Press group announces nominees for Globe prizes
The first awards show heavy-hitter, the Golden Globes, has announced its nominees, and what a motley crew.
Vying for best dramatic movie are “Gladiator,” “Erin Brockovich,” “Billy Elliot,” “Sunshine,” “Wonder Boys” and “Traffic,” which comes out in Bay Area theaters today. In the musical or comedy categories are “Almost Famous,” “Best in Show,” “Chicken Run,” “Chocolat” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” which opens late in Bay Area theaters on Dec. 29.
“There’s very different kinds of films competing with each other,” said Robert Lantos, producer of “Sunshine,” a three-hour saga starring Ralph Fiennes. “It’s a very eclectic field, more so than I can ever remember. Maybe that makes it an even field, without any one standout.”
While everyone makes a fuss about how the Globes give a clue who the Oscar winners will be, Brenda Blethyn, nominated for best actress in the comedy “Saving Grace,” kept her perspective on the odds. With five nominees, she said, “I’d say it’s about 20 percent.”
The winners of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s votes will be revealed Jan. 21. Nominees include:
* Actress, Drama: Joan Allen (“The Contender”); Bjork (“Dancer in the Dark”); Ellen Burstyn (“Requiem for a Dream”); Laura Linney (“You Can Count On Me”); Julia Roberts (“Erin Brockovich”).
* Actor, Drama: Javier Bardem (“Before Night Falls”); Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”); Michael Douglas (“Wonderboys”); Tom Hanks (“Cast Away”); Geoffrey Rush (“Quills”).
* Actress, Musical or Comedy: Juliette Binoche (“Chocolat”); Brenda Blethyn (“Saving Grace”); Sandra Bullock (“Miss Congeniality”); Tracey Ullman (“Small Time Crooks”); Renee Zellweger (“Nurse Betty”).
* Actor, Musical or Comedy: Jim Carrey (“Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas”); George Clooney (“O Brother, Where Art Thou?”); John Cusack (“High Fidelity”); Robert De Niro (“Meet the Parents”); Mel Gibson (“What Women Want”).
* Foreign Language: “Amores Perros,” Mexico; “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Taiwan; “The Hundred Steps,” Italy; “Malena,” Italy; “The Widow of St. Pierre,” France.
* Supporting Actress, Drama, Musical or Comedy: Judi Dench, “Chocolat”; Kate Hudson, “Almost Famous”; Frances McDormand, “Almost Famous”; Julie Walters, “Billy Elliott”; Catherine Zeta-Jones, “Traffic.”
* Supporting Actor, Drama, Musical or Comedy: Jeff Bridges, “The Contender”; Willem Dafoe, “Shadow of the Vampire”; Benicio Del Toro, “Traffic”; Albert Finney, “Erin Brockovich”; Joaquin Phoenix, “Gladiator.”
* Director: Ang Lee, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Ridley Scott, “Gladiator”; Stephen Soderbergh, “Erin Brockovich”; Steven Soderbergh, “Traffic”; Istvan Szabo, “Sunshine.”
* Screenplay: Cameron Crowe, “Almost Famous”; Stephen Gaghan, “Traffic”; Steve Kloves, “Wonder Boys”; Kenneth Lonergan, “You Can Count on Me”; Doug Wright, “Quills.”
TELEVISION:
* Drama Series: “CSI,” CBS; “ER,” NBC; “The Practice,” ABC; “The Sopranos,” HBO; “The West Wing,” NBC.
* Actress, Drama: Jessica Alba, “Dark Angel”; Lorraine Bracco, “The Sopranos”; Amy Brenneman, “Judging Amy”; Edie Falco, “The Sopranos”; Sara Michelle Gellar, “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer”; Sela Ward, “Once and Again.”
* Actor, Drama: Andre Braugher, “Gideon’s Crossing”; James Gandolfini, “The Sopranos”; Rob Lowe, “The West Wing”; Dylan McDermott, “The Practice”; Martin Sheen, “The West Wing.”
* Musical or Comedy Series: “Ally McBeal,” Fox; “Frasier,” NBC; “Malcolm in the Middle,” Fox; “Sex and the City,” HBO; “Will & Grace,” NBC.
* Actress, Musical or Comedy Series: Calista Flockhart, “Ally McBeal”; Jane Kaczmarek, “Malcolm in the Middle”; Debra Messing, “Will & Grace”; Bette Midler, “Bette”; Sarah Jessica Parker, “Sex and the City.”
* Actor, Musical or Comedy Series: Ted Danson, “Becker”; Kelsey Grammer, “Frasier”; Eric McCormack, “Will & Grace”; Frankie Muniz, “Malcolm in the Middle”; Ray Romano, “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
* Supporting Actress, Series, Miniseries or Movie Made for Television: Kim Cattrall, “Sex and the City”; Faye Dunaway, “Running Mates”; Allison Janney, “The West Wing;” Megan Mullally, “Will & Grace”; Cynthia Nixon, “Sex and the City”; Vanessa Redgrave, “If These Walls Could Talk 2.”
* Supporting Actor, Series, Miniseries or Movie Made for Television: Robert Downey Jr., “Ally McBeal”; Sean Hayes, “Will & Grace”; John Mahoney, “Frasier”; David Hyde Pierce, “Frasier”; Christopher Plummer, “American Tragedy”; Bradley Whitford, “The West Wing.”
BULLOCK UPDATE: Blizzard conditions and a high cross wind may have disoriented pilot Richard Campbell of Fort Worth, Texas, and made him crash the plane that had on board Sandra Bullock, her friend Bob Schneider and crew members.
Airport officials say the weather might have caused Campbell to mistake a set of ground lights for the center of the runway, thereby ending up between the runway and taxiway at the airport in northwestern Wyoming. A similar accident happened last winter in the same spot, and now the airport plans to install new runway lights.
During the harrowing moments, Bullock told Daily Variety: “We prayed that the plane wouldn’t explode.” After the landing, the four climbed out of the wreckage to an airport that was empty. “So they walked in here and found a custodian, and she called some other people who called the sheriff’s department,” said airport manager George Larson. Bullock said she’s feeling fine now, “maybe just a little whiplash.”
Today’s People Column was compiled by Vera H-C Chan from staff and wire reports. Comments? Write to us c/o the Times, P.O. Box 8099, Walnut Creek, CA 94596-8099. Or call 925-943-8262, fax 925-943-8362, or e-mail spin@cctimes.com.
Milestones
Birthdays: former first lady Lady Bird Johnson (88), former House Speaker Jim Wright (78), actress Barbara Billingsley (78), actor Hector Elizondo (64), baseball Hall-of-Famer Steve Carlton (56), ABC News correspondent Diane Sawyer (55), rock singer-musician Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick (54), baseball All-Star Steve Garvey (52), singer Maurice Gibb (51), singer Robin Gibb (51), actress BernNadette Stanis (47), rapper Luther Campbell (40), country musician Chuck Mead of BR5-49 (40), actor Ralph Fiennes (38), actress Lauralee Bell (32), actress Dina Meyer (32), actress Heather Donahue (26).