THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 15, 1995 TAG: 9502150063
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines
RUN, FORREST, run!
``Forrest Gump'' hauled away a shrimp boat load of Oscar nominations Tuesday, making it a happy Valentine's Day for that Southern boy. Opening up the box of chocolates to begin the annual race for the movies' top honors, Forrest found a near-record 13 nominations.
Only ``All About Eve,'' with 14 nominations, has received more nominations.
The Gump lead was expected, but there were many surprises, and notable omissions, as the Motion Picture Academy revealed the secrets of the day.
Oscars may come home this year to both Virginia and North Carolina. Jessica Lange, nominated as best actress, lives in Charlottesville. Rosemary Harris, nominated in the supporting actress category, is a resident of Winston-Salem, N.C.
It is a day, though, to hail the losers as we bid farewell to their Oscar hopes for this year. Among the big losers were ``Hoop Dreams,'' ``The Lion King,'' Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jessica Tandy, Robin Wright, Hugh Grant, Tommy Lee Jones, Tim Robbins and Terence Stamp. Among the surprise winners were Woody Allen, Winona Ryder, ``Four Weddings and a Funeral,'' ``The Shawshank Redemption,'' Nigel Hawthorne and ``Red.''
The nominees, race by race, with a special note of mourning to the losers:
BEST PICTURE: ``Pulp Fiction,'' ``Quiz Show,'' ``Forrest Gump,'' ``Four Weddings and a Funeral,'' ``The Shawshank Redemption'' ``Pulp,'' ``Forrest'' and ``Quiz Show'' were sure bets. Lobbying for the other two spots has been hot and heavy for months in Hollywood.
``The Lion King,'' the biggest box office hit of the year, failed in its bid to become the second animated film in history to be nominated. It was better, more arty, than the nominated ``Beauty and the Beast.'' Insiders claim that a major reason is that the Disney studio is too tight to send out video cassettes to the voters. That shouldn't matter, but. . .
A major bid for the documentary ``Hoop Dreams'' came to nothing. It would have been the first documentary in history to be nominated for best picture. Others often mentioned, but left out: ``Legends of the Fall,'' ``Little Women'' and ``The Madness of King George.''
``Four Weddings'' marks a rare nod to a comedy. ``The Shawshank Redemption'' was a mild surprise.
BEST ACTOR: Paul Newman in ``Nobody's Fool,'' Morgan Freeman in ``The Shawshank Redemption,'' Tom Hanks in ``Forrest Gump,'' Nigel Hawthorne in ``The Madness of King George,'' John Travolta in ``Pulp Fiction''
The three sure-bet nominees - Newman, Hanks and Travolta - all came through. Hawthorne, the British stage actor, was deserving, but it is something of a surprise that he made it. Freeman is nominated again, after a near-miss for ``Driving Miss Daisy.'' Travolta, incidentally, is not a newcomer to this race; he was nominated 17 years ago for ``Saturday Night Fever.''
Left in the lurch: Hugh Grant in ``Four Weddings and a Funeral,'' Terence Stamp in ``The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,'' Tommy Lee Jones in ``Cobb,'' Tim Robbins in ``The Shawshank Redemption,'' Albert Finney in ``The Browning Version.'' Any one of them might well have taken the spots owned by Freeman and Hawthorne.
BEST ACTRESS: Susan Sarandon in ``The Client,'' Winona Ryder in ``Little Women,'' Jessica Lange in``Blue Sky,'' Jodie Foster in ``Nell,'' Miranda Richardson in ``Tom and Viv''
Only Foster and Lange were regarded as sure bets. The race now appears to be between them. Lange was nominated for a three-year-old movie that was not released until this year. Sarandon was much better in ``Safe Passage,'' but ``The Client'' was a bigger hit. Ryder was nominated last year for ``The Age of Innocence,'' and her nomination for ``Little Women'' was by no means a sure thing. Interestingly, Katharine Hepburn once received a nomination for the same role.
There are two big losers. Jennifer Jason Leigh, an actress the critics keep calling one of America's greatest, failed again to get a nomination for her role as Dorothy Parker in ``Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.'' More deserving, and shafted again, is Meg Ryan. She should have been nominated for playing an alcoholic wife in ``When a Man Loves a Woman.'' The film was apparently released too early in the year to be remembered.
Also a possibility was Irene Jacobs in ``Red.''
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Rosemary Harris in ``Tom and Viv,'' Helen Mirren in ``The Madness of King George,'' Jennifer Tilly in ``Bullets Over Broadway,'' Dianne Wiest in ``Bullets Over Broadway,'' Uma Thurman in ``Pulp Fiction''
A wild lot here. Only Wiest was a sure bet, although Thurman was expected. The nomination of Harris is a cause for rejoicing. She is the best thing in ``Tom and Viv.'' Tilly is a comedic delight, but her nomination is a surprise.
The biggest shock is that little Kirsten Dunst from ``Interview with the Vampire,'' known in my house as ``the vampire child,'' wasn't nominated, especially since Oscar has been fond of child actors in recent years. Natalie Portman, who was so good as the violent orphan in ``The Professional,'' is also missing. It's a surprise that the late and beloved Jessica Tandy didn't get a nomination for her last film, ``Nobody's Fool.'' Also missing are Sally Field and Robin Wright from ``Forrest Gump.'' Sophia Loren and Kim Basinger in ``Ready to Wear'' were also in the running.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Martin Landau in ``Ed Wood,'' Gary Sinise in ``Forrest Gump,'' Samuel L. Jackson in ``Pulp Fiction,'' Chazz Palminteri in ``Bullets Over Broadway,'' Paul Scofield in ``Quiz Show''
Only Landau and Sinise were sure things. Scofield's nomination for ``Quiz Show'' is a rare recognition of a small role. He played professor Mark Van Doren. Palminteri was the best thing in ``Bullets Over Broadway'' and seemed to ride on a surprise wave of success for that film.
There are many ``almosts.'' It wasn't a happy Valentine's Day for James Whitmore in ``The Shawshank Redemption,'' John Turturro in ``Quiz Show,'' Sean Nelson in ``Fresh,'' Bruce Willis in either ``Pulp Fiction'' or ``Nobody's Fool'' and even poor Dennis Quaid, who turned in the performance of his life in ``Wyatt Earp,'' only to sink with the film. Our condolences, but thanks for making this such a competitive field.
BEST DIRECTOR: Woody Allen for ``Bullets Over Broadway,'' Bob Zemeckis for ``Forrest Gump,'' Robert Redford for ``Quiz Show,'' Quentin Tarantino for ``Pulp Fiction'' and Krzysztof Kieslowski for ``Red.''
The surprise here is ``Red,'' a film that was ineligible for best foreign film because its country, Switzerland, wasn't represented enough in the cast and crew. ``Bullets Over Broadway's'' Woody is also something of a surprise. The shocker is that ``Four Weddings'' and ``Shawshank'' were good enough to be nominated for best film but their directors weren't recognized. Go figure. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Tom Hanks could win his second best-actor Oscar for ``Forrest
Gump,'' above; John Travolta in ``Pulp Fiction,'' right.
KEYWORDS: ACADEMY AWARDS NOMINATIONS by CNB