'Gladiator' Leads Oscars with 12 Nominations By Bob Tourtellotte BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - ``Gladiator'' ruled, ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' pounced and ``Erin Brockovich'' got a valentine a day early as the Oscar nominations were announced Tuesday with each of those films celebrating a big day. Roman empire epic ``Gladiator'' scored the most Oscar nominations, with 12, including best picture, best actor for Russell Crowe and best director for Ridley Scott, while Ang Lee's Chinese-language ``Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' was second with 10, the most nominations a foreign language has ever received. ``Crouching Tiger'' won nominations for best picture and best foreign language film, marking only the third time a film has been nominated in both categories in the Oscars' 73-year history. ``Erin Brockovich,'' in which best actress nominee Julia Roberts portrays an environmental activist, and the drug war drama ``Traffic'' earned best picture nominations for director Steven Soderbergh. As he was in the earlier Golden Globe awards (news - web sites) in Hollywood, Soderbergh was nominated for best director, twice, for the two films becoming the first director to accomplish that feat since Michael Curtiz did it in 1938. Rounding out the best picture nominees was ``Chocolat,'' which proved to be a small surprise for many industry watchers because the movie, though well-liked by audiences, had been left out of many of the early awards. Music categories were loaded with talent as rock music legend Bob Dylan earned a nomination for best original song with ``Things Have Changed'' from ``Wonder Boys.'' Joining Dylan in that category were Sting with ``My Funny Friend and Me'' from ``The Emperor's New Groove;'' Icelandic pop star Bjork with ``I've Seen It All'' from ``Dancer in the Dark;'' Randy Newman with ``A Fool in Love'' from ``Meet the Parents,'' and Jorge Calandrelli and Tan Dun for ``A Love Before Time'' from ''Crouching Tiger.'' The Oscars, handed out each year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts (news - web sites) and Sciences, are the top film industry honors in the United States. They will be awarded this year in a ceremony in Los Angeles on March 25. Academy President Robert Rehme called the group of films one of the most eclectic in recent years. ``This is a great selection of films, very diverse,'' Rehme said. ``In fact, it's the year of diversity.'' Included with Crowe in the best actor category were Tom Hanks in ``Cast Away,'' who is considered a favorite for playing a man stranded for years on an island. Longshots against Crowe and Hanks will be Javier Bardem, who plays a Cuban poet and novelist in ``Before Night Falls,'' Ed Harris playing the artist Jackson Pollock in ``Pollock'' and Geoffrey Rush as the infamous Marquis de Sade in ``Quills.'' Rehme said he was delighted to see the Spanish actor Bardem, who is widely recognized in his home country but little known in the United states, nominated for an Oscar. ``When I saw the film, I thought he was the real person,'' Rehme said. Roberts, Linney, Binoche For Best Actress Best actress nominees included box office queen Roberts for ''Brockovich'' along with two actresses who received strong reviews but little popular attention in small, independent-style films, Laura Linney playing a single mom in ''You Can Count on Me'' and Ellen Burstyn portraying a TV-addicted mother in ``Requiem for a Dream.'' Also on the best actress list are Juliette Binoche for her role as the owner of a chocolate shop who turns a small French town upside down in ``Chocolat'' and Joan Allen for her performance as a female vice presidential appointee under political scrutiny in ``The Contender.'' Challenging Scott and Soderbergh will be Lee for ``Crouching Tiger,'' among the best director nominees. Rounding out the list is Stephen Daldry for the British film ``Billy Elliott.'' Joining ``Crouching Tiger'' in the foreign language film grouping are Mexico's ``Amores Perros,'' the Czech Republic's ''Divided We Fall,'' Belgium's ``Everybody Famous'' and France's ''The Taste of Others,'' which is the 31st time a French film has been nominated for that award. Best supporting actress nominees were Judi Dench in ''Chocolat,'' Marcia Gay Harden in ``Pollock,'' Kate Hudson in ''Almost Famous,'' Frances McDormand in ``Almost Famous,'' and Julie Walters in ``Billy Elliot.'' Best supporting actor nominees were Jeff Bridges in ``The Contender,'' Willem Dafoe in ``Shadow of the Vampire,'' Benicio Del Toro in ``Traffic,'' Albert Finney in ``Erin Brockovich'' and Joaquin Phoenix for ``Gladiator.'' ------------------ Moe's Classic Signatures "Will Work for Clutch 101 Book"
I was sure I saw a better movie this last year than these! Now if I could only remember what movie that was.... ------------------ RealGM Rockets Draft Obligations Summary Gafford Art Artisan
Oops , Just Saw Outlaw's Thread , Oh well . ------------------ Moe's Classic Signatures "Will Work for Clutch 101 Book"
