Oscar flashback 20 years ago to 2003: Adrien Brody, Nicole Kidman, Eminem and a ‘Chicago’ domination
It was a night of surprise wins, of records being broken or tied, of Oscar firsts and of honoring acting legends. On March 23, 2003, Steve Martin hosted the 75th Academy Awards ceremony, which had the lowest viewership of any Oscar telecast up to that point. Even though there were memorable moments, it was a more somber ceremony, as the war on Iraq had been declared a few days prior, and the event was nearly delayed. It was decided to carry on with less fanfare and a less extravagant red carpet, and a few actors chose to bow out of presenting. Let’s flashback 20 years to 2003 and revisit that event on ABC.
Five films were up for Best Picture, with two coming into the night with strong leads in nominations; one ended the night at the forefront with six wins, and the other left empty-handed. Martin Scorsese‘s historical epic “Gangs of New York” lost all 10 of its nominations, while “Chicago” with a domination of six victories out of 13, including Best Picture, becoming the first musical since “Oliver!” in 1969 to win the top prize. Another musical that caused a stir was “8 Mile,” which produced the Best Original Song “Lose Yourself,” the first hip hop song to win in this category – which was such a surprise that songwriter and singer Eminem didn’t even attend the ceremony. His collaborator and fellow winner (with Jeff Bass) Luis Resto accepted. These two films, along with “Moulin Rouge!” from the previous year are credited with the resurgence of the movie musical over the past 20 years.
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Another Best Picture nominee was “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” which left with two technical wins from six nominations; however, the final film in the trilogy would sweep the ceremony the following year. Of the final two films, one provided the Best Actress winner (“The Hours”) and the other provided the Best Actor and the Best Director, both of which were a bit of a surprise.
The biographical Holocaust drama “The Pianist” earned controversial filmmaker Roman Polanski his sole win for Best Director. He beat out Rob Marshall (“Chicago”), Stephen Daldry (“The Hours”) and Scorsese (“Gangs of New York”). Peter Jackson failed to get a bid for “The Lord of the Rings” at this ceremony but would win the next year. Taking his spot was Pedro Almodovar for the Spanish film “Talk to Her,” which was not submitted by Spain for Best Foreign Language Film. However, Almodovar won for Best Original Screenplay, while “The Pianist” earned its third statue for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The biggest surprise of the night was for Best Actor with 29-year-old Adrien Brody prevailing for his portrayal of Holocaust survivor Wladyslaw Szpilman in “The Pianist.” Brody was shocked at the win himself, and then surprised presenter Halle Berry with a swooping kiss. He set a record for youngest winner in this category, which stands today. The newly minted Best Actor winner was in esteemed company, as every one of his competitors was already a previous Oscar champion, and bets had been placed on which one of these veterans would be a repeat winner. Nicolas Cage was up for “Adaptation,” Michael Caine for “The Quiet American” and Daniel Day-Lewis for “Gangs of New York.” The other nominee was a three-time winner, and set a record himself. Jack Nicholson earned his 12th acting nomination for “About Schmidt,” tying with Katharine Hepburn and setting a record as the male with the most acting nominations.
The sole victory out of nine nominations for “The Hours” was Best Actress for Nicole Kidman, for her portrayal of author Virginia Woolf. Two of her contenders earned their sole nominations to date: Salma Hayek for “Frida” and Diane Lane for “Unfaithful.” The final two had received previous acting nominations and would go on to win in later years. Renee Zellweger (“Chicago”) has gone on to win in both supporting and lead, while Julianne Moore (“Far from Heaven”) has gone on to earn a Best Actress statue. Although Moore lost at this ceremony, she accomplished a rare feat.
With her additional nomination for Best Supporting Actress for “The Hours,” Moore became the ninth of a dozen performers to receive two acting nominations in one year. Another major achievement in this category was Meryl Streep‘s 13th acting nomination, making her the most-nominated performer in the Academy’s history. Also earning a bid was Kathy Bates, for “About Schmidt.” The other two competitors in this category both came from the Best Picture winner, with Queen Latifah becoming the first female hip hop performer to earn an Oscar nomination. And the Oscar went to. . . Catherine Zeta Jones for her role as Velma Kelly. Not only did she win the statue, but she won admiration, as she performed the nominated song “I Move On” with Latifah — while she was nine months pregnant.
The film “Adaptation” earned four bids, three of which were for acting, and its sole win came for Best Supporting Actor for Chris Cooper. Like Brody, this remains Cooper’s sole nomination, and he was also in impressive company. Previous Best Actor recipient Paul Newman received his ninth and final acting nomination for “Road to Perdition,” which was his final live-action role. Christopher Walken was up for “Catch Me If You Can,” 24 years after his last nomination and win in this category. Ed Harris earned his fourth acting bid, for “The Hours,” and John C. Reilly earned his first, for “Chicago.”
While hip hop artists accomplished some firsts at this ceremony, the winner for Best Animated Feature also achieved some milestones. “Spirited Away” remains the only hand-drawn animated winner, as well as the only non-English-language film to win in this category.
Some Hollywood legends made showings at this ceremony. Sadly known for his number of Oscar losses, Peter O’Toole was bestowed an Honorary Academy Award, for his “remarkable talents (that) have provided cinema history with some of its most memorable characters.” The 70-year-old actor initially wanted to refuse, as he wanted to win a competitive award. However, he graciously accepted, joking, “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride my foot! I have my very own Oscar now to be with me till death us do part.” He would be nominated one more time for a competitive award, for “Venus” in 2007, before his death in 2013.
Also present at this ceremony were an actress and actor who would become two of the oldest-living Golden Age stars, and pass away within months of each other in 2020. Two-time Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland, who was 86-years-old at the time, presented an Oscar family album, with 59 prior recipients of honorary and competitive acting Oscars seated together on the stage. Also 86-years-old at the time and with his speech impacted by a stroke a few years before, Kirk Douglas presented the Best Picture award with his son Michael Douglas, with Kirk hamming it up and eliciting laughs from the audience.
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