The 1999 Auditorium Awards

No, they're not the Oscars. These are my awards. Like the Oscars, I pick five films or people for each category and choose one winner. I've missed an awful lot of great movies, so these are subject to change. I'll also announce these changes on the main page somewhere. My personal winners are bold-faced. These are my solely my opinion, and I attempt to draw no influence from any other people. So, the envelope please, and the winner goes to...

Most Pathetic Movie - 200 Cigarettes
The Stuff of Dreams - Eyes Wide Shut
Most Chilling Ending - (tie) The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Blair Witch Project
Worst Use of Good Special Effects - The Haunting
The Disappointment of the Millennium - Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Most Amazing Musical - South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
Stupidest Craze - Teen Sex Romps like 'American Pie'
Best Remake - The Thomas Crown Affair
Absolutely Surreal - When Cusack locks Diaz into the monkey cage in 'Being John Malkovich'
Most Rewatchable - Go
Most Beautiful Color - Red in 'American Beauty'
The Best Scenes of the Year - The floating bag in 'American Beauty'
                                                The migration through the mansion in 'Eyes Wide Shut'
                                                The ending battle scene in 'The Matrix'
                                                Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn Jinn vs. Darth Maul in 'The Phantom Menace'

Wish I Could Have Nominated It - Wes Bently (American Beauty) for Best Supporting Actor
                                                        The score for Eyes Wide Shut
                                                        Edward Norton (Fight Club) for Best Actor
                                                        Brad Pitt (Fight Club) for Best Supporting Actor
Best Last Line of a Movie - Eyes Wide Shut

Observations:

1999 featured the best Best Picture category in several years, and there was no clear winner. I chose Eyes Wide Shut, while almost nobody else even had it in their top ten. American Beauty was number one for a lot of folks, but I placed it at number two. Like almost all Kubrick films, this one will grow in popularity with time. People don't realize how dreamlike it really is. There are reasons why Kubrick had Tom and Nicole speak at two miles an hour. People will gradually begin to realize this. He's the finest director ever. I'm glad we got one more like we did.

The Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor categories are easily the strongest I've ever seen, while the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards are surprisingly weak. I could have given the Best Actor award to any of those listed above, and they all would have deserved it. The same goes for Best Supporting Actor. But, alas, the female categories this year just aren't as good as they have been in the past. I was not overwhelmed by the quality of any of these performances, even though they were all good. Some years, this just happens.

Lots of films got awards, with very few getting more than one. It may sound awkward giving Eyes Wide Shut Best Picture, but I loved that movie. I've never tackled even thinking about designating what was best for things like Production Design, Cinematography, and Editing before, so I'm an amateur at best. I hope what I chose fits what you've seen this year, and if not, then I won't hold it against you.

Thus concludes 1999.

Composed on 2/4/00