The nominations for the 76th Academy Awards were announced in Los Angeles this morning by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Frank Pierson and Sigourney Weaver. And it quickly became apparent that Peter Jackson was out in the lead with a whopping 11 nominations in total. Jackson picked up Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay as well as the main one, Best Picture. It's only the second time that a trilogy has had all three films nominated in the Best Picture category. The first - you've guessed it - was Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather series. However, with no nominations for Return of the King in the acting categories, the fields for Best Actor and Actress and Best Supporting Actors and Actress were left wide open. Perhaps the most surprising was a Best Actress nod for Samantha Morton for her role in Jim Sheridan's In America and Keisha Castle-Hughes from the excellent New Zealand drama Whale Rider. It was a good haul for Sheridan's tearjerker which also picked up Best Supporting Actor for Djimon Hounsou and Best Original Screenplay. Despite taking 13 nominations in the BAFTAs, Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain failed to be nominated for either Best Director or Best Picture, scraping through two nods in the major categories for Best Actor for Jude Law and Best Supporting Actress for Renee Zellweger. This is the third year in a row for Zellweger who was nominated for both Chicago and Bridget Jones's Diary. Pundits predicting a good haul for newcomer Scarlett Johansson were probably surprised that despite taking two BAFTA nominations for Best Actress Johansson failed to get a single mention in this year's Oscars. The second most-nominated film was Peter Weir's Master and Commander with 10 nominations, followed by Seabiscuit, Mystic River and Cold Mountain with seven each. The Nominations in Full
Best Picture
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Lost In Translation
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit Directing
City Of God
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Lost In Translation
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Mystic River Actor In A Leading Role
Johnny Depp - Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
Ben Kingsley - House Of Sand And Fog
Jude Law - Cold Mountain
Bill Murray - Lost In Translation
Sean Penn - Mystic River Actor In A Supporting Role
Alec Baldwin - The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro - 21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou - In America
Tim Robbins - Mystic River
Ken Watanabe - The Last Samurai Actress In A Leading Role
Keisha Castle-Hughes - Whale Rider
Diane Keaton - Something's Gotta Give
Samantha Morton - In America
Charlize Theron - Monster
Naomi Watts - 21 Grams Actress In A Supporting Role
Shohreh Aghdashloo - House Of Sand And Fog
Patricia Clarkson - Pieces Of April
Marcia Gay Harden - Mystic River
Holly Hunter - Thirteen
Ren Zellweger - Cold Mountain **Writing (Adapted Screenplay) **
American Splendor
City Of God
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Mystic River
Seabiscuit **Writing (Original Screenplay) **
The Barbarian Invasions
Dirty Pretty Things
Finding Nemo
In America
Lost In Translation Animated Feature Film
Brother Bear
Finding Nemo
The Triplets Of Belleville (Belleville Rendez-vous ) Art Direction
Girl With A Pearl Earring
The Last Samurai
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Seabiscuit Cinematography
City Of God
Cold Mountain
Girl With A Pearl Earring
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Seabiscuit Costume Design
Girl With A Pearl Earring
The Last Samurai
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Seabiscuit Documentary Feature
Balseros
Capturing The Friedmans
The Fog Of War
My Architect
The Weather Underground Documentary Short Subject
Asylum
Chernobyl Heart
Ferry Tales Film Editing
City Of God
Cold Mountain
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Seabiscuit Foreign Language Film
The Barbarian Invasions
Evil
The Twilight Samurai
Twin Sisters
elary Makeup
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl **Music (Score) **
Big Fish
Cold Mountain
Finding Nemo
House Of Sand And Fog
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King **Music (Song) **
"Into The West" - The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
"A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow" - A Mighty Wind
"Scarlet Tide" - Cold Mountain
"The Triplets Of Belleville" - The Triplets Of Belleville
"You Will Be My Ain True Love" - Cold Mountain **Short Film (Animated) **
Boundin'
Destino
Gone Nutty
Harvie Krumpet
Nibbles **Short Film (Live Action) **
Die Rote Jacke (The Red Jacket)
Most (The Bridge)
Squash
(A) Torzija ([A] Torsion)
Two Soldiers Sound
The Last Samurai
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl
Seabiscuit Sound Editing
Finding Nemo
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl Visual Effects
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl The 76th Academy Awards
Empire Online will be providing live coverage of the Oscars this year on Sunday 29 February 2004. We'll have the winners up as they're announced, followed by a full and frank verdict on this year's ceremony and transcripts of the acceptance speeches together with galleries of pictures on the fashion high and low-points of the night (c'mon you know you want to see the pretty ladies). So for the full Oscars picture, you know where to come. So What Do You Think?
Was Cold Mountain rightly snubbed? Are you chuffed that Johnny Depp earned a mention? Should Return of the King have been mentioned for Best Cinematography? Click here to join in Empire's Oscar debate.