74th Academy Awards
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The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories honoring films released in 2001. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Laura Ziskin and directed by Louis J. Horvitz.<ref name="Producer">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the fourth time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She first hosted the 66th ceremony held in 1994 and had last hosted the 71st ceremony in 1999.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on March 2, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Charlize Theron.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A Beautiful Mind won four awards, including Best Picture.<ref name="LA Times Oscar">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Other winners included The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring with four awards, Black Hawk Down and Moulin Rouge! with two, and The Accountant, For the Birds, Gosford Park, Iris, Monster's Ball, Monsters, Inc., Murder on a Sunday Morning, No Man's Land, Pearl Harbor, Shrek, Thoth, and Training Day with one. Despite a record length of four hours and twenty-three minutes, the telecast garnered nearly 42 million viewers in the United States.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Winners and nominees
The nominees for the 74th Academy Awards were announced on February 12, 2002, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Frank Pierson, president of the academy, and the actress Marcia Gay Harden.<ref name=BBCOscar>Template:Cite news</ref> The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring earned the most nominations with thirteen. It was the seventh film to earn that many nominations. A Beautiful Mind and Moulin Rouge! tied for second place with eight apiece.<ref name="ANA">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 24, 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By virtue of its latest Best Picture victory for A Beautiful Mind, DreamWorks became the second film studio to release three consecutive Best Picture winners; the studio had previously released American Beauty and Gladiator.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Denzel Washington was the second African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, following Sidney Poitier for 1963's Lilies of the Field.<ref name="LA Times Oscar" /> Halle Berry became the first, and Template:As of, only, African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.<ref name="LA Times Oscar" /> Nominated for their performances as the title character in Iris, Best Actress nominee Judi Dench and Best Supporting Actress nominee Kate Winslet became the second pair of actresses nominated for portraying the same character in the same film, following Best Actress nominee Winslet and Best Supporting Actress nominee Gloria Stuart as Rose in 1997's Titanic.<ref name="ANA"/>
Awards
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Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (Template:Double-dagger).<ref name="Oscars2002">Template:Cite news</ref>
Honorary Awards
- To Sidney Poitier in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- To Robert Redford: actor, director, producer, creator of Sundance, inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
- Arthur Hiller<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Films with multiple nominations and awards
| Nominations | Film |
|---|---|
| 13 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |
| 8 | A Beautiful Mind |
| Moulin Rouge! | |
| 7 | Gosford Park |
| 5 | Amélie |
| In the Bedroom | |
| 4 | Black Hawk Down |
| Monsters, Inc. | |
| Pearl Harbor | |
| 3 | Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone |
| Iris | |
| 2 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence |
| Ali | |
| Memento | |
| Monster's Ball | |
| Shrek | |
| Training Day |
| Awards | Film |
|---|---|
| 4 | A Beautiful Mind |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | |
| 2 | Black Hawk Down |
| Moulin Rouge! |
Presenters and performers
The following individuals (in order of appearance) presented awards or performed musical numbers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Variety Oscars">Template:Cite news</ref>
Presenters
Performers
| Name(s) | Role | Performed |
|---|---|---|
| Template:Sortname | Musical arranger and conductor | Orchestral medley of themes from various film scores. |
| Template:Sortname | Performers | Special performance in a tribute to movie visual effects |
| Template:Sortname | Performer | "Until" from Kate & Leopold |
| Template:Sortname | Performer | "May it Be" from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |
| Template:Sortname Randy Newman |
Performers | "If I Didn't Have You" from Monsters, Inc. |
| Template:Sortname | Performer | "There You'll Be" from Pearl Harbor |
| Template:Sortname | Performer | "Vanilla Sky" from Vanilla Sky |
Ceremony information
