March 5, 1998. Copyright, 1998, Graphic News. All rights reserved

BRITISH WOMEN SET FOR OSCAR SUCCESS
By Oliver Burkeman

LONDON, March 5, Graphic News: BRITAIN is likely to enjoy its most successful Oscar night in years on March 23, when the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences holds its 70th awards ceremony in Hollywood.
Four of the five nominations for Best Actress are British: Helena Bonham Carter for ÔThe Wings of the DoveÕ, Judi Dench for ÔMrs BrownÕ, Kate Winslet for ÔTitanicÕ and Julie Christie for ÔAfterglowÕ. Helen Hunt, as a waitress in ÔAs Good as it GetsÕ, is the sole American nominee. Peter CattaneoÕs tale of unemployed northern English steelworkers turning to stripping, ÔThe Full MontyÕ, also stands an outside chance of scooping Best Picture. Final ballot papers for the Oscars were mailed to the 5,371 voting members of the Academy on Tuesday (March 3). 
Forty-two films are competing for their attention in 24 categories. But James CameronÕs epic ÔTitanicÕ Ð at more than U.S.$200m, the most expensive film ever made Ð is certain to dominate the awards. Its record 14 nominations Ð including Cameron for Best Director and Kate Winslet for Best Actress Ð was only matched by 1950Õs ÔAll About EveÕ. 
This yearÕs shortlist has been criticised for the absence of ethnic-minority actors and crew. None of the black actors in Stephen SpielbergÕs ÔAmistadÕ have been shortlisted, and ÔEveÕs BayouÕ, the critically-acclaimed tale of an African American family in the American South, has not been nominated at all. Spike LeeÕs documentary Ô4 Little GirlsÕ is a rare exception. 
Presenters at the ceremony, hosted by Billy Crystal, will include Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, Meg Ryan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Madonna
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PHOTOMONTAGE: KEY TO FILMS (left to right)

CAPTION: One of four British actresses nominated for Best Actress, Dame Judi Dench Ð most visible in recent years for her role as M in the James Bond films Ð stars as Queen Victoria in ÔMrs BrownÕ. 
ACADEMY NOTES: ÔMrs BrownÕ (Miramax) 2 nominations: Judi Dench Ð performance by an actress in a leading role; makeup

CAPTION: Gus van Sant directs first-time Academy nominee Matt Damon Ð who co-wrote the script with Ben Affleck Ð in ÔGood Will HuntingÕ, the tale of a boyÕs painful search for self-knowledge and acceptance. Robin Williams plays the community-college tutor who tries to help. 
ACADEMY NOTES: ÔGood Will HuntingÕ (Miramax) 9 nominations: Matt Damon Ð performance by an actor in a leading role; Robin Williams Ð performance by an actor in a supporting role; Minnie Driver Ð performance by an actress in a supporting role; directing; film editing; original dramatic score; original song; best picture; screenplay written directly for the screen

CAPTION: 1950s Los Angeles is the setting for Curtis HansonÕs (ÔThe Hand That Rocks the CradleÕ) star-studded noir thriller, ÔLA ConfidentialÕ, based on James EllroyÕs novel. 
ACADEMY NOTES: ÔLA ConfidentialÕ (Warner Bros) 9 nominations: Kim Basinger Ð performance by an actress in a supporting role; art direction; cinematography; directing; film editing; original dramatic score; best picture; sound; screenplay based on material previously produced or published

CAPTION: The Oscar nomination for ÔAfterglowÕ is the third expression of acclaim for Julie ChristieÕs leading role in this Õseriocomic soap operaÕ, directed by Alan Rudolph (ÔChoose MeÕ, ÔSongwriterÕ). The New York Film Critics Circle and the U.S. National Society of Film Critics have already awarded her their prizes for best actress. 
ACADEMY NOTES: ÔAfterglowÕ (Sony Pictures Classics) 1 nomination: Julie Christie Ð performance by an actress in a leading role

CAPTION: Veteran Jack Nicholson stands to land his third Academy Award for ÔAs Good as it GetsÕ, in which he plays a bigoted New York novelist, forced to come to the aid of his favourite waitress (Best Actress nominee Helen Hunt), her asthmatic son and a gay neighbour. James L Brooks (ÔTerms of EndearmentÕ) directs. 
ACADEMY NOTES: ÔAs Good as it GetsÕ (TriStar) 7 nominations: Jack Nicholson Ð performance by an actor in a leading role; Greg Kinnear Ð performance by an actor in a supporting role; Helen Hunt Ð performance by an actress in a leading role; film editing; original music or comedy score; best picture; screenplay written directly for the screen

CAPTION: At 87, Gloria Stuart Ð nominated Best Supporting Actress for her role as an elderly survivor in James CameronÕs old-style blockbuster ÔTitanicÕ Ð is the oldest performer ever nominated for an Academy Award. The epic film could scoop half the awards. 
ACADEMY NOTES: ÔTitanicÕ (20th Century Fox and Paramount) 14 nominations: Kate Winslet Ð performance by an actress in a leading role; Gloria Stuart Ð performance by an actress in a supporting role; art direction; cinematography; costume design; directing; film editing; makeup; original dramatic score; best picture; sound; sound effects editing; visual effects

CAPTION: Helena Bonham Carter, 32-year-old veteran of Merchant IvoryÕs period pieces (ÔA Room With A ViewÕ, ÔMauriceÕ, ÔHowardÕs EndÕ), received a Best Actress nomination for her role in ÔThe Wings of the DoveÕ as an Englishwoman seeking to steer an ailing American heiress into the arms of a penniless journalist they both love, in this adaptation of the novel by Henry James. 
ACADEMY NOTES: ÔThe Wings of the DoveÕ (Miramax) 4 nominations: Helena Bonham Carter Ð performance by an actress in a leading role; cinematography; costume design; screenplay based on material previously produced or published

CAPTION: Dustin Hoffman has already won two Oscars Ð for ÔKramer vs. KramerÕ and ÔRain ManÕ Ð and has been nominated for five others. Now he stands to win Best Actor for ÔWag the DogÕ, the story of a desperate bid to save a scandal-ridden presidency by media manipulation. 
ACADEMY NOTES: ÔWag the DogÕ (New Line) 2 nominations: Dustin Hoffman Ð performance by an actor in a leading role; screenplay based on material previously produced or published

CAPTION: Unemployed steelworkers-turned-strippers broke British box office records in Peter CattaneoÕs ÔThe Full MontyÕ, featuring ÔTrainspottingÕ star Robert Carlyle. 
ACADEMY NOTES: ÔThe Full MontyÕ (Fox Searchlight) 4 nominations: directing; original musical or comedy score; best picture; screenplay written directly for the screen

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