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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 22, 2002

SHOW BIZ
A quick look into the Oscar crystal ball

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

THE ENVELOPE, PLEASE: OK, here goes. Our picks for this year's Academy Awards, a close race in most categories, yes? Drum roll, please:

  • Best Picture: "A Beautiful Mind." Any way you calculate it, it had everything. Drama. Comedy. Romance. Intrigue. Controversy. And it introduced the world to window graffiti. Could win: "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," if academy fellowship is king.
  • Best Director: Ron Howard, "A Beautiful Mind." Made sense of the John Nash mystique. Could win: Peter Jackson, if "Rings" is on a roll.
  • Best Actor: Russell Crowe, "A Beautiful Mind." His gladiator of the academic world (the Nash character) was something to Crowe about. Could win: Denzel Washington, "Training Day."
  • Best Supporting Actor: Jim Broadbent, "Iris." Hard to forget, as Alzheimer's victim Iris' frustrated mate. Could win: Ben Kingsley, "Sexy Beast."
  • Best Actress: Halle Berry, "Monster's Ball." Finally, a reckoning role that didn't rely on her beauty or breasts. Could win: Sissy Spacek, "In the Bedroom."
  • Best Supporting Actress: Helen Mirren, "Gosford Park." A role she "maid" her own, in an otherwise ensemble outing. Could win: Jennifer Connelly, "A Beautiful Mind."
  • Best song: "There You'll Be," by Diane Warren, from "Pearl Harbor." Well, not everything was a bomb in the World War II movie. Could win: "Until," by Sting, from "Kate & Leopold."

We will find out who reigns when the Oscarcast unwinds at 6:30 p.m. Sunday on KITV-4 (prelims start at 6 p.m.). ...

• • •

ALL ABOUT PEOPLE: More on Dean Pitchford, the "Fame" and "Footloose" composer-creator, who was here last week, when Saint Louis, his alma mater, premiered "Footloose": He is working on an ABC-TV series based on "Footloose." He's also writing "Mulan 3" for Disney, aiming to get the story down first before tending to the music. ...

Bruce Willis and an entourage of eight journeyed to the W Honolulu's Wonder Lounge party last Friday. Willis is here for filming of "The Untitled Willis Project," starting Monday. ...

Say a prayer for a quick recovery for Kit Samson, the Ala Moana Hotel keyboarder, who had heart bypass surgery at St. Francis. ...

Teri Ogawa is the new voice and face of Kahala Mall ...

Kirk Hammett, the metal rocker with Metallica, dined the other night at Compadres Bar & Grill ...

• •

REFLECTIONS: Project Ballet Theatre's all-too-brief Hawai'i visit March 13 at Blaisdell Concert Hall drew Ballet Hawai'i supporters. They saw an accomplished ensemble — primarily of American Ballet Theatre soloists — who presented a varied and stunning program of classical favorites and imaginative new pieces from company founder Robert Hill. ...

Jazz bassist Rufus Reid was joined by Gabe Baltazar (sax), Noel Okimoto (drums) and Rich Crandall (piano) in a wing-ding of a concert the other night at Studio 6 at the Musicians Union building. A gallery of Hawai'i bassists — John Kolivas, Byron Yasui, Steve Jones, Kirby Nunez and Ernie Provencher — watched in awe, along with local music-makers Bryan Kessler, Tim Tsyukiyama and Jim Decker.

And that's Show Biz. ...

Wayne Harada's Show Biz runs Wednesdays and Fridays. Reach him by e-mail at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com, phone 525-8067 or fax 525-8055.