2003

Best Picture: 

Cold Mountain
Kill Bill, Vol. 1
Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King
Mystic River
Pirates of the Caribbean:  The Curse of the Black Pearl

The BMA goes to:  Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King

The Brandon Academy Award for Best Picture:

Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander:  The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit

And the BAA goes to:  Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King.  The Academy has to get it right once in a while...

Best Actor:

Johnny Depp--Pirates of the Caribbean:  The Curse of the Black Pearl
Bill Murray--Lost in Translation
Sean Penn--Mystic River
Tim Robbins--Mystic River
Elijah Wood--Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King

The BMA goes to:    Johnny Depp!  Notes:  Elijah Wood deserves this nomination so much.  I'm proud of him.  Tim Robbins, I feel, was a co-lead with Penn, so for my awards, he's up for the big one, but check below to see if he wins the BAA for Supporting Actor. 

Johnny Depp--Pirates of the Caribbean:  The Curse of the Black Pearl
Ben Kingsley--House of Sand and Fog
Jude Law--Cold Mountain
Bill Murray--Lost in Translation
Sean Penn--Mystic River

The BAA goes to:   Johnny Depp for Pirates!  But congrats to Jude Law for his nom.  It's too bad I couldn't find room in my best actors to include him. 

Best Actress:

Nicole Kidman--Cold Mountain
Nicole Kidman--Dogville
Charlize Theron--Monster
Uma Thurman--Kill Bill, Vol. 1
Evan Rachel Wood--Thirteen

And the BMA goes to:  Uma Thurman for Kill Bill

Keisha Castle-Hughes--Whale Rider
Diane Keaton--Something's Gotta Give
Samantha Morton--In America
Charlize Theron--Monster
Naomi Watts--21 Grams

And the BAA goes to:   Naomi Watts for 21 Grams 

Best Supporting Actor:

Sean Astin--Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King
Paul Bettany--Master and Commander:  The Far Side of the World
Billy Boyd--Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King
Benicio Del Toro--21 Grams
Ian McKellen--Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King
 

And the BMA goes to:  Sean Astin for Lord of the Rings

Alec Baldwin--The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro--21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou--In America
Tim Robbins--Mystic River
Ken Watanabe--The Last Samurai

And the BAA goes to:    Tim Robbins for Mystic River

Best Supporting Actress:

Lauren Bacall--Dogville
Cate Blanchett--Coffee and Cigarettes
Marcia Gay Harden--Mystic River
Naomi Watts--21 Grams
Renee Zellweger--Cold Mountain

And the BMA goes to:   Renee Zellweger for Cold Mountain

Patricia Clarkson--Pieces of April
Jennifer Connelly--House of Sand and Fog
Marcia Gay Harden--Mystic River
Holly Hunter--Thirteen
Renee Zellweger--Cold Mountain

The BAA goes to:  Renee Zellweger for Cold Mountain

Best Ensemble: 

Cold Mountain
Dogville
Kill Bill, Vol. 1
Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King
Mystic River

The BMA goes to:  Cold Mountain

Best Poster:

American Splendor
Dogville
Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King
Lost in Translation
Seabiscuit

And the BMA goes to:  Lost in Translation

Brandon A. Nowalk Award for Creativity:   

Not many movies showed great innovation this year.  Most actually resembled the big Oscar bait of the 60s or so.  But Dogville was completely fresh to me, filmed on a stage with chalk marking on the ground, and only props and sound effects to actually indicate the world.  It's like Our Town in its minimalism, which serves to focus on the intimate story of Grace and how she becomes the object of manipulation by even the well-intentioned.  Lars von Trier can certainly be accused of anti-Americanism here, but I viewed it as a story that could take place anywhere, and I really enjoyed the distinct style. 

For a quick recap, for the Oscars, I supported Lord of the Rings, Johnny Depp, Naomi Watts, Tim Robbins and Renee Zellweger.  As for the ones that matter, the BMAs, Return of the King won Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Sean Astin, Pirates of the Caribbean won Best Actor for Johnny Depp, Kill Bill won Best Actress for Uma Thurman, and Cold Mountain won Best Supporting Actress for Renee Zellweger.  

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