Surprises Among Nominees

Every year, as the Academy Award nominations are announced in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, gasps are heard among the cell-phone-toting publicists and scribes. It’s the sound of dashed expectations and unexpected anointments. Here are some of this year’s biggest Oscar nomination surprises.

1. “Moulin Rouge”--Apparently, movies direct themselves. The film earned eight nominations, including best picture, but writer-director Baz Luhrmann was ignored. Also, the first live-action musical nominated in two decades was shut out in all musical categories.

2. Who produced this movie anyway?--Three films--”Monsters, Inc.,” “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius “and “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”--list their producers as “nominee to be determined.” The academy permits only three nominees per best picture nod, and the nominees must have the official title of producer. According to the academy, the three films did not comform to the standards.

3. Ethan Hawke--The baby-faced slacker actor-author-director hasn’t been on anybody’s short list as the greatest actor of his generation, but playing a rookie cop opposite powerhouse Denzel Washington in “Training Day” has elevated his game.

4. “Memento”--Although this Chinese puzzle murder-mystery was based on a short story, it was not nominated for a screenplay based on material previously published, but for best screenplay written directly for the screen. Why? The key word is “previously.” “Memento” premiered in France a week before the original short story was published in Esquire.

5. Foreign language film--This category boasted two films that haven’t yet premiered in the U.S.--”Elling” and “Son of the Bride.” Perhaps it’s not that surprising, except when one considers three better known films--already in release--that were left off the list: “The Son’s Room,” “Italian for Beginners” and “Behind the Sun.” Also, Miramax’s profuse spending on “Amelie” appears to have paid off, helping the film earn five nominations.

6. Documentary--For the last decade, Holocaust-themed documentaries have dominated this category and won the award in 2000, 1998, 1997 and 1995. This year, no Holocaust-themed documentary was nominated, although there were kudos for documentaries on Romanian street children and war photographer James Nachtwey.