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Daily News
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Splendor Splendid in LA
Los Angeles Film Critics like American Splendor and the work of Bill
Murray and Naomi Watts.
Friday, January 9, 2004
By Vincent Rowe
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Score another notch in the belt of the Fine Line Features~HBO Films' stylistic
indie American Splendor. The live-action film, which features animated
clips, about the life of file clerk turned comic book writer Harvey Pekar was
named the best picture of the year by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association
according to a vote held Wednesday night.
The LAFC, which nearly cancelled its awards ceremony after the MPAA banned
the mailing of awards season screeners, honored the talent behind many of the
year's smaller films rather than the end-of-the-year big studio fare. Bill Murray
was honored as the year's best actor for his role in Lost in Translation,
while Naomi Watts received mention as best actress for her work in 21 Grams.
Bill Nighy was named supporting actor of the year for his work in four different
films - Love Actually, Lawless Heart, I Capture the Castle
and AKA - and Shohreh Aghdashloo took home the supporting actress kudos
for playing the wife of an Iranian immigrant in DreamWorks' House of Sand
and Fog.
Some big pics did work their way into the graces of the LAFC as Peter Jackson
landed on top of the helming crowd for his work on the high-concept The Lord
of the Rings: The Return of the King. The King also was honored for
the production design of Grant Major. This year's cinematography trophy went
to Eduardo Serra for Girl With the Pearl Earring.
Splendor scribes Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini walked away
with the best screenplay honors, while Errol Morris' The Fog of War won
the prize for best documentary feature. France's Man on a Train came
away with the foreign-language film kudos, with The Triplets of Belleville,
also a French import, recognized as animated feature of the year. Belleville
was also awarded for the music of Benoit Charest and Mathieu Chedid.
Scarlett Johansson, who had breakthrough performances this year in both Lost
in Translation and Girl With the Pearl Earring, was cited with the
New Generation Award, and filmmaker Robert Altman recieved the Career Achievement
Award.
Two films were recognized with The Douglas Edwards Independent/Experimental
Award. Both Thom Anderson's Los Angeles Plays Itself, giving a view of
Los Angeles in the cinema over the years, and The Decay of Fiction, described
as a visual poem about the Ambassador Hotel, were recognized by the LAFC.
| Many of the categories this year had close races when the votes were tallied.
Lost in Translation was the runner-up for best picture by a narrow margin,
and Clint Eastwood came in second place for best director for Mystic River. On the acting side,
Sean Penn came in a close second for Mystic River, and Charlize Theron
got the silver for her transformation in Monster. Benicio Del Toro landed
a second place finish for 21 Grams in the supporting actor category,
and the film's Melissa Leo was the runner-up for supporting actress.
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The LAFC will present their annual awards at a dinner ceremony to be held on
Monday, January 26th, at the St. Regis Hotel in Los Angeles.
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