Rate & Rank The 2004 Oscar Acting/Directing/Writing Contenders

[Hannibal21]

BEST ACTOR:
1. Clint Eastwood in MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Jamie Foxx in RAY
3. Don Cheadle in HOTEL RWANDA
4. Leonardo Dicaprio in THE AVIATOR
5. Johnny Depp in FINDING NEVERLAND

2004 was the best year for actors in a LONG time. So many performances worthy of a nomination, and with the exception of these 5 (1-4 are amazing, 5 was great), there were also Carrey (I would have him replace Depp), Giamatti (I was disappointed that I couldn't even put him on the top 5 of my list, because there were too many good ones to name :(), Bridges, Kilmer, Washington, Butler, etc. Here's hoping that Eastwood or Foxx takes home the award, but honestly, I wouldn't mind if Cheadle or Dicaprio wins either. Wouldn't mind at all.

BEST ACTRESS:
1. Hilary Swank in MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Kate Winslet in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
3. Catalina Sandino Moreno in MARIA FULL OF GRACE

Haven't seen Bening or Staunton's performances, but these three definitely make my top 5. Didn't think this year was too strong a year for actresses but there were still some worthy of mentioning, namely Nicole Kidman in Dogville and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill: Vol. 2.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
1. Morgan Freeman in MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Thomas Haden Church in SIDEWAYS
3. Alan Alda in THE AVIATOR
4. Jamie Foxx in COLLATERAL

Jamie Foxx was CLEARLY the lead in Collateral, he shouldn't be here. Freeman is long overdue, he deserves the Oscar by a long shot over all the other contenders here and I wouldn't be surprised if he won either. But my favorite male supporting performance of 2004 is David Carradine in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (in fact, it's my favorite performance of 2004, period), if he was nominated then it would be more difficult to choose in this category, between Freeman and him, but unfortunately that's not the case so it makes it much more easier to decide here.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1. Cate Blanchett in THE AVIATOR
2. Virginia Madsen in SIDEWAYS
3. Sophie Okonedo in HOTEL RWANDA

All I have to say here is: GO CATE BLANCHETT!!!!!!!!! :cool:

BEST DIRECTOR:
1. Martin Scorsese for THE AVIATOR
2. Clint Eastwood for MILLION DOLLAR BABY
3. Alexander Payne for SIDEWAYS
4. Taylor Hackford for RAY

Taylor Hackford doesn't deserve to be here, I would replace him with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 2, but I'm fine with the rest. It's a close competition between Scorsese and Eastwood, but I have a strong feeling that they're gonna give it to Scorsese this time. Or it may just be wishful thinking because I want him to win.....badly.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
1. BEFORE SUNSET
2. SIDEWAYS
3. MILLION DOLLAR BABY
4. FINDING NEVERLAND

Sideways is gonna win, but I hope to see an upset at the Oscars and see Before Sunset walk away with the prize.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
1. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
2. THE AVIATOR
3. HOTEL RWANDA
4. THE INCREDIBLES

The Incredbiles??? Pffft.

[zeppelin]

Best Actor
1. Clint Eastwood
2. Jamie Foxx
3. Leonardo DiCaprio
4. Johnny Depp

Best Actress
1. Hilary Swank
2. Kate Winslet

Best Supporting Actor
1. Thomas Haden Church
2. Morgan Freeman
3. Jamie Foxx
4. Alan Alda

Best Supporting Actress
1. Cate Blanchett
2. Virginia Madsen

Best Director
1. Alexander Payne
2. Clint Eastwood
3. Taylor Hackford
4. Martin Scorsese

Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Sideways
2. Million Dollar Baby
3. Finding Neverland

Best Original Screenplay
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. The Incredibles
3. The Aviator

[Antonio]

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Clint Eastwood for MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Alexander Payne for SIDEWAYS
3. Martin Scorsese for THE AVIATOR

BEST ACTOR
1. Clint Eastwood in MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Leonardo DiCaprio in THE AVIATOR
3. Johnny Depp in FINDING NEVERLAND

BEST ACTRESS
1. Hilary Swank in MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Kate Winslet in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
3. Annette Bening in BEING JULIA

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Morgan Freeman in MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Clive Owen in CLOSER
3. Thomas Haden Church in SIDEWAYS
4. Jamie Foxx in COLLATERAL
5. Alan Alda in THE AVIATOR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Natalie Portman in CLOSER
2. Virginia Madsen in SIDEWAYS
3. Cate Blanchett in THE AVIATOR

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. SIDEWAYS
2. MILLION DOLLAR BABY
3. FINDING NEVERLAND
4. BEFORE SUNSET

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
2. THE AVIATOR

Depp, Bening, and the screenplays for BEFORE SUNSET, FINDING NEVERLAND and THE AVIATOR shouldn't even be contenders.