The Academy wanted to find a new venue for the festivities amid limited seating and rehearsal time concerns with the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. In addition, problems arose regarding staging the Oscars at the Shrine Auditorium because there was difficulty of directing guests from the auditorium where the main event took place to the adjacent Exhibition Hall for the Governor's Ball.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> In August 1997, AMPAS and Canadian development firm TrizecHahn went into negotiations over the development of an entertainment complex located on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue adjacent to the Mann's Chinese Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Seven months later, both the Academy and TrizecHahn agreed on a twenty-year lease that allowed for the ceremony to be staged at a new venue, which would later be called the Kodak Theatre, located within the property which was also situated near the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the site of the inaugural awards ceremony in 1929.<ref name="Hurray">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This was the first time the ceremony was held in Hollywood since the 32nd ceremony took place at the Pantages Theatre in 1960.<ref name="Hurray"/>
In view of the return of the Oscars to Hollywood, the Academy hired film producer and Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman Laura Ziskin in September 2001 to oversee production of the telecast.<ref name="Producer"/> Pierson explained the decision to hire Ziskin saying, "This show is one of the most difficult—if not the most difficult—producing jobs in show business. Laura Ziskin brings intelligence, experience and wit expressed in everything she has done."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> This marked the first occurrence that a woman produced the Oscars solo. Four months later, Whoopi Goldberg was selected as host of the 2002 ceremony. In an article in the Los Angeles Times, Ziskin justified her choice of Goldberg commenting that she has "great warmth, with humor, humanity and social conscience, all qualities that I feel are essential for this year's show. I look forward to collaborating with Whoopi to put on a meaningful and entertaining evening."<ref name="Whoopi">Template:Cite news</ref>
Furthermore, the September 11 attacks affected the telecast and its surrounding events. Despite speculation and suggestions that the festivities be postponed or canceled, AMPAS President Pierson wrote in a Variety column refusing to take such action stating that it would send the message that "the terrorists have won".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, due to security concerns, the Academy announced that red carpet bleacher seats would now be limited on a reservation basis based on a random selection and a background check.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On Oscar night, Tom Cruise opened the show and stated that it was the job of filmmakers to make films during troubling times. In addition, later in the evening Goldberg introduced a "New York icon" to the stage and filmmaker and director Woody Allen, who had previously refused to attend a ceremony, made a surprise appearance. He was greeted with a hearty standing ovation from audience members including Baz Luhrmann, Ron Howard, Jennifer Connelly, Denzel Washington, and Ethan Hawke. He explained after the events that happened that September he was there to represent the city he so loved and to plead filmmakers to continue to film in New York City. Woody then presented a film montage created by fellow New Yorker and screenwriter Nora Ephron saluting New York City in film.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Several other people participated in the production of the ceremony. Actors Glenn Close and Donald Sutherland served as announcers during the show.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The orchestra, led by film composer and telecast musical supervisor John Williams, performed selections of film scores during a montage saluting film composers produced by Kyle Cooper.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Filmmaker Errol Morris filmed a vignette featuring several famous people discuss movie memories.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Director Penelope Spheeris produced a montage saluting 60 years of Oscar-winning documentary feature films.<ref name="OC Register">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cirque du Soleil performed a dance number inspired by movies and visual effects.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Introduction of Best Animated Feature award
Beginning with this ceremony, AMPAS introduced a new competitive award that would honor animated feature films.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to Academy communications director John Pavlik, the film must be at least 70 minutes in length, have a significant amount of animated characters, and be at least 75 percent animated in order to be qualified for consideration.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A minimum of eight qualifying films must be released within the calendar year to permit a slate of three nominees. If the number of films exceeds twelve, the nominee roster increases to five.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to the introduction of this category, three Disney films (1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and 1995's Toy Story) were all given Special Achievement Academy Awards.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Box office performance of nominated films
At the time of the nominations announcement on February 12, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $484 million, with an average of $96.9 million per film. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $271 million in domestic box office receipts.<ref name=BoxOfficeOscars>Template:Cite news</ref> The film was followed by A Beautiful Mind ($113 million), Moulin Rouge! ($57.1 million), Gosford Park ($22.2 million), and finally In the Bedroom ($19.5 million).<ref name=BoxOfficeOscars/>
Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 46 nominations went to 14 films on the list.<ref name="boxofficemojooscars">Template:Cite web</ref> Only The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2nd), Shrek (3rd), Monsters, Inc. (4th), A Beautiful Mind (15th), Black Hawk Down (25th), Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (27th), Training Day (29th), Bridget Jones's Diary (31st), Ali (41st), and Moulin Rouge! (44th) were nominated for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, or any of the directing, acting, or screenwriting awards.<ref name="boxofficemojooscars"/> The other top-50 box office hits that earned nominations were Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (1st), Pearl Harbor (7th), Vanilla Sky (19th), and AI: Artificial Intelligence (28th).<ref name="boxofficemojooscars"/>
Critical reviews
The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Some media outlets were more critical of the show. Television critic Robert Bianco of USA Today complained that the awards ceremony was "intensely narcissistic and characteristically, almost unrelievedly, dull."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Columnist Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe bemoaned that "TV's most-watched slug crawled back into town last night." He also sniped, "As usual, the technical awards formed a Bermuda Triangle in the middle of the show, and the film-clip fests and production numbers numbed our brains."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Sacramento BeeTemplate:'s Rick Kishman lamented that "It was the first time both best-acting Oscars went to African Americans...yet viewers had to fight hours and hours of boredom to care." He also quipped that the excessive amount of montage and tributes dragged down the proceedings.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Orange County Register film critic Henry Sheehan praised Goldberg's performance as hosting writing that her "ensuing entrance a la Moulin Rouge was a comparative triumph and her boom-boom-boom succession of jokes put the show right on track."<ref name="OC Register" /> Television columnist Joanne Ostrow of The Denver Post raved, "The nearly five-hour telecast was stunning, historic, slick, efficient, and helped along by some knockout clothes." She also commented that Washington and Berry's acceptance speeches and the Sidney Poitier tribute added to the historic and emotional mood of the festivities.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> John Levesque of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer commended producer Ziskin for producing "the best Oscar telecast this TV watcher can remember." In addition, he wrote that "It was clear the 74th Academy Awards ceremony was something special: fresh, crisp, different from its predecessors."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Ratings and reception
At four hours and 23 minutes, the ceremony was Template:As of the longest in history.<ref name="keegan20190220">Template:Cite news</ref> The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 41.82 million people over its length, which was a 3% decrease from the previous year's ceremony.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The show also earned lower Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 25.54% of households watching over a 40.34 share.<ref name="TVB Oscars">Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, it garnered a lower 18Template:Ndash49 demo rating with a 16.13 rating over a 36.46 share among viewers in that demographic.<ref name="TVB Oscars" />
In July 2002, the ceremony presentation received seven nominations at the 54th Primetime Emmys.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Debra Brown's choreography during the telecast.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
"In Memoriam"
The annual "In Memoriam" tribute, presented by actor Kevin Spacey, honored the following people.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
- Jack Lemmon – Actor
- Nigel Hawthorne – Actor
- Beatrice Straight – Actress
- Eileen Heckart – Actress
- Jason Miller – Actor, writer
- Ann Sothern – Actress
- Harold Russell – Actor
- Kim Stanley – Actress
- Michael Ritchie – Director
- Ted Demme – Director
- Budd Boetticher – Director
- Hiroshi Teshigahara – Director
- Herbert Ross – Director
- Julia Phillips – Producer
- Jay Livingston – Composer
- William Hanna – Producer
- Chuck Jones – Animator
- Samuel Z. Arkoff – Producer
- Danilo Donati – Costume designer
- Sacha Vierny – Cinematographer
- John A. Alonzo – Cinematographer
- Carroll O'Connor – Actor
- Aaliyah – Actress
- George Harrison – Producer, composer, actor
- Anthony Quinn – Actor
Before the In Memoriam montage was shown, Spacey requested a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the September 11 attacks.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
- 8th Screen Actors Guild Awards
- 22nd Golden Raspberry Awards
- 44th Grammy Awards
- 54th Primetime Emmy Awards
- 55th British Academy Film Awards
- 56th Tony Awards
- 59th Golden Globe Awards
- List of submissions to the 74th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Academy Award records
References
Bibliography
External links
- Official websites
- Academy Awards Official website Template:Webarchive
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Official website Template:Webarchive
- Oscar's Channel Template:Webarchive at YouTube (run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
- News resources
- Analysis
- 2001 Academy Awards Winners and History Template:Webarchive Filmsite
- Academy Awards, USA: 2002 Template:Webarchive Internet Movie Database
- Other resources