2003 Oscars Revisited

For anyone who is wondering, I am not pulling these movies from memory. As with most things I’m a compulsive collector of information. I have a list of every movie I’ve ever seen along with the director, year of release, a rating (similar to what you’d find on Scott’s blog), genre, etc. I started this movie list in 1992 which was pre-computer for me. I have since created a database for this information along with other things that I keep track of. There are a myriad of free software downloads and web-based programs to aid in these things now but I stick with what I created.

A note on the tables: If you are viewing this page in Internet Explorer, the tables probably look a bit off. If you are using Firefox, they should appear as desired. If you are using another web browser, well, you could be seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls for all I know.

BEST PICTURE
MINE	THEIRS
American Splendor	Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Capturing the Friedmans	Lost in Translation
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Master and Commander
Lost in Translation	Mystic River
Shattered Glass	Seabiscuit

Two matches here: LotR and Lost in Translation. I’ve included Capturing the Friedmans because I think it’s really strong and also because I’m not doing a documentary category. And by the way, Seabiscuit? Seriously?

BEST DIRECTOR
MINE	THEIRS
Shari Berman & Robert Pulcini,	Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation
American Splendor	Clint Eastwood, Mystic River
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation	Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings: The
Peter Jackson, Lord of the Rings: ROTK	Return of the King
Wayne Kramer, The Cooler	Fernando Meirelles, City of God
Gus Van Sant, Elephant	Peter Weir, Master and Commander

I should point out that although City of God is nominated here by the Academy, I’m moving it back a year because in preparing these posts I had 2002 as the release date for that movie. You’ll see it show up in my 2002 post.

BEST ACTOR
MINE	THEIRS
Jack Black, Shool of Rock	Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean
Hayden Christensen, Shattered Glass	Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean	Jude Law, Cold Mountain
Paul Giamatti, American Splendor	Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation	Sean Penn, Mystic River

I couldn’t resist the Johnny Depp performance in Pirates of the Caribbean. It’s been widely reported he based part of his character on Keith Richards. I think it’s the first positive contribution to society by Keith in a long time. Thanks for the pirate inspiration, Keith…and for “You Got the Silver” as well.

BEST ACTRESS
MINE	THEIRS
Zooey Deschanel, All the Real Girls	Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider
Scarlett Johansson, Lost in Translation	Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give
Tilda Swinton, Young Adam	Samanta Morton, In America
Uma Thurman, Kill Bill, Vol. 1	Charlize Theron, Monster
Evan Rachel Wood, Thirteen	Naomi Watts, 21 Grams

If you haven't seen All the Real Girls, do so. I don't have a single match here. I should admit that I never saw Whale Rider though.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
MINE	THEIRS
Alec Baldwin, The Cooler	Alec Baldwin, The Cooler
Tony Cox, Bad Santa	Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams
Tim Robbins, Mystic River	Djimon Hounsou, In America
Sam Rockwell, Matchstick Men	Tim Robbins, Mystic River
Peter Sarsgaard, Shattered Glass	Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai

Yeah, you read that correctly: Tony Cox in Bad Santa.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
MINE	THEIRS
Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand	Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand
and Fog	and Fog
Maria Bello, The Cooler	Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April
Hope Davis, American Splendor	Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River
Nikki Reed, Thirteen	Holly Hunter, Thirteen
Frances McDormand, Laurel Canyon	Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain

It was really refreshing to see Shohreh Aghdashloo in House of Sand and Fog. When she was in 24, she had it turned up to 11 in every scene. It was nice to see her a little more emotionally restrained. American Splendor is a great movie and Hope Davis gives a great performance.