'Translation:' Prepare to get 'Lost' at the Golden Globes

Posted Thursday, December 18, 2003 at 4:17 PM Central

by John Couture

In case you missed it in the hullabaloo of last minute Christmas shopping, Hollywood's awards season has officially started. Today's announcement of the nominations for the 61st Golden Globes awards is so early that the official start of Winter is still four days away.

While Miramax's annual Oscar offering Cold Mountain led all films with seven nominations, the real winner may be the independent film Lost In Translation which garnered five nominations and tied for the second most nominations with the Warner Bros. film Mystic River. There had been heated controversy between the major studios and independent movie companies regarding an MPAA decision from Jack Valenti that barred studios from sending out screening copies of their films to awards show voters.

Smaller, independent companies argued that the move, which was enacted as an attempt to combat the growing problem of online movie piracy, would handicap their films because of the lack of a viable means to distribute their movies to the voters. Eventually, a court ruling in the last couple of weeks struck down the screener ban and it appears from this early indicator that the ban did little to harm the smaller films.

Some interesting categories to keep an eye on during this year's Golden Globes include Best Actress in a Drama, Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song - Motion Picture.

The Best Actress in a Drama category, usually dominated by venerable Hollywood stalwarts such as Judi Dench, Meryl Streep and Sissy Spacek, is in the throes of a youth movement. The average age of the nominees is just a hair over 27. The oldest nominee is Nicole Kidman at 36 years old. At the other end of the spectrum newcomers Evan Rachel Wood and Scarlett Johansson weigh in at 16 and 19 years old respectively.

The Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy category is dominated by actors that must have gotten lost on their way to the drama category. Hollywood heavyweights Johnny Depp, Jack Nicholson and Billy Bob Thornton have been honored for stretching their acting legs.

The biggest news in the Best Original Song - Motion Picture category is who was not nominated. For the first time in recent memory, a Disney film is not in the mix. And thanks to Eminem's Oscar win last year, it looks like a trend towards more popular artists is in full effect. Pearl Jam's 'Man of the Hour,' Bono's 'Time Enough For Tears' and Sting's 'You Will Be My Ain True Love' lead this year's pack.

Here are the nominations from the Motion Picture categories:

BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA Cold Mountain The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King Master And Commander Mystic River Seabiscuit

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA Cate Blanchett, Veronica Guerin Nicole Kidman, Cold Mountain Scarlett Johansson, Girl With A Pearl Earring Charlize Theron, Monster Uma Thurman, Kill Bill: Volume 1 Evan Rachel Wood, Thirteen

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA Russell Crowe, Master And Commander Tom Cruise, The Last Samurai Ben Kingsley, House Of Sand And Fog Jude Law, Cold Mountain Sean Penn, Mystic River

BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY Bend It Like Beckham Big Fish Finding Nemo Lost In Translation Love Actually

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR COMEDY Jamie Lee Curtis, Freaky Friday Scarlett Johansson, Lost In Translation Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give Diane Lane, Under The Tuscan Sun Helen Mirren, Calendar Girls

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR COMEDY Jack Black, School Of Rock Johnny Depp, Pirates Of The Caribbean Bill Murray, Lost In Translation Jack Nicholson, Something's Gotta Give Billy Bob Thornton, Bad Santa

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Maria Bello, The Cooler Patricia Clarkson, Pieces Of April Hope Davis, American Splendor Holly Hunter, Thirteen Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Alec Baldwin, The Cooler Albert Finney, Big Fish William H. Macy, Seabiscuit Tim Robbins, Mystic River Peter Sarsgaard, Shattered Glass Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai

BEST DIRECTOR Sofia Coppola, Lost In Translation Clint Eastwood, Mystic River Peter Jackson, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King Anthony Minghella, Cold Mountain Peter Weir, Master And Commander

BEST SCREENPLAY Sofia Coppola, Lost In Translation Richard Curtis, Love Actually Brian Helgeland, Mystic River Anthony Minghella, Cold Mountain Jim Sheridan, In America

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Girl With A Pearl Earring Big Fish The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King Cold Mountain The Last Samurai

BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MOTION PICTURE Elton John, 'The Heart Of Every Girl' - Mona Lisa Smile Howard Shore, 'Into The West' - The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King Pearl Jam, 'Man Of The Hour' - Big Fish Bono, 'Time Enough For Tears' - In America Sting, 'You Will Be My Ain True Love' - Cold Mountain