miramax, Focus Features, Fox Searchlight and Lions Gate with heavy-hitters such as Julia Roberts (Full Frontal) and John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) on the marquee.
This year Cobalt Media Group paired with giant DreamWorks to bring House of Sand and Fog to the big screen thereby garnering a best actor nod for Ben Kingsley. Bill Murray's nod for Lost in Translation marks a notch for Focus Features.
The supporting actor category was dominated by indies as was the best actress category. Receiving nods went to Djimon Hounsou and Samantha Morton for In America (Fox Searchlight/20th Century Fox), Alec Baldwin as a smarmy casino pit boss in The Cooler (Lions Gate) and Benicio Del Toro and Naomi Watts for 21 Grams (Focus Features).
It was no surprise that Charlize Theron received a nod for her turn as a real-life serial killer in Monster (Newmarket Films); however, Hollywood is buzzing about the nomination for 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider (Miramax) who reportedly couldn't even swim when she took the part.
Independents also prevailed in the supporting actress category with noms going to Shohreh Aghdashloo for House of Sand and Fog, Patricia Clarkson in Pieces of April, and indie darling Holly Hunter for Thirteen. Hunter received the Independent Vision Award at last year's Sundance Film Festival.
Cheers went up as Sofia Coppola received her best directing nod for Lost in Translation (Focus Features) and were quickly replaced by murmurs when Sigourney Weaver announced Fernando Meirelles for City of God (Miramax). Seems that the Hollywood elite has been campaigning hard for its nomination.
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