| OK, right, there's this punk kid named Spike from Missouri who dances around in shopping centres, this Swede called Lasse who directed the Abba Movie, there's a Cambridge-grad. called Sam who got into theatre because he's good at cricket, an Indian guy from Madras called M. who doesn't like spicy food, and an American called Michael who smokes but hates tobacco companies, and they all get nominated for this really really big award. No, it's not a joke, this year's Oscar nominations are about as diverse as they've ever been. Three of the Best Director noms go to debut features, while only two go to Americans. Michael Mann, snubbed by the Academy for Heat appears a veritable veteran against the Hollywood newbies. If you thought last year was a close call between Shakespeare in Love and Saving Private Ryan, this year it's a really hard one to predict, as five films take more than five nominations: surprise, surprise, American Beauty tops the charts with 8, The Cider House Rules and The Insider come second with 7, and in third place The Talented Mr Ripley and The Sixth Sense have 5 nominations. Picking up the rear is The Green Mile and Topsy Turvey with 4 noms each and Magnolia and Being John Malkovich with 3. Other welcome appearances in the nominations include recognition for Richard Fanshaw for The Straight Story and the beautiful Hillary Swank for Boys Don't Cry, the song 'Blame Canada' from the South Park Movie, a best adapted screenplay nomination for Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor for Election, Almodovar's Todo Sobre Mi Maddre for best foreign language film (alongside the UK's Solomon and Gaenor), Wim Wender's Buena Vista Social Club, Alexsandr Petrov for the Old Man and the Sea for best animated short, and - of course - The Mummy for Best Sound. Not sure why it didn't get a Best Picture nomination actually...? Other omissions? Well Topsy Turvey did relatively less well than some might have hoped - I certainly think it deserves more noms than The Sixth Sense. The Academy also continued it's career-long snub of Stanley Kubrick - even now he's dead - by failing to grant Eyes Wide Shut one nomination. It clearly deserved a Best Cinematography nomination, as did Buena Vista (if you ask any DV-geek). Other than that, I'm relieved to see that The Matrix and Star Wars only got technical awards, while The Insider got the recognition it most definitely deserves. Best Picture * American Beauty
* The Cider House Rules
* The Green Mile
* The Insider
* The Sixth Sense
Directing * Sam Mendes for American Beauty
* Spike Jonze for Being John Malkovich
* Lasse Hallstrom for The Cider House Rules
* Michael Mann for The Insider
* M. Night Shyamalan for The Sixth Sense
Actor in a Leading Role * Russell Crowe for The Insider
* Richard Farnsworth The Straight Story
* Sean Penn for Sweet and Lowdown
* Kevin Spacey for American Beauty
* Denzel Washington for The Hurricane
Actor in a Supporting Role * Michael Caine for The Cider House Rules
* Tom Cruise for Magnolia
* Michael Clarke Duncan for The Green Mile
* Jude Law for The Talented Mr. Ripley
* Haley Joel Osment for The Sixth Sense
Actress in a Leading Role * Annette Bening for American Beauty
* Janet McTeer for Tumbleweeds
* Julianne Moore for The End of the Affair
* Meryl Streep for Music of the Heart
* Hilary Swank for Boys Don't Cry
Actress in a Supporting Role * Toni Collette for The Sixth Sense
* Angelina Jolie for Girl, Interrupted
* Catherine Keener for Being John Malkovich
* Samantha Morton for Sweet and Lowdown
* Chloë Sevigny for Boys Don't Cry
Foreign Language Film * Est-ouest from France
* Himalaya - l'enfance d'un chef from Nepal
* Solomon and Gaenor from UK
* Todo sobre mi madre from Spain
* Under solen from Sweden
Original Score * Thomas Newman for American Beauty
* John Williams for Angela's Ashes
* Rachel Portman for The Cider House Rules
* John Corigliano for The Red Violin
* Gabriel Yared for The Talented Mr. Ripley
Original Song * South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut - "Blame Canada" Trey Parker & Marc Shaiman
* Music of the Heart - "Music of My Heart" - Dianne Warren
* Magnolia - "Save Me" - Aimee Mann
* Toy Story 2 - "When She Loved Me" - Randy Newman
* Tarzan - "You'll Be in My Heart" - Phil Collins
Screenplay - Original * Alan Ball for American Beauty
* Charlie Kaufman for Being John Malkovich
* P.T. Anderson for Magnolia
* M. Night Shyamalan for The Sixth Sense
* Mike Leigh for Topsy Turvy
Screenplay - Adaptation * John Irving for The Cider House Rules
* Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor for Election
* Frank Darabont for The Green Mile
* Eric Roth & Michael Mann The Insider
* Anthony Minghella for The Talented Mr. Ripley
Art Direction * Luciana Arrighi; Ian Whittaker for Anna and the King
* David Gropman; Beth Rubino for The Cider House Rules
* Rick Heinrichs; Peter Young for Sleepy Hollow
* Roy Walker; Bruno Cesari for The Talented Mr. Ripley
* Eve Stewart; John Bush for Topsy-Turvy
Cinematography * Conrad L. Hall for American Beauty
* Roger Pratt for The End of the Affair
* Dante Spinotti for The Insider
* Emmanuel Lubezki for Sleepy Hollow
* Robert Richardson for Snow Falling on Cedars
Costume Design * Jenny Beavan for Anna and the King
* Colleen Atwood for Sleepy Hollow
* Ann Roth, Gary Jones for The Talented Mr. Ripley
* Milena Canonero for Titus
* Lindy Hemming for Topsy-Turvy
Documentary Feature * Wim Wenders for Buena Vista Social Club
* Roko Belic for Genghis Blues
* Nanette Burstein, Brett Morgen for On the Ropes
* Kevin MacDonald for One Day in September
* Paola di Florio for Speaking in Strings
Documentary Short Subject * Bert Van Bork for Eyewitness
* William A. Whiteford for King Gimp
* Simeon Soffer, Jonathan Stack for The Wildest Show in the South: The Angola Prison Rodeo
Film Editing * Tariq Anwar for American Beauty
* Lisa Zeno Churgin for The Cider House Rules
* William Goldenberg, Paul Rubell, David Rosenbloom for The Insider
* Zach Staenberg for The Matrix
* Andrew Mondshein for The Sixth Sense
Makeup * Michele Burke & Mike Smithson for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
* Greg Cannom for Bicentennial Man
* Rick Baker for Life
* Christine Blundell and Trefor Proud for Topsy Turvy
Short Film - Animated * Peter Peake for Humdrum
* Torill Kove for My Grandmother Ironed the King's Shirts
* Aleksandr Petrov for The Old Man and the Sea
* Paul Dreissen for Three Misses
* Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby for When the Day Breaks
Short Film - Live Action * Henrik Ruben Genz, Michael W. Horsten for Bror, min bror
* Mehdi Norowzian, Steve Wax for Killing Joe
* Marc-Andreas Bochert, Gabriele Lins for Kleingeld
* Marcus Olsson for Major and Minor Miracles
* Barbara Schock for My Mother Dreams the Satan's Disciples in New York
Sound * The Green Mile
* The Insider
* The Matrix
* The Mummy
* Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Sound Effects Editing * Fight Club
* The Matrix
* Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Visual Effects * The Matrix
* Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
* Stuart Little | 
