2000’s Movie Academy Awards 2000 Best Picture- Gladiator Best Actor- Russell Crowe in Gladiator Best Actress- Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich Supporting Actor- Benicio Del Toro in Traffic Supporting Actress- Marcia Gay Harden in Pollock Best Director- Steven Soderbergh for Traffic Gladiator- Roman Empire epic set in 180 A.D. Roman general seeking vengeance for betrayal and his family’s death 12 nominations, 5 awards This year also Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Biggest earning foreign film of all time Two fellow warriors in feudal China in pursuit of stolen magical jade sword and a fugitive Traffic- multi layered story line depicting America’s losing fight against the drug trade Erin Brockovich- true story about the title character- working class California woman battling corporate malfeasane at PG & Ecoverup and use of the a polluting chemical that contaminated the water supply Cast Away- Tom Hanks Sole Fed Express plane survivor, stranded for four years on a Pacific Island with a volleyball named Wilson Pollock- Ed Harris played the drinking, brawling American abstract expressionist artistpainter Jackson Pollock Chocolat- about a single mother who is the mysterious and beautiful owner of a sinfully rich chocolate/pastry shop who charms a small and conservative French town in the later 1950’s The Contender- about a first female vice presidential appointee who comes under political scrutiny by Republican congressmen for alleged sexual misconduct during her college days Almost Famous- Kate Hudson plays a free spirited curly haired “band aid” 70’s rock groupie Penny Lane for a band named Stillwater 2001 Best Picture- Beautiful Mind Best Animated Feature FilmShrek Best Actor-Denzel Washington in Training Day Best Actress- Halle Berry in Monster’s Ball Best Supporting Actor- Jim Broadbent in Iris Supporting Actress- Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind Best Director- Ron Howard- A Beautiful Mind A Beautiful Mind- 8 nominations, 4 wins Courageous Princeton University math genius experiencing a harrowing struggle with mental illness (schizophrenia) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Most nominations (13) this year Based on best selling novels of J.R.R. Tolkien Moulin Rouge- fantasy musical romance- set in late 19th century Paris Park- 1930’s Britain at a country estate, 23 lead characters Gosford In the Bedroom- family drama Training Day- corrupt 13 year veteran cop of a narcotics squad Black Hawk Down Pearl Harbor Amelie Monsters, Inc I Am Sam- developmentally disabled father who works in a coffee shop and seeks the custody of his 7 year old daughter Lucy (Sean Penn and Dakota Fanning costar) Monster’s Ball- Halle Berry was African American Leticia Musgrove- an executed killer’s grief stricken widow in a town poisoned with Southern racism 2002 Academy Awards Best Picture- Chicago Animated Feature Film- Spirited Away Best Actor- Adrien Brody in The Pianist Best Actress- Nicole Kidman in The Hours Best Supporting Actor- Chris Cooper in Adaptation Supporting Actress- Catherine Zeta-Jones Best Director- Roman Polanski for The Pianist Chicago- sexy musical extravaganza, based on a 1926 play by Chicago Tribune reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins told a tale of mid 1920’s murderous passion involving two cold blooded, cell block chorus girls who became rivals for tabloid celebrity status and fame The Pianist- story of a gifted Jewish piano player in Poland who survives the Holocaust The Hours- AIDS stricken gay patient and poet Road to Perdition- Paul Newman plays an aging, Depression era Irish gangster godfather/boss John Rooney Unfaithful- Diane Lane plays Richard Gere’s cheating and anguished suburban housewife Connie Sumner Charlize Theron- Monster Supporting Actor- Tim Robbins in Mystic River Supporting Actress- Renee Zellweger in Cold Mountain Director- Peter Jackson- Lord of the Rings The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King First fantasy film to ever win the top Oscar prize Won every award they were nominated for- 11 wins 2003 Best Picture- The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King Best Animated Feature FilmFinding Nemo Best Actor- Sean Penn in Mystic River Mystic River- tragic, somber murder mystery thriller Clint Eastwood film, Sean Penn, Tim Robbins Penn plays reformed exhoodlum and working class Boston