OSCAR NOM PREDIX 2002: OTHER CATEGORIES

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Some people, come Oscar time, only have eyes for names like Streep, Nicholson, Zeta-Jones, and Jackson. But, to the true Oscar devoté, names like Dante Ferretti, Sandy Powell, Thomas Newman, and Janusz Kaminski are just as exciting. These races also tend to be less overexposed and overfamiliar from previous rounds of prize-giving (the Globes, the BAFTAs, the various critics' awards), so predicting them can be even tougher. Let's have a go at it, shall we?

I hope no one will fault me too much for confessing that I know nothing of the short films in the Documentary, Animated, or Live Action fields, so I cannot possibly predict or comment. Finally, as in previous years, please note that my predictions for the Animated Film, Visual Effects, Sound Effects, and Makeup categories reflect the published rosters of finalists in each of those categories, meaning the Oscar branches are tipping us off a little, though frankly my prognostications need as much help as they can get!

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BEST ART DIRECTION Chicago, John Myhre Gangs of New York, Dante Ferretti Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, Grant Major Minority Report, Alex McDowell Road to Perdition, Dennis Gassner Nearest Contenders Frida, Felipe Fernández del Paso The Pianist, Allan Starski Harry Potter and Ch. of Secrets, Stuart Craig Dark Horses Far from Heaven, Mark Friedberg Catch Me If You Can, Jeannine C. Oppewall

BEST FILM EDITING Catch Me If You Can, Michael Kahn Chicago, Martin Walsh Gangs of New York, Thelma Schoonmaker The Hours, Peter Boyle Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, D.Michael Horton and Jabez Olssen Nearest Contenders Minority Report, Michael Kahn The Pianist, Hervé de Luze Adaptation, Eric Zumbrunen Bowling for Columbine, Kurt Engfehr Dark Horses 25th Hour, Barry Alexander Brown Road to Perdition, Jill Bilcock About Schmidt, Kevin Tent

The real strengths of American film in 2002 start to emerge in categories like these, even more than in the higher-profile races. Like the Cinematography category, those for Art Direction and Editing are faced with leaving out several award-worthy contenders, even if they don't do something lame like cough up a production design slot for Harry Potter (once designed, always designed, if you ask me...). General enthusiasm for the movies will give Chicago and The Two Towers certain berths in most of the technical races, and flashy work—those gargantuan Gangs of New York catacombs, the relentless match-cuts which fuse The Hours—probably stands a better chance than quieter achievements, like Far from Heaven's pitch-perfect colorisms or The Pianist's metronomic march into ghastliness. There are some real wild cards here, too: Spielberg's films are competing against each other in both races, and odd ducks like Adaptation and Bowling for Columbine will try to win approval for their own storytelling innovations (indulgences?). I, for one, am highly intrigued.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN Chicago, Colleen Atwood Far from Heaven, Sandy Powell Frida, Julie Weiss Gangs of New York, Sandy Powell Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, Ngila Dickson Nearest Contenders Road to Perdition, Albert Wolsky The Cat's Meow, Caroline de Vivaise Dark Horses Harry Potter and the..., Judianna Makovsky 8 Women, Pascaline Chavanne The Pianist, Anna Sheppard The Four Feathers, Ruth Myers

BEST SOUND Chicago Gangs of New York The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Minority Report Road to Perdition Nearest Contenders Catch Me If You Can Solaris xXx Dark Horses Spider-Man We Were Soldiers

It's no typo that you see Sandy Powell's name twice in the Costume Design predictions. It's not even a novelty; she actually scored dual nods in 1998 for Shakespeare in Love and Velvet Goldmine, finally copping an overdue win for the former. Gangs and Far from Heaven should help her repeat the trick, even though the Costume Design Guild amazingly ignored both in its own nominations. If she's left out—and Far from Heaven has the shakiest claim of the five—the spot will probably go to Wolsky, a past winner for, among other films, All That Jazz, a direct ancestor of this year's Chicago. Best Sound, meanwhile, will be the same boring rehash of Best Picture contenders and Loud Movies, meaning that movies that showed genuinely creative uses of sound—Morvern Callar, for example—will be left out. Solaris was the cleverest among my listed possibilities, so I'm rooting for a dark-horse nod.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Catch Me If You Can, John Williams Far from Heaven, Elmer Bernstein Frida, Elliot Goldenthal Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, Howard Shore Road to Perdition, Thomas Newman Nearest Contenders Gangs of New York, Howard Shore The Hours, Philip Glass The Pianist, Wojciech Kilar Dark Horses Minority Report, John Williams 25th Hour, Terence Blanchard Monsoon Wedding, Mychael Danna