And although Alan Alda was great in his beefy AVIATOR cameo, his lack of screen time hardly warrants a nomination while heavyweights from other films (yes, David Carradine in KBV2) were left off the list.

[Fisting Ackbar]

BEST ACTOR:
1. Jamie Foxx in RAY
2. Leonardo Dicaprio in THE AVIATOR
3. Clint Eastwood in MILLION DOLLAR BABY
4. Don Cheadle in HOTEL RWANDA
5. Johnny Depp in FINDING NEVERLAND

BEST ACTRESS:
1. Hilary Swank in MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Kate Winslet in ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
3: Imelda Staunton in VERA DRAKE
4. Catalina Sandino Moreno in MARIA FULL OF GRACE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
1. Clive Owen in CLOSER
2. Thomas Haden Church in SIDEWAYS
3. Jamie Foxx in COLLATERAL
4. Morgan Freeman in MILLION DOLLAR BABY
5. Alan Alda in THE AVIATOR

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1. Cate Blanchett in THE AVIATOR
2. Natalie Portman in CLOSER
3. Virginia Madsen in SIDEWAYS
4. Sophie Okonedo in HOTEL RWANDA
5. Laura Linney in KINSEY

BEST DIRECTOR:
1. Clint Eastwood for MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Martin Scorsese for THE AVIATOR
3. Alexander Payne for SIDEWAYS
4. Mike Leigh for VERA DRAKE
5. Taylor Hackford for RAY

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
1. BEFORE SUNSET
2. SIDEWAYS
3. MILLION DOLLAR BABY
4. THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES
5. FINDING NEVERLAND

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
1. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
2. THE AVIATOR
3. THE INCREDIBLES
4. HOTEL RWANDA
5. VERA DRAKE

[Katsumoto]

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Martin Scorsese, The Aviator
2. Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
3. Alexander Payne, Sideways
4. Taylor Hackford, Ray
COMMENTS
Hackford's nomination is a joke... i don't think anyone watched ray and said wow, the direction in this film is amazing. Could have been replaced by Gondry (Eternal Sunshine), Tarantino (Kill Bill Vol. 2), Zimou (House of Flying Daggers & Hero) or Michael Mann (Collateral)

BEST ACTOR
1. Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
2. Jamie Foxx, Ray
3. Leonardo Dicaprio, The Aviator
4. Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda
5. Johnny Depp, Finding Neverland
COMMENTS
Best actor this year was so stacked. There were at least 10 great performances. Of course Giamatti snub was the worst, I would have him replacing Depp. Still Jim Carrey, Jeff Bridges, Liam Neeson, Javier Bardem, Tom Cruise or Gael Garcia Bernal all could have been in there.

BEST ACTRESS
1. Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby
2. Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maria Full of Grace
4. Annette Benning, Being Julia
COMMENTS
Not as tough as best actor, but still a few fine performances gone unnoticed, one that i think has been forgotten is Nicole Kidman in Dogville. Julie Delpy in Before Sunset was amazing and of course the brilliant UMA from Kill Bill Vol. 2. Those three were figting it out with Catalina, but really i think they should have been fighting it out with Benning, in a tired, cliched, oscar bait performance.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
1. Clive Owen, Closer
2. Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
3. Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
4. Alan Alda, The Aviator
5. Jamie Foxx, Collateral
COMMENTS
Though i liked Foxx's performace better then Alda, i still ranked him last because Foxx's performace was a lead. I think its wrong that he got in and should have been replaced with Peter Saarsgard from Kinsey or David Carradine of Kill Bill Vol. 2. Also another performance gone unnotice is from Rodrigo De la Serna of Motorcycle Diaries, its brilliant.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
1. Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
2. Natalie Portman, Closer
3. Virginia Madsen, Sideways
4. Sophie Okonedo, Hotel Rwanda
5. Laura Linney, Kinsey
COMMENTS
I real tough year to pick, i enjoyed all these performances. Kate Winslet in Finding Neverland was good as well, Kristen Dunst for Eternal, Patricia Clarkson in Dogville and Portman again in Garden State.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. The Incredibles
3. Hotel Rwanda
4. The Aviator
COMMENTS
Would have liked to see Dogville or Kill Bill Vol. 2 sneak in there.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
1. Sideways
2. Million Dollar Baby
3. The Motorcycle Diaries
4. Before Sunset
5. Finding Neverland
COMMENTS
Door In The Floor i think was robbed here...

