Things got weird on the critics' awards circuit in '98. Sure, most of us would have called Saving Private Ryan as the most nominated movie of the year in my CCA collation of critics' voting patterns, but they made a whole heap of un-callable decisions on top of that. For example, it's the only Oscar Best Picture nominee to make the critics' Best Picture list, joined by such pictures as Affliction and The Butcher Boy, while Oscar winner Shakespeare in Love misses. The CCAs never before nor since have seen only a 1/5 match with Oscar in the top category. There are multiple nominations for Oscar-snubbed The General and Rushmore, while Best Actor winner Roberto Benigni misses the cut by some distance. Michael Moore makes his first appearance in Best Documentary, joined also by Frederick Wiseman (a too-rare presence at the CCAs). Best Music is a new category this year, bringing the current total to 12 (it'll eventually reach 16); Best Cinematography recognizes its first female DP in only its fifth year (it took the Academy 90, and 19 longer than the critics) with Maryse Alberti nominated for Velvet Goldmine - Todd Haynes a consistently more successful filmmaker with these awards than with the Academy's. Later, I'll reveal which of this bizarre bunch have turned their nominations into victories (and there are more surprises to come!), but for now you can view all of those nominations right here:
Best Picture
Affliction (Linda Reisman and Paul Schrader)
The Butcher Boy (Neil Jordan, Redmond Morris and Stephen Woolley)
Gods and Monsters (Paul Colichman, Bill Condon, Greg Fienberg and Mark R. Harris)
Out of Sight (Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher and Steven Soderbergh)
Saving Private Ryan (Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn and Steven Spielberg)
Best Director
John Boorman (The General)
Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line)
Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight)
Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan)
Peter Weir (The Truman Show)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth)
Fernanda Montenegro (Central Station)
Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love)
Ally Sheedy (High Art)
Emily Watson (Hilary and Jackie)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Brendan Gleeson (The General)
Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan)
Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters)
Nick Nolte (Affliction)
Edward Norton (American History X)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Joan Allen (Pleasantville)
Kathy Bates (Primary Colours)
Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love)
Lisa Kudrow (The Opposite of Sex)
Lynn Redgrave (Gods and Monsters)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
James Coburn (Affliction)
Ed Harris (The Truman Show)
Bill Murray (Rushmore)
Donald Sutherland (Without Limits)
Billy Bob Thornton (A Simple Plan)
Best Original Screenplay
Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson (Rushmore)
Warren Beatty and Jeremy Pikser (Bulworth)
Andrew Niccol (The Truman Show)
Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love)
Todd Solondz (Happiness)
Best Adapted Screenplay
Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters)
Scott Frank (Out of Sight)
Elaine May (Primary Colours)
Scott B. Smith (A Simple Plan)
Steven Zaillian (A Civil Action)
Best Cinematography
Maryse Alberti (Velvet Goldmine)
Seamus Deasy (The General)
Janusz Kaminski (Saving Private Ryan)
John Lindley (Pleasantville)
John Toll (The Thin Red Line)
Best Music
Elliot Goldenthal (The Butcher Boy)
Randy Newman (A Bug's Life)
Stephen Schwartz and Hans Zimmer (The Prince of Egypt)
Burkhard von Dallwitz (The Truman Show)
John Williams (Saving Private Ryan)
Best Documentary
The Big One (Kathleen Glynn and Michael Moore)
Dear Jesse (Tim Kirkman, Mary Beth Mann and Mike Morley)
The Farm: Angola, USA (Liz Garbus, Bob Harris, Wilbert Rideau and Jonathan Stack)
Public Housing (Frederick Wiseman)
Wild Man Blues (Jean Doumanian and Barbara Kopple)
Best Foreign Language Film
The Celebration (Birgitte Hald and Thomas Vinterberg)
Central Station (Arthur Cohn, Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Robert Redford and Walter Salles)
Fireworks (Kitano Takeshi, Mori Masayuki, Tsuge Yasushi and Yoshida Takio)
Life Is Beatiful (Roberto Benigni, Gianluigi Braschi and Elda Ferri)
Taste of Cherry (Alain Depardieu and Abbas Kiarostami)
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