BEST ORIGINAL SONG "Father and Daughter," The Wild Thornberrys "The Hands that Built America," Gangs/NY "I Move On," Chicago "Sittin' on Top of the World," Evelyn "Something to Talk About," About a Boy Nearest Contenders "Here I Am," Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron "Lose Yourself," 8 Mile "Aaj Mera Jee Kardaa," Monsoon Wedding Dark Horses "Gollum's Song," Lord of the Rings: Two Towers "Love Will Come Through," Moonlight Mile "Hero," Spider-Man

Finally, with Catch Me If You Can, a John Williams score that I can get behind—though if he pulls double duty for Harry Potter or Minority Report, I'll call foul. Bernstein's omission would be a felony (though Alberto Iglesias' similar and immaculate contributions to Talk to Her will certainly be ignored). Howard Shore, meanwhile, has gone from never-nominated to double-repeat-threat in only a year, with his Two Towers and Gangs of New York compositions running neck and neck. The Song category is almost always beneath contempt—treacly, predictable, with only cursory participation in the films. I loved Eminem's song, which didn't feature in 8 Mile until the end credits (like man of the tunes listed), but actually condensed the story's emotions better than the film as a whole. "I Move On," by the way, is the only song eligible for Chicago, because Miramax explicitly solicited a new Kander-Ebb ditty in order to earn them a nod. Strategy, strategy, yawn, yawn.

BEST ANIMATED FILM Ice Age Lilo & Stitch Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Spirited Away Treasure Planet Nearest Contenders The Wild Thornberrys Stuart Little 2 Dark Horses The Powerpuff Girls Movie

BEST DOC. FEATURE Amandla! (A Revolution in Four Acts) Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary The Kid Stays in the Picture Prisoner of Paradise Standing in the Shadows of Motown Nearest Contenders Bowling for Columbine Winged Migration Dark Horses Home Movie Naqoyqatsi

Best Animated Film, also known as "Show Me the Money." Last year's hit Jimmy Neutron outfoxed arthouse groundbreaker Waking Life, so it'll be a hugely deserved miracle if the grossly under-marketed Spirited Away loses out to something like Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. The two $100 million grossers have nothing to worry about; and all the other also-rans were notable underperformers, so rankled employees and stockholders may keep them ouf of the race. Then there's Best Documentary Feature, also known as "No Hits Allowed!", and therefore the opposite of the Animation category. Michael Moore is the only documentarian known to many Americans, but I still think he's a dark horse here: too divisive, and his film too self-promoting and "non-objective" to please this committee. They still have audience pleasers like Standing in the Shadows of Motown to recognize, and it'll be hard to unseat Holocaust inquiries like Blind Spot or, especially, Prisoner of Paradise. I've put Winged Migration as a contender strictly because it's exactly the sort of airheaded titular phrase that the Documentary presenters are forever trying to read with conviction. (Remember Dolphins? Dancemaker? The Living Sea?)

BEST MAKEUP Frida The Time Machine (Wondering what Lord of the Rings, The Hours, Red Dragon, Road to Perdition, The Master of Disguise, and a few others are doing off this list? So's everyone else. But for some reason, the Makeup Committee has only submitted these two films as semifinalists—everyone else is out.)

BEST SOUND EFFECTS Minority Report Road to Perdition We Were Soldiers Nearest Contenders LOTR: Two Towers Spider-Man Dark Horses xXx Harry Potter/Chamber of...

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS LOTR: Two Towers Minority Report Spider-Man Nearest Contenders Star Wars, Ep II: Clones Harry Potter/Chamber of... Dark Horses xXx Men in Black II

Predicted Totals: Chicago - 12 Gangs of New York - 10 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - 8 Far from Heaven - 6 The Hours - 6 Frida - 5 Road to Perdition - 5 Minority Report - 4 The Pianist - 4 About Schmidt - 3 Adaptation - 3 Catch Me If You Can - 3 About a Boy - 2 15 Other Films - 1 apiece

Predicted Shutouts: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind 8 Mile The Good Girl Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Nicholas Nickleby One Hour Photo Punch-Drunk Love Rabbit-Proof Fence Roger Dodger Secretary Solaris Sunshine State Talk to Her 25th Hour

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CORRECT MAJOR-CATEGORY PREDICTIONS: 73 / 96 (76%)
(Past success rates with the top 10 categories: 75% in 2001, 68% in 2000, 67% in 1999, and 69% in 1998.)

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