father who seeks revenge over his teenage daughter’s murder Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Johnny Depp, sly tipsy buccaneer scoundrel and ship captain Jack Sparrow Monster- Theron plays emotionally damaged and abused real life prostitute turned serial killer Aileen Wuornos Whale Rider- 13 year old Keisha Castle Hughes plays Paikea, a mystical, adventurous, and strong willed New Zealand pre teen girls who buck indigenous tribal tradition and her grandfather to become leader of her Maori tribe Something’s Gotta Give- Diane Keaton plays Erica Barry, a successful Broadway playwright unexpectedly romanced by two men (30ish doctor Julian Mercer, played by Keanu Reeves and swinging 50’s exec Harry Langer played by Jack Nicholson Cold Mountain- Zellweger plays Ruby, a chubby faced, feisty, tough, and salty Confederate handywoman farm girl who befriends neighbor Ada (Nicole Kidman) 2004 Best Picture- Million Dollar Baby Animated Feature Film- The Incredibles Best Actor- Jamie Foxx in Ray Best Actress- Hilary Swank Supporting Actor- Morgan Freeman in Million Dollar Baby Supporting Actress- Cate Blanchett in The Aviator Director- Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby Million Dollar Baby- tearjerking drama about an ex boxer who reluctantly trains a waitress (Swank) to become a professional boxer Sideways- light, ensemble comedy, quirky romance, character study about the adventures of two middle aged emotionally constricted buddies in California’s wine country for a week of wine tasting Ray- Foxx plays legendary blues singer and pianist Ray Charles Set record for being the first black to debut as a nominee in two categories in the same year for lead and supporting (Ray and Collateral) Hotel Rwanda- Don Cheadle played Paul Rusesabagina, a heroic Hutu hotel manager who saves the lives of over 1000 Tutsi and Hutu Rwandan refugees from ethnic cleansing/genocide in 1994 The Incredibles- crimson suited family with superheroic powers Shark Tale- hip urban underwater retelling of Jack the Giant Killer Shrek 2- sequel to 2001 winner 2005 Best Picture- Crash Best Animated Feature FilmWallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit Best Actor- Philip Seymour Hoffman Best Actress- Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line Best Supporting Actor- George Clooney in Syriana Best Supporting Actress- Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener Crash- ensemble film about racism involving whites, blacks, Latinos, Koreans, and Iranians that was centered around a killing in Los Angeles which might have been racially motivated Brokeback Mountain- melodrama about two young cowboys who had an unexpected tryst while shepherding in 1963, and how it affected their married lives in the following three decades Capote- biopic about gay author Truman Capote’s journalistic relationship with troubled serial killer Perry Smith while researching his 1966 non fiction book In Cold Blood and how the situation ruined his mental health, leading to an early death at the age of 59 Good Night, and Good Luckblack and white biopic about legendary radio and CBS television news reporter Edward R. Murrow, focusing on his challenging attack in the mid 50;s on redbaiting Senator Joseph R. McCarthy and McCarthyism Munich- political thriller/morality play inspired by real eventsfollowed 1972 massacre of Israeli athletes at the Olympic Games in Munich, involving a secret Israeli squad assigned by prime minister Golda Meir to kill those who perpetrated the attack Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were Rabbit- eccentric cheese loving inventor Wallace and his faithful mute dog assistant Gromit claymation March of the Penguins- highest grossing nature documentary ($77.4 million) Mating rituals and breeding cycles of flightless Emperor penguins in Antarctica Walk the Line- Joaquin Phoenix played black clad, troubled country singer Johnny Cash Reese Witherspoon played June Carter North Country- Charlize Theron played singer mother miner Josey Aimes (loosely based on Lois Jenson) who successfully sued her mining company for sexual harassment Transamerica- Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman Gender bending role as Bree, a pre-operative transgendered woman (or male to female transsexual) with the given name of Stanley He discovered she/he had fathered a surly drug abusing 17 year old gay hustler named Toby