[QUENTIN]

DIRECTOR:
1.) Clint Eastwood -Million Dollar Baby
2.) Martin Scorsese -The Aviator
3.) Taylor Hackford -Ray
4.) Alexander Payne -Sideways

ACTOR:
1.) Jamie Foxx -Ray
2.) Clint Eastwood -Million Dollar Baby
3.) Leonardo DiCaprio -The Aviator

ACTRESS:
1.) Hilary Swank -Million Dollar Baby
2.) Catalina Sandino Moreno -Maria Full of Grace
3.) Kate Winslet -Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind

SUPPORTING ACTOR:
1.) Clive Owen -Closer
2.) Morgan Freeman -Million Dollar Baby
3.) Jamie Foxx -Collateral (though not a supporting performance)
4.) Alan Alda -The Aviator (doesn't deserve a nom, too small, not scene-stealing)
5.) Thomas Hayden Church -Sideways (just not good enough for a nom)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
1.) Natalie Portman -Closer
2.) Cate Blanchett -The Aviator
3.) Virgnia Madsen -Sideways

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
1.) Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind -Charlie Kaufman
2.) The Aviator -John Logan
3.) The Incredibles -Brad Bird

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
1.) Million Dollar Baby
2.) Motorcycle Diaries
3.) Before Sunset (though I'm still not sure what this is adapted from)
4.) Sideways

There's still a few I need to see obviously, but some of the other nominees I'm not particularly interested in. Hotel Rwanda's at the top of my list though and I'd like to see Finding Neverland and Vera Drake. I'd say this year's nominations are a mixed bag, some truly worthy contenders and the chance for the best 4 acting performances of the year to win, but a lot of oversights as well.

[ilovemovies]

I still have a LOT to catch up with.

I'm also going to do best picture:

1. The Aviator
2. Sideways
3. Finding Neverland
4. Million Dollar Baby
5. Ray


Best Director:

1. Martin Scorsese
2. Alexander Payne
3. Clint Eastwood
4. Taylor Hackford

Best Actor:

1. Leonardo Dicaprio
2. Don Cheadle
3. Jaime Foxx
4. Clint Eastwood
5. Johnny Depp

Best Actress:

1. Kate Winslet
2. Hilary Swank

Sadly that's all I've seen for the best actress.

Best Supporting Actor:

1. Thomas Hayden Church
2. Morgan Freeman
3. Clive Owen
4. Alan Alda
5. Jaime Foxx

Best Supporting Actress:

1. Natalie Portman
2. Virginia Madsen
3. Cate Blanchett
4. Sophie Okonedo

Best Adapted Screenplay:

1. Sideways
2. Finding Neverland
3. Million Dollar Baby


Best Original Screenplay:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. The Aviator
3. Hotel Rwanda
4. The Incredibles

The Incredibles is this year's Shrek and Finding Nemo. I liked it, I enjoyed it but it's far from great and totally overrated.

[morricone]

Best Picture:
01. Million Dollar Baby
02. Sideways
03. The Aviator
04. Ray
05. Finding Neverland

Best Actor:
01. Clint Eastwood
02. Jamie Foxx
03. Don Cheadle
04. Leonardo DiCaprio
05. Johnny Depp

Best Actress:
01. Hillary Swank
02. Imelda Staunton
03. Annette Bening
04. Kate Winslet
05. Catalina Sandina Moreno

Best Director:
01. Clint Eastwood
02. Martin Scorsese
03. Alexander Payne
04. Mike Leigh
05. Taylor Hackford

Best Supporting Actor:
01. Thomas Haden Church
02. Morgan Freeman
03. Clive Owen
04. Alan Alda
05. Jamie Foxx

Best Supporting Actress:
01. Virginia Madsen
02. Cate Blanchett
03. Natalie Portman
04. Laura Linney
05. Sophie Okonedo

[Raging Bull080]

Best Picture
1. MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. SIDEWAYS
3. THE AVIATOR
4. RAY
5. FINDING NEVERLAND
I don't care what anyone says this was a great year for movies. All of my top three movies in this category were GREAT MOVIES. I first saw The Aviator and loved it, one of Scorsese's 6 best films, and that is a bold fucking statement. However then I had the great fortune of being able to see both Sideways and Million Dollar Baby on the same night, back to back. Going in I thought there was no way I would like either one as much as The Aviator, boy was I wrong. Sideways is a small, funny, touching masterpiece, and Million Dollar Baby is one of the best films I have ever seen. Shockingly, on Oscar Night I will be rooting against my hero Scorsese in this category, in mind, but not in heart.

