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Listed below are the Winners of the 2004 ACADEMY AWARDS along with our Picks, our Predictions, and our ever popular list of Egregious Omissions. 

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2003 were presented on Sunday, February 29, 2004, and televised live by the ABC Television Network.

Here are the rules: Life is all about choice & this case is no different. According to AMPAS, there can only be five nominees in each category. Therefore, that means that we also have five candidates for each category. If we list two “Egregious Omissions” in a particular category, that means we think there are two candidates on AMPAS’s list who should be replaced.

It is our tradition to nominate our “Best Dressed” contenders on the night of our annual OscarBowl, and to select our final choice after carefully scrutinizing the pages of PEOPLE magazine.

If you have comments about our choices (or about anything else printed on this website), please e-mail us at films42@msn.com. Please remember to include your name & telephone number. We will contact you for permission before posting anything you write on our site.

Enjoy! Jan & Rich
 

 

 

MAJOR OSCAR CATEGORIES

Best Film Best Actress Best Actor
Best Director Best Supporting Actress Best Supporting Actor
Best Original Screenplay Best Adapted Screenplay Best Art Direction

Best Cinematographer

Best Costume Design

Best Editing

Best Original Musical Score

Best Original Song

Best Documentary
  Best Foreign Language Film  

 

Top

Best Film

Choices:
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING
LOST IN TRANSLATION
MASTER & COMMANDER: FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
MYSTIC RIVER
SEABISCUIT

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s Pick:
THE LORD OF THE RINGS:
RETURN OF THE KING
  (see note below)

Rich’s Pick:
MASTER & COMMANDER:
FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD

 

Egregious Omissions?

AMERICAN SPLENDOR
BIG FISH

& the OSCAR goes to:  THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

 

Best Actress

Choices:
Naomi Watts in 21 GRAMS
Samantha Morton in IN AMERICA
Charlize Theron in MONSTER
Diane Keaton in SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE
Keisha Castle-Hughes in WHALE RIDER

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s & Rich's Pick:  Charlize Theron in MONSTER

 

Egregious Omissions?

Toni Collette in JAPANESE STORY
Sarah Polley in MY LIFE WITHOUT ME

& the OSCAR goes to:   Charlize Theron in MONSTER

 

Best Actor

Choices:
Jude Law in COLD MOUNTAIN
Ben Kingsley in HOUSE OF SAND & FOG
Bill Murray in LOST IN TRANSLATION
Sean Penn in MYSTIC RIVER
Johnny Depp in 
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: 
THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s Pick:
Bill Murray in LOST IN TRANSLATION

Rich’s Pick:
Ben Kingsley in HOUSE OF SAND & FOG

 

Egregious Omissions?

Paul Giamatti in AMERICAN SPLENDOR
Campbell Scott in THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS
Elijah Wood in
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

& the OSCAR goes to:  Sean Penn in MYSTIC RIVER

Top

Best Director

Choices:
Fernando Meirelles for CITY OF GOD
Peter Jackson for 
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING
Sofia Coppola for LOST IN TRANSLATION 
Peter Weir for 
MASTER & COMMANDER: FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
Clint Eastwood for MYSTIC RIVER

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s Pick:
Peter Jackson for 
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

Rich’s Pick:
Fernando Meirelles for 
CITY OF GOD

 

Egregious Omissions?

Berman & Pulcini for AMERICAN SPLENDOR
Tim Burton for BIG FISH
Robert Altman for THE COMPANY
 

& the OSCAR goes to:   Peter Jackson for 
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

 

 

Best Supporting Actress

Choices:
Renée Zellweger in COLD MOUNTAIN
Shohreh Aghdashloo in HOUSE OF SAND & FOG
Marcia Gay Harden in MYSTIC RIVER
Patricia Clarkson in PIECES OF APRIL
Holly Hunter in THIRTEEN

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s Pick:
Shohreh Aghdashloo in HOUSE OF SAND & FOG

Rich’s Pick:
Holly Hunter in THIRTEEN

 

Egregious Omissions

Melissa Leo in 21 GRAMS
Hope Davis in AMERICAN SPLENDOR
Annette Benning in OPEN RANGE

& the OSCAR goes to:  Renée Zellweger in COLD MOUNTAIN

 

Best Supporting Actor

Choices:
Benicio Del Toro in 21 GRAMS
Alec Baldwin in THE COOLER
Djimon Hounsou in IN AMERICA
Ken Watanabe in THE LAST SAMURAI
Tim Robbins in MYSTIC RIVER

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s & Rich's Pick:  Alec Baldwin in THE COOLER

 

Egregious Omissions?

