AUDITORIUM AWARDS FOR 2001

This one gets a little repetitive. Sorry about that, but try to tell me that this film isn’t deserving of these accolades.

BEST FILM
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
For all the reasons I tell you below.
Honorable Mention: Memento

BEST DIRECTOR
Peter Jackson (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
He shot three three-hour films back to back, and while we have seen just one (so he’s only judged on this singular accomplishment), his control over the subject matter is absolutely spectacular. After we’ve seen all three, I have a feeling we’ll look at Jackson’s directorial accomplishment with nothing but unrestrained adulation.
Honorable Mention: Christopher Nolan (Memento), Ridley Scott (Black Hawk Down)

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE
Naomi Watts (Mulholland Drive)
Beauty and vulnerability rarely come together so wistfully. All one need to see is her audition scene in this film and all debate should end. Hers is a truly magnificent portrayal of Hollywood naïve.
Honorable Mention: Audrey Tautou (Amelie), Sissy Spacek (In The Bedroom), Tilda Swinton (The Deep End), Halle Berry (Monster's Ball)

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
Haley Joel Osment (A.I. Artificial Intelligence)
Few are capable of carrying a film better than Osment in Spielberg’s Kubrick-esque film. I might even say that Osment has a better grip on the film’s themes than its director does. Of particular note is the change in Osment's expression as his character's emotion chip is activated. That's incredible acting.
Honorable Mention: Tom Wilkinson (In The Bedroom)

BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
Director Jackson didn’t cast individual actors; he cast a family.
Honorable Mention: In The Bedroom

BEST SCREENPLAY
Peter Jackson, Frances Walsh, and Philippa Boyens (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
None have dared adapt Tolkien’s mega-novel into a screenplay, let alone succeeded so admirably. The writers have captured an abundance of the essence of Tolkien’s writing, while taking a few necessary liberties with the story. Beautiful dialogue and life lessons run throughout.
Honorable Mention: Christopher Nolan (Memento)

BEST PRODUCTION (Production Design, Special Effects, Editing, Costumes, Makeup, etc)
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (Grant Major - Production Designer, Jim Rygiel - Special Effects, John Gilbert - Editor, Richard Taylor - Props)
Honorable Mention: Moulin Rouge

BEST PHOTOGRAPHY
Andrew Lesnie (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Honorable Mention: Janusz Kaminski (A.I. Artificial Intelligence)

FAVORITE CHARACTER
Gandalf - Ian McKellan (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Honorable Mention: Aragorm - Viggo Mortensen (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)

BEST AUDIO (Music, Sound Effects)
LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (Howard Shore - Composer, Ethan Van der Ryn - Sound Effects)
Honorable Mention: Moulin Rouge, Black Hawk Down

BEST INDIVIDUAL SCENE
Mines of Moria (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Honorable Mention:
Tango de Roxanne (Moulin Rouge)
Audition (Mulholland Drive)
Weathertop (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Club Silencio (Mulholland Drive)
Bombing (Pearl Harbor)
Amon Hen (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Love Scene (Mulholland Drive)

FAVORITE SET
Hobbiton (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Honorable Mention:
Rivendell (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
The Moulin Rouge (Moulin Rouge)
Mines of Moria (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Lothlorien (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)

BEST SPECIAL EFFECT
The sinking of the Arizona (Pearl Harbor)
Honorable Mention:
The sinking of the Oklahoma (Pearl Harbor)
The terrorist explosion (Swordfish)
The Balrog erupts in flame (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)
Bounce, bounce, bounce (Tomb Raider)
The waves become horses (LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring)

OTHER AWARDS

The second best teen film yet? (Clueless is the best): crazy/beautiful
La animation spectacular!: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Grossest image: The leg operation in Black Hawk Down
The reintroduction of fantasy?: Harry Potter, LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring
Bad ape! (The "re-imagining"): The Planet of the Apes
Biggest letdown: (tie) Pearl Harbor, Vanilla Sky
Worst special effects: The Mummy Returns
Most surreal film ever: Waking Life
Perhaps the most intense prolonged battle scenes in film history: Black Hawk Down
So very spooky: The merging of music and visual as the Dark Riders emerge from the darkness of Weathertop in LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
Kinkiness can be had in the weirdest of places (parachutes): Pearl Harbor
Never seen a sex seen like that before... whew: Monster's Ball
Worst courtroom scene... ever!: Legally Blonde
Expectations to (almost) blind them: (tie) Harry Potter, LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring
Awful awful awful: The Mummy Returns
A love story… with buckets of blood: Hannibal
Best one on one: (tie) Aragorn vs. Lurtz in LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring, and Spinosaurus vs. T-Rex in Jurassic Park III

Movies I maybe just didn't "get": Gosford Park, The Deep End, Ghost World

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD (as if this film needed more praise than it has already received): Keep in mind that The Lord of the Rings was shot back-to-back-to-back, completely out of sequence, over a 14 month period. That means that in one day he might shoot a couple scenes from film one, a couple more from film two (to take place several film hours later), and a few more from film three (to take place even later). That, my friends, is a comprehensive vision. In addition, the first finished cut of The Fellowship of the Ring was three hours and forty minutes long. The others will probably be similar in length. This means that, in effect, Jackson directed an eleven hour opus in a single sitting. And the first part is dazzlingly great. Who's to assume that the next two won't be? If that's not best director material, I don't know what is.

Observations:

There are a couple of things to be said about this year. I went into the year expecting something incredible. Never will I raise my hopes so high for a cinematic year. While the final tally looks pretty decent, it was ten months of depravity followed by two months of sheer joy. Never have I seen such obvious attempts at Oscar gold. I'm sure many of the films released in the last two months were ready halfway through the year but were instead inserted into a Fall release slot. It makes for an overcrowded multiplex. Before November, I was one of many in declaring this the worst year for movies ever. Now that we've seen the whole year's slate, its easy to see that it definitely wasn't, but its obvious why we felt that way.

And while superb male performances were less abundant than usual, this year featured the best crop of female performances I've ever seen. And while I chose Naomi Watts' in Mulholland Drive to be the best, the award could have gone to any of the four other deserving nominees. Let's not forget about Nicole Kidman's dual great performances. She was fantastic in Moulin Rouge but was also excellent in The Others. She had probably the best year of any performer this year.

While 2001 definitely won't be remembered for its film output, rather a world-changing event on a seemingly simple day in September, world-class films were released. Let's not forget, even in this age of depression and often anger, that films do play a role in our everyday lives. A role that many of us would not lose quietly. What else do we have but our art, the fruit of intelligent, adventurous minds working together for a common goal? It's something to fall back on in times of need. These are those times.

Thus concludes the year 2001.

Composed 1/23/02