Without any further ado...on with the show!
Best Art/Set Direction
And the nominees are...
Far From Heaven
Chicago
Gangs of New York
Frida
Catch Me If You Can
And the winner is...(highlight blank space to uncover winner and explanation)
[start] Frida - The art direction and set direction of Frida by Bernardo Trujillo and Hannia Robledo respectivly was beautiful. This was a tough category to call, as all the candidates could easily have taken this prize, but in the end, the color schemes managed to keep Frida interesting when the story at times could not.[end]
Best Special Effects
And the nominees are...
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Minority Report
Reign of Fire
Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones
Spider-Man
And the winner is...(highlight blank area to uncover winner and explanation)
[start] Minority Report - Michael Lantiari and his crew created visually stunning and even theoretically realistic futuristic special effects, which were not only awe-inducing but fit well within the story.[end]
Best Costumes
And the nominees are...
Catch Me If You Can
Frida
Gangs of New York
Chicago
Far From Heaven
And the winner is...(highlight blank space to uncover the winner and explanation)
[start] Frida - The beautiful costumes designed by Julie Weiss are both colorful and detailed. Weiss does an excellent job of recreating mid-20th century Mexico.[end]
Best Cinematography
And the nominees are...
Far From Heaven
Minority Report
Panic Room
Chicago
Gangs of New York
And the winner is...(highlight blank space to uncover winner and explanation)
[start] Far From Heaven - Edward Lachman provides this year's most vivid, lush and loving camera work. His style smooth and soft and gives the movie something that acting, costumes, sets, direction or anything else could not have given it. Panic Room comes in a very close second.[end]
Best Adapted Screenplay
And the nominees are...
Adaptation, Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman
Minority Report, Scott Frank
About Schmidt, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
Chicago, Bill Condon
The Pianist, Ronald Harwood
And the winner is...(highlight blank space to uncover winner and explanation)
[start] Adaptation - This was the easiest award to choose of the night. This script by Charlie Kaufman and fictious twin Donald is smart, witty and most of all, creative. This is quite possibly in the top 5 greatest screenplays ever![end]
Best Original Screenplay
And the nominees are...
Hollywood Ending, Woody Allen
Far From Heaven, Todd Haynes
The Good Girl, Michael White
Full Frontal, Coleman Hough
One Hour Photo, Mark Romanek
And the winner is...(highlight blank space for winner and explanation)
[start] Far From Heaven - Todd Haynes' beautiful script about taboo subjects in the "idilic" 1950's was perfect. The scripts for The Good Girl and One Hour Photo come very close, as both of those are excellent as well.[end]
Best Supporting Actress
And the nominees are...
Meryl Streep, Adaptation
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
Julianne Moore, The Hours
Nicole Kidman, The Hours
Meryl Streep, The Hours
And the winner is...(highlight blank space to see winner and explanation)
[start] Julianne Moore, The Hours - The stand-out of the three main characters in The Hours, Julianne Moore was radiant as a suicide contemplating housewife in the 1950's. This was probably the hardest category to decide. This award could have easily gone to Meryl Streep for either role or Catherine Zeta-Jones.[end]
Best Supporting Actor
And the nominees are...
Chris Cooper, Adaptation
John C. Reilly, Chicago
David Hyde Pierce, Full Frontal
Dennis Quiad, Far From Heaven
Richard Gere, Chicago
And the winner is...(highlight blank space to see winner and explanation)
[start] Chris Cooper, Adaptation - This was no contest at all. Veteren character actor Chris Cooper literally becomes John Laroche in Adaptation. His performance is filled with charisma. None of the other nominees even come close to rivaling his performance.[end]
Best Actress
And the nominees are...
Julianne Moore, Far From Heaven
Jennifer Aniston, The Good Girl
Renee Zellweger, Chicago
Diane Lane, Unfaithful
Jodie Foster, Panic Room
And the winner is...(highlight blank area to uncover winner and explanation)
[start] Diane Lane, Unfaithful - When I first saw Unfaithful, I was not familiar with Diane Lane. But after seeing her moving and heartbreaking performance as a housewife who is having an affair, it was clear to me that she was going to be the win The Oliver, and she has.[end]
Best Actor
And the nominees are...
Adrian Brody, The Pianist
Daniel Day-Lewis, Gangs of New York
Sam Rockwell, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Jack Nicholson, About Schmidt
Nicolas Cage, Adaptation
And the winner is...(highlight blank space to uncover winner and explanation)
[start] Nicolas Cage, Adaptation - When I first saw Adaptation, I knew Cage would be in contention for the Best Actor Oliver, but it wasn't until I recently saw it again that I decided his work as both Donald and Charlie Kaufman was brilliant. This was another VERY though category, and it came down to this: all the other actors had one brilliant performance, Cage had two in the same movie![end]
Best Director
And the nominees are...
Roman Polanski, The Pianist
Rob Marshall, Chicago
Todd Haynes, Far From Heaven
Spike Jonze, Adaptation
Alexander Payne, About Schmidt
And the winner is...(highlight blank area to uncover winner and explanation)
[start] Spike Jonze, Adaptation - The complex and layered nature of the script made for difficult directing, yet Jonze pulled it off flawlessly. He was able to present the script in such a way as the audience understood its brilliance, while not being condescending (unlike another Oliver nominated film, The Hours).[end]
Best Picture
And the nominees are...
Chicago
Far From Heaven
Adaptation
The Pianist
Minority Report
And the winner is...(highlight blank area for winner and explantation)
[start] Adaptation - Everything about Adaptation clicked, and unlike former #1 film Far From Heaven, which depreciated over time, Adaptation only got better as I continued to think about it, and even more after I saw it again. The acting, the directing, the score, the pace, but most of all, the script were all perfect and inventive (something we don't see much of in Hollywood these days).[end]
This concludes the 2002 Oliver Awards. From everyone at Teen Film Review, goodnight, and we will see you next year. Congratulations to all our winners and nominees.