2001

Best Picture: 

Donnie Darko
Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring
Mulholland Drive
Vanilla Sky
Y Tu Mama Tambien

The BMA goes to:  Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring

The Brandon Academy Award for Best Picture:

A Beautiful Mind
Gosford Park
In the Bedroom
Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring
Moulin Rouge!

And the BAA goes to:  Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring.  And can I just say that, having seen all five nominees, the Academy picked the worst one?  Except for maybe Moulin Rouge, but I actually prefer it to A Beautiful Mind. 

Best Actor:

Tom Cruise--Vanilla Sky
Jake Gyllenhaal--Donnie Darko
Gene Hackman--The Royal Tenenbaums
Ethan Hawke--Training Day
Tom Wilkinson--In the Bedroom

The BMA goes to:  Jake Gyllenhaal--Donnie Darko--but when I rewatch Training Day, don't be surprised to see Ethan Hawke usurp him. 

Russell Crowe--A Beautiful Mind
Sean Penn--I am Sam
Will Smith--Ali
Denzel Washington--Training Day
Tom Wilkinson--In the Bedroom

The BAA goes to:  Tom Wilkinson for In the Bedroom, but mostly b/c Denzel was a supporting character. 

Best Actress:

Penelope Cruz--Vanilla Sky
Scarlett Johansson--Ghost World
Nicole Kidman--Moulin Rouge!
Sissy Spacek--In the Bedroom
Naomi Watts--Mulholland Drive

And the BMA goes to:  Sissy Spacek for In the Bedroom

Halle Berry--Monster's Ball
Judi Dench--Iris
Nicole Kidman--Moulin Rouge!
Sissy Spacek--In the Bedroom
Renee Zellweger--Bridget Jones' Diary

And the BAA goes to:  Sissy Spacek, but I've only seen two of these movies. 

Best Supporting Actor:

Jason Lee--Vanilla Sky
Ian McKellen--Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring
Viggo Mortensen--Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring
Clive Owen--Gosford Park
Denzel Washington--Training Day

And the BMA goes to:  Viggo Mortensen for Lord of the Rings!  But let me just say that Clive Owen and Denzel Washington are also outstanding choices. 

Jim Broadbent--Iris
Ethan Hawke--Training Day
Ben Kingsley--Sexy Beast
Ian McKellen--Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring
Jon Voight--Ali

And the BAA goes to:  Ian McKellen for Lord of the Rings!

Best Supporting Actress:

Cate Blanchett--Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring
Beth Grant--Donnie Darko
Mary McDonnell--Donnie Darko
Gwyneth Paltrow--The Royal Tenenbaums
Maggie Smith--Gosford Park

And the BMA goes to:  Maggie Smith for Gosford Park

Jennifer Connelly--A Beautiful Mind
Helen Mirren--Gosford Park
Maggie Smith--Gosford Park
Marisa Tomei--In the Bedroom
Kate Winslet--Iris

The BAA goes to:  Maggie Smith for Gosford Park

Best Ensemble: 

The American Astronaut
Donnie Darko
Gosford Park
Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring
The Royal Tenenbaums

The BMA goes to:  Gosford Park.  That Altman sure knows how to work an ensemble.  And by that, I do mean he knows how to wear a snazzy three-piece. 

Best Poster:

The American Astronaut
Donnie Darko
Jurassic Park III
Lord of the Rings:  The Fellowship of the Ring
The Royal Tenenbaums

And the BMA goes to:  Donnie Darko. 

Brandon A. Nowalk Award for Creativity:   

The American Astronaut by and starring Cory McAbee is unlike anything I've ever seen.  It's black and white, for one, which works out great to illustrate the predominant colors of space.  It's also a sci-fi, but a rustic one--the main character flies a shuttle-pod thing that looks like a rust-bucket.  It's also part-musical.  And the musical scenes rule.  And the plot is very cool, but totally pointless.  Plus there's a character named something like Boy Who Actually Saw a Woman's Breast, and he's called that throughout the movie.  Like it was his birthname.  For all we know, it was.  McAbee deserves this award for the simple fact that The American Astronaut is so enjoyable a mixture of genres. 

For a quick recap, for the Oscars, I supported Lord of the Rings for Best Picture, along with Best Supporting Actor for Ian McKellen.  Tying that was In the Bedroom with Best Actress for Sissy Spacek and Best Actor for Tom Wilkinson, and lastly was Gosford Park with Best Supporting Actress Maggie Smith.  For the BMAs, on the other hand, Lord of the Rings took Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor, but for Viggo Mortensen.  With one win each, Donnie Darko won Best Actor for Jake Gyllenhaal, In the Bedroom won Best Actress for Sissy Spacek, and Gosford Park scored Best Supporting Actress for Maggie Smith. 

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