Musical rules Oscars with 'Chicago' sweep

• 75th annual Oscar nominees

By Robert W. Butler
Knight Ridder News Service

Renee Zellweger is nominated for best actress for her role in "Chicago." Associated Press

"Chicago," the sassy Prohibition-era fantasy, scored a whopping 13 nominations and found itself in a position to be the first musical to win the best picture statuette since 1968's "Oliver!"

Perhaps it's a trend. Last year the Down Under musical "Moulin Rouge" was nominated for best picture. The year before, the Depression-era roots-country musical "O Brother, Where Art Thou" won critical acclaim, though it didn't get a best picture nomination.

"Chicago" picked up nominations for picture, director (Rob Marshall), actress (Rene Zellweger), supporting actress (Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones), supporting actor (John C. Reilly), adapted screenplay, art direction, cinematography, sound, original song, costume and editing.

Overlooked by Oscar was leading man Richard Gere, who won a Golden Globe for his performance as a slick lawyer.

Other highlights:

• Chris Cooper received his first Oscar nomination for his performance as an intellectual swamp rat in "Adaptation." (Cooper has already won the Golden Globe for that.)

The comedy about a screenwriter struggling to write the very movie we're watching racked up several noms: Nicolas Cage for best actor and Meryl Streep for best supporting actress. It's Streep's 13th Oscar nomination, breaking the record held by Katharine Hepburn.

Proving they have a sense of humor, the Oscar voters nominated Charlie Kauffman and his fictional twin Donald Kaufman for best screenplay adaptation.

However, director Spike Jonze wasn't nominated, and "Adaptation" failed to win a nomination for best visual effects.

• The best actor race may end up as a showdown between two radically different performances. In "About Schmidt" Jack Nicholson gave a carefully contained, almost minimalist performance. In "Gangs of New York" Daniel Day-Lewis delivered a bigger-than-life turn as a charismatic 19th-century crime boss.

• Julianne Moore was nominated in both actress categories. She's up for best actress for her turn as a '50s housewife in the heavily stylized "Far From Heaven" and best supporting actress for playing ... er, a '50s housewife in "The Hours."

The last time an actress was nominated in both categories: 1988, when Sigourney Weaver was up for "Gorillas in the Mist" and "Working Girl." She won neither.

• Martin Scorsese, who incredibly has never won an Oscar, was nominated for best director for "Gangs of New York."

75th annual Oscar nominees

Best Picture: "Chicago," "Gangs of New York," "The Hours," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "The Pianist."

Actor: Adrien Brody, "The Pianist"; Nicolas Cage, "Adaptation"; Michael Caine, "The Quiet American"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "Gangs of New York"; Jack Nicholson, "About Schmidt."

Actress: Salma Hayek, "Frida"; Nicole Kidman, "The Hours"; Diane Lane, "Unfaithful"; Julianne Moore, "Far from Heaven"; Renee Zellweger, "Chicago."

Supporting Actor: Chris Cooper, "Adaptation"; Ed Harris, "The Hours"; Paul Newman, "Road to Perdition"; John C. Reilly, "Chicago"; Christopher Walken, "Catch Me If You Can."

Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates, "About Schmidt"; Julianne Moore, "The Hours"; Queen Latifah, "Chicago"; Meryl Streep, "Adaptation"; Catherine Zeta-Jones, "Chicago."

Director: Rob Marshall, "Chicago"; Martin Scorsese, "Gangs of New York"; Stephen Daldry, "The Hours"; Roman Polanski, "The Pianist"; Pedro Almodovar , "Talk to Her."

Foreign Film: "El Crimen del Padre Amaro," Mexico; "Hero," People's Republic of China; "The Man Without a Past," Finland; "Nowhere in Africa," Germany; "Zus & Zo," The Netherlands.

Adapted Screenplay: Peter Hedges and Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, "About a Boy"; Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman, "Adaptation"; Bill Condon, "Chicago"; David Hare, "The Hours"; Ronald Harwood, "The Pianist."

Original Screenplay: Todd Haynes, "Far From Heaven"; Jay Cocks and Steve Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, "Gangs of New York"; Nia Vardalos, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"; Pedro Almodovar, "Talk to Her"; Carlos Cuaron and Alfonso Cuaron, "Y Tu Mama Tambien."

Animated feature film: "Ice Age"; "Lilo & Stitch"; "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron"; "Spirited Away"; "Treasure Planet."

Original Score: "Catch Me If You Can," John Williams; "Far From Heaven," Elmer Bernstein; "Frida," Elliot Goldenthal; "The Hours," Philip Glass; "Road to Perdition," Thomas Newman.

Original Song: "Burn It Blue" from "Frida," Elliot Goldenthal and Julie Taymor; "Father and Daughter" from "The Wild Thornberrys Movie," Paul Simon; "The Hands That Built America" from "Gangs of New York," Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen; "I Move On" from "Chicago," John Kander and Fred Ebb; "Lose Yourself" from "8 Mile," Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto.

Art Direction: "Chicago," "Frida," "Gangs of New York," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "Road to Perdition."

Cinematography: "Chicago," "Far From Heaven," "Gangs of New York," "The Pianist," "Road to Perdition."

Sound: "Chicago," "Gangs of New York," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "Road to Perdition," "Spider-Man."

Sound Editing: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "Minority Report," "Road to Perdition."

Costume: "Chicago," "Frida," "Gangs of New York," "The Hours," "The Pianist."

Documentary Feature: "Bowling for Columbine," "Daughter from Danang," "Prisoner of Paradise," "Spellbound," "Winged Migration."

Documentary (short subject): "The Collector of Bedford Street," "Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks," "Twin Towers," "Why Can't We Be a Family Again?"

Film Editing: "Chicago," "Gangs of New York," "The Hours," "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "The Pianist."

Makeup: "Frida," "The Time Machine."

Animated Short Film: "The Cathedral," "The ChubbChubbs!," "Das Rad," "Mike's New Car," "Mt. Head."

Live Action Short Film: "Fait D'Hiver," "I'll Wait for the Next One (J'Attendrai Le Suivant)," "Inja (Dog)," "Johnny Flynton," "This Charming Man (Der Er En Yndig Mand)."

Visual Effects: "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," "Spider-Man," "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones."

Academy Award winner previously announced this year: Honorary Award (Oscar statuette): Peter O'Toole.