Best Director
1. Martin Scorsese/ THE AVIATOR
2. Clint Eastwood/ MILLION DOLLAR BABY
3. Alexander Payne/ SIDEWAYS
4. Taylor Hackford/ RAY
5. Mike Leigh/ VERA DRAKE
Quite simply if Scorsese hadn't been screwed over so many times and if he had only won just once, I would want Eastwood to win because simply stated he made the better movie. However Scorsese has never won and more than anything else I want to hear his name called on Oscar Night. Finally!!!

Best Actor
1. Clint Eastwood/ MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Leonardo DiCaprio/ THE AVIATOR
2. Jamie Foxx/ RAY
4. Don Cheadle/ HOTEL RWANDA
5. Johnny Depp/ FINDING NEVERLAND
Let's get this out of the way first, the best male acting performance of the year might have been Paul Giamotti in Sideways, his snub is absolutely rediculous. Eastwood gave the best performance of his career in my opinion and because of the acting legend he is I want him to win the Oscar. However both Foxx and DiCaprio deserve to win and I can't decide which one was better. In what has turned into one of the best years I can remember for lead actors it is ashame that Foxx has seemingly already clinched the Oscar. So in closing, I want Eastwood to win, but if I had to choose between Foxx and DiCaprio, I would choose Leo. It might be cheap but my tiebreaker would be that The Aviator is a far better film than Ray.

Best Actress
1. Hilary Swank/ MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Kate Winslet/ ETERNAL SUNSHINE
3. Imelda Staunton/ VERA DRAKE
4. Catalin Sandino Moreno/ MARIA FULL OF GRACE
5. Annette Bening/ BEING JULIA
This is very simple, if Hilary Swank doesn't win the Oscar it will be fraud.

Best Supporting Actor
1. Morgan Freeman/ MILLION DOLLAR BABY
2. Thomas Hayden Church/ SIDEWAYS
3. Jamie Foxx/ COLLATERAL
4. Clive Owen/ CLOSER
5. Alan Alda/ THE AVIATOR
Morgan Freeman is one of our greatest actors, he was splended in Baby so I want him to win. However if Thomas Hayden Church wins, it won't bother me.

Best Supporting Actress
1. Virginia Madsen/ SIDEWAYS
2. Cate Blanchett/ THE AVIATOR
3. Natalie Portman/ CLOSER
4. Sophie Okonedo/ HOTEL RWANDA
5. Laura Linney/ KINSEY
I would be satisfied to see any of the top 3 win, but Madsen deserves the Oscar.

[Puck Bond]

Best Director
1. Martin Scorsese-The Aviator
2. Taylor Hackford-Ray
3. Clint Eastwood-Million Dollar Baby
4. Alexander Payne-Sideways
Have not seen Vera Drake yet...
Marty is due but this is the best film of the year and the best directing job of the year and he should win it just based on that in a perfect world!

Best Actor
1. Leonardo DiCaprio-The Aviator
2. Jamie Foxx-Ray
3. Johnny Depp-Finding Neverland
4. Don Cheadle-Hotel Rwanda
5. Clint Eastwood-Million Dollar Baby
Jamie Foxx is a lock at this point but if it were up to me Leo would win, its the best performance of his career...he owned that film!

Best Actress
1. Kate Winslet-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2. Hilary Swank-Million Dollar Baby
3. Catalina Sandino Moreno-Maria Full of Grace
Still have not seen Vera Drake or Being Julia yet.
I'm pretty sure Swank will get it, but I would like to see Eternal Sunshine get some love and have them give it to Kate Winslet.

Best Suppporting Actor
1. Jamie Foxx-Collateral
2. Morgan Freeman-Million Dollar Baby
3. Clive Owen-Closer
4. Alan Alda-The Aviator
5. Thomas Haden Church-Sideways
I'd be happy as a lamb if Freeman won this and he is a current favorite I guess, but as consolation for not winning best actor I'd give it to Foxx.

Best Supporting Actress
1. Cate Blanchett-The Aviator
2. Natalie Portman-Closer
3. Sophie Okonedo-Hotel Rwanda
4. Virginia Madsen-Sideways
Still haven't seen Kinsey!
I think Cate Blanchett will win and she should win plain and simple.