It's time again for one of the biggest awards nights in Hollywood: The Oscars. This year sees the 74th Academy Awards being held on the 24rd March at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, with the usual swag of press, celebrities, and fans just waiting to get a glimpse of their favourite stars as they walk down the red carpet. For Australia, this year's awards are the best yet, and possibly the most dissapointing. Several of Australia's best have missed out on being nominated for awards, which brought about gasps and murmurs as the nominations were announced, but more on that soon.

The total nominations for Australians this year reached 10, surpassing the number achieved in 1995 (the year of Babe and Braveheart), and 1996 (the year of Shine and Portrait of a Lady). For the full listing of nominations including Australian nominations, scroll down the page.

From an overall perspective, this year was indeed a good year for lots of top quality movies from different types of genres, and a wide variety of styles. These ranged from the stylish comedy/musical/drama of Moulin Rouge, to the adventures of Lord of the Rings, to the Drama of A Beautiful Mind (not yet seen here in Australia), and to the action/drama of Black Hawk Down (also not yet seen here in Australia).

Another film worth mentioning is the drama Memento (starring Australian Guy Pearce), which was so different and unique in the way the story was told, it won over even the most toughest critics. So how did this little gem of a film miss out on being nominated for best picture? There were rumours it was due to the fact that the writers weren't a part of the Writers Guild of America at the time. This is a pity if it is true, as the Academy Awards should be about recognising the best in the industry no matter who belonged to what group. If a film is made which is so creative, compelling and immensely enjoyed by the majority of people (including tough critics), then it should gain the recognition it deserves.

Another omission from the nominations for the best actor category is Guy Pearce for his role in Memento. He gave a brilliant and believeable performance, allowing the audience to get inside the mind of Leonard Shelby so easily, which was crucial to the story of the film.

The most noticeable omission however is the nomination for best director: Baz Luhrmann - Moulin Rouge. Quoted from the Courier Mail: "Luhrmann's musical was nominated in the best picture category. However, the large audience at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills gasped when David Lynch (Mulholland Drive) got the nod ahead of Luhrmann in the best director category." The Courier Mail also reported New Zealand Director Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) as saying "I always find it strange when a film is nominated and not the director, I feel particularly bad about that."

For those of you who have seen a Baz Luhrmann film (which include Strictly Ballroom, Romeo and Juliet, and Moulin Rouge) will know that his style is very unique and different. The majority of audiences who see his films are captivated and drawn in due to the imagination and creativity displayed which really stimulates the mind.

It seems such creativity (Memento, Baz Luhrmann) aren't what the Academy were after this year, which is a pity. Film is an artform, and the more creative the art, the better (in most cases). Another good Aussie film that didn't get a mention which some thought would was Lantana. Some thought it was good enough for a best film nomination, best director, and best actor (Anthony Lapaglia). It was also suprising to see that Final Fantasy didn't get a mention at all, not even for best visual effects or best animated film.

As I said earlier, this year has been a good year for films, and it must've been a very tough task narrowing down the field for each category to a maximum of 5 entries. However, I feel some mistakes were made, and the final nominations for several categories don't contain the best they could have. Perhaps next time the studios who develop these excellent films will spend a little more money to get them recognised by the Academy.

Here is the full list of nominations. Bold indicates an Australian nomination, and red indicates my choice of winner:

Best Picture: - A Beautiful Mind - Gosford Park - In the Bedroom - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Moulin Rouge Best Director: - Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) - Ridley Scott (Black Hawk Down) - Robert Altman (Gosford Park) - Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) - David Lynch (Mulholland Drive) Best Actor: - Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind) - Sean Penn (I am Sam) - Will Smith (Ali) - Denzel Washington (Training Day) - Tom Wilkinson (In the Bedroom) Best Actress: - Halle Berry (Monster's Ball) - Judi Dench (Iris) - Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge) - Sissy Spacek (In the Bedroom) - Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones's Diary) Best Supporting Actor: - Jim Broadbent (Iris) - Ethan Hawke (Training Day) - Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast) - Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings) - Jon Voight (Ali) Best Supporting Actress: - Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) - Helen Mirren (Gosford Park) - Maggie Smith (Gosford Park) - Marisa Tomei (In the Bedroom) - Kate Winslett (Iris) Best Animated Film: - Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius - Monsters, Inc. - Shrek Best Foreign Film: - Amelie (France) - Elling (Norway) - Lagaan (India) - No Man's Land (Bosnia) - Son of the Bride (Argentina) Best Screenplay: (Written based on material previously produced or published) - A Beautiful Mind (Akiva Goldsman) - Ghost World (Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff) - In the Bedroom (Rob Festinger and Todd Field) - The Lord of the Rings (Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson) - Shrek (Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman) Best Screenplay: (Written directly for the screen) - Amelie (Guillaume Laurant and Jean-Pierre Jeanet) - Gosford Park (Julian Fellowes) - Memento (Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan) - Monster's Ball (Milo Addica and Will Rokos) - The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson) Best Art Direction - Amelie - Gosford Park - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - The Lord of the Rings - Moulin Rouge Best Cinematogrophy - Amelie - Black Hawk Down - The Lord of the Rings - The man Who Wasn't There - Moulin Rouge

Best Sound - Amelie - Black Hawk Down - The Lord of the Rings - Moulin Rouge - Pearl Harbor Best Sound Editing - Monsters, Inc. - Pearl Harbor Best Original Score - A.I. Artificial Intelligence (John Williams) - A beautiful Mind (James Horner) - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (John Willams) - The Lord of the Rings (Howard Shore) - Monsters, Inc. (Randy Newman) Best Original Song - Monsters, Inc. (If I Didn't Have You by Randy Newman) - The Lord of the Rings (May it be by Enya, Nicky Ryan, and Roma Ryan) - Pearl Harbor (There You'll Be by Diane Warren) - Kate and Leopold (Until by Sting) - Vanilla Sky (Vanilla Sky by Paul McCarney) Best Costume - The Affair of the Necklace - Gosford Park - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - The Lord of the Rings - Moulin Rouge Best Documentary Feature - Children Underground - LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton - Murder on a Sunday Morning - Promises - War Photographer Best Documentary: (Short Subject) - Artists and Orphans: A True Drama - Sing! - Thor Best Film Editing: - A Beautiful Mind - Black Hawk Down - The Lord of the Rings - Memento - Moulin Rouge Best Makeup: - A Beautiful Mind - The Lord of the Rings - Moulin Rouge Best Animated Short Film: - Fifty Percent Grey - For the Birds - Give Up Yer Aul Sins - Strange Invaders - Stubble Trouble Best Live Action Short Film: - The Accountant - Copy Shop - Gregor's Greatest Invention - A Man Thing (Meska Sprawa) - Speed for Thespians Best Visual Effects - A.I. Artificial Intelligence - The Lord of the Rings - Pearl Harbor

Best Films 2002: A Beautiful Mind Gosford Park In The Bedroom Lord of the Rings Moulin Rouge!

Please feel free to Post a comment on who you think will win what award.