*VOTING CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT THIS SUNDAY THE 15TH*
How many times have you sat there scratching your head at a particular movie, actor or director doesn’t win the Oscar, let alone the ones that are completely overlooked and not nominated? As anyone else said, “How the hell did (insert nominee) win?!” It seems like a yearly frustration for most because this film wasn’t released at the right time or it didn’t receive a standing ovation at some pretentious film festival or it’s RottenTomatoes score wasn’t fresh enough or there wasn’t enough diversity or they had to throw a particular nominee in there because of backlash from the year before…It’s exhausting. I’m just going to come out and say it. The Academy is full of crap and the Oscars are more about who plays the game the right way and what nominees tickle some old man’s balls just how he likes it or your contribution to cinema is just out of luck when comes to getting recognition during award season.
So, SAW’s answer to this is to right these wrongs the best we can by nominating what tickles our balls the way we like them to be tickled! The writers at SAW hunkered down in our War Room for the past month to hammer out what we feel were the best from movies of the year 1998 (The ceremony was in 1999 but all nominees were from 1998) in the seven main categories and we would like you guys to vote for the winners. You will have few weeks to vote in case you want to watch some of the nominees before casting your ballot.
Shakespeare in Love was the big winner at the 71st Academy Awards bringing home the golden statue seven times winning some of the big categories in best picture and best actress (Gwyneth Paltrow). Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan managed to win five awards out of 11 nominations and was the odds on favorite to win best picture before most were shocked by it’s loss. Lovable Roberto Benigni would take home the best actor award over more known actors Tom Hanks, Ian McKellan, Nick Nolte and Edward Norton. Will any of the winners win again? Were they even nominated this time around?
Original Nominees and Winners (in bold)
Best Picture
Shakespeare in Love
Elizabeth
Life Is Beautiful
Saving Private Ryan
The Thin Red Line
Best Director
Steven Spielberg – Saving Private Ryan
Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful
John Madden – Shakespeare in Love
Terrence Malick – The Thin Red Line
Peter Weir – The Truman Show
Best Actor
Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful as Guido Orefice
Tom Hanks – Saving Private Ryan as Captain John Miller
Ian McKellen – Gods and Monsters as James Whale
Nick Nolte – Affliction as Wade Whitehouse
Edward Norton – American History X as Derek Vinyard
Best Actress
Gwyneth Paltrow – Shakespeare in Love as Viola De Lesseps
Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth as Queen Elizabeth I of England
Fernanda Montenegro – Central Station as Isadora “Dora” Teixeira
Meryl Streep – One True Thing as Kate Gulden
Emily Watson – Hilary and Jackie as Jacqueline du Pré
Best Supporting Actor
James Coburn – Affliction as Glen Whitehouse
Robert Duvall – A Civil Action as Jerome Facher
Ed Harris – The Truman Show as Christof
Geoffrey Rush – Shakespeare in Love as Philip Henslowe
Billy Bob Thornton – A Simple Plan as Jacob Mitchell
Best Supporting Actress
Judi Dench – Shakespeare in Love as Queen Elizabeth I of England
Kathy Bates – Primary Colors as Libby Holden
Brenda Blethyn – Little Voice as Mari Hoff
Rachel Griffiths – Hilary and Jackie as Hilary du Pré
Lynn Redgrave – Gods and Monsters as Hanna
*We combined Original and Adapted Screenplays. The winner for best original screenplay was Shakespeare in Love by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. The winner for best adapted screenplay was Gods and Monsters by Bill Condon, based on the novel Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram.
We give you:
The RetrOscars 1999
Results will be announced Monday, September 23 at 11AM CST. Check back to see if your picks won!
Thank you for voting and be sure to check back later this month when the winners are revealed!