Wentworth Miller in THE HUMAN STAIN
Sean Astin in
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING
Robert Duvall in OPEN RANGE

& the OSCAR goes to:  Tim Robbins in MYSTIC RIVER

Top

Best Original Screenplay

Choices:
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS
FINDING NEMO
IN AMERICA
BARBARIAN INVASIONS
LOST IN TRANSLATION 

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s Rich's Pick:  FINDING NEMO

 

Egregious Omissions?

Barbara Turner for THE COMPANY
Guest, Levi & Cast for A MIGHTY WIND
Patty Jenkins for
MONSTER
Hardwicke & Reed for
THIRTEEN

& the OSCAR goes to:  LOST IN TRANSLATION 

 

Best Adapted Screenplay

Choices:
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
CITY OF GOD
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING
MYSTIC RIVER
SEABISCUIT

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s & Rick's Pick:  SEABISCUIT

 

Egregious Omissions?

Costa-Gavras & Grumberg for AMEN
John August for
BIG FISH
Nicholas Meyer for THE HUMAN STAIN

& the OSCAR goes to:  THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

 

Top

 

Best Costume Design

Choices:
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
THE LAST SAMURAI
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER & COMMANDER: FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
SEABISCUIT

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s & Rich's Pick:  THE LAST SAMURAI

 

Egregious Omissions?

BIG FISH
THE COMPANY

& the OSCAR goes to:  THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

Top

 

 

 

Best Original Song

Choices:
A MIGHTY WIND
COLD MOUNTAIN (1)
COLD MOUNTAIN (2)
LES TRIPLETTES DE BELLEVILLE
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s Pick:
A MIGHTY WIND

Rich’s Pick:  
LES TRIPLETTES DE BELLEVILLE

 

EGREGIOUS OMISSIONS?

N/A

& the OSCAR goes to:  THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

 

 

Best Foreign Language Film

Choices:
DE TWEELING
BARBARIAN INVASIONS
ONDSKAN
TASOGARE SEIBEI
ZELARY

WHO SHOULD WIN?

Jan’s Pick:  Pass

Rich’s Pick:  Pass

 

EGREGIOUS OMISSIONS?

AMEN
IN THIS WORLD
LILYA 4-EVER

& the OSCAR goes to:  BARBARIAN INVASIONS

 

 
FF2 Note:

Astute readers will notice that THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING scores higher than expected on this list even though we were very hard on it in our original haiku. Although Rich is still conflicted, Jan believes that Oscars for RETURN OF THE KING really reward the entire RINGS TRILOGY. By this point we have seen the expanded DVD versions of both FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING and THE TWO TOWERS, therefore we are in a better position to assess the entire epic. For better or for worse, the theatrical versions of both films eliminated many of the relatively quiet character-development scenes in favor of displaying the maximum amount of big-screen violence & mayhem. Jan & Rich agree that all of the actors fare better on DVD, where the enormity of the collective accomplishment is more fully apparent.
 


 

Meanwhile, here are FF2's assessments of this year's 
GOLDEN GLOBE Awards

BEST PICTURE  (DRAMA)
 

Jan's Choice
 
SEABISCUIT

Rich's Choice
 
COLD MOUNTAIN


And the Winner is... 
LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING

Nominations

COLD MOUNTAIN
LORD OF THE RINGS:
RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER & COMMANDER:
FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
MYSTIC RIVER
SEABISCUIT

 

BEST PICTURE  (COMEDY OR MUSICAL)
 

Jan & Rich Agree!
 
BIG FISH


And the Winner is... 
LOST IN TRANSLATION

Nominations

BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM
BIG FISH
FINDING NEMO
LOST IN TRANSLATION
LOVE ACTUALLY

 

Additional Films on this Year’s GOLDEN GLOBE List
(with either acting &/or screenplay nominations):

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
 
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
CALENDAR GIRLS
COOLER
KILL BILL VOLUME 1
LAST SAMURAI
MONSTER
SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE
THIRTEEN
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN
VERONICA GUERRIN

 

RECOMMENDED
 
FREAKY FRIDAY
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
HOUSE OF SAND & FOG
IN AMERICA
PIECES OF APRIL
SHATTERED GLASS
SCHOOL OF ROCK
NOT RECOMMENDED
 
BAD SANTA
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN