71st Academy Awards


The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, honored the best of 1998 in film and took place on March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the third time. She first hosted the 66th ceremony held in 1994 and had last hosted the 68th ceremony in 1996. Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on February 27, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Anne Heche.
Shakespeare in Love won seven awards including Best Picture. Other winners included Saving Private Ryan with five awards, Life Is Beautiful with three, and Affliction, Bunny, Election Night, Elizabeth, Gods and Monsters, The Last Days, , The Prince of Egypt and What Dreams May Come with one. The telecast garnered nearly 46 million viewers in the United States.

Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 71st Academy Awards were announced on February 9, 1999, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Robert Rehme, president of the Academy, and the actor Kevin Spacey. Shakespeare in Love earned the most nominations with thirteen; Saving Private Ryan came in second place with eleven.
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 21, 1999. Life Is Beautiful was the second film nominated simultaneously for Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film in the same year. Moreover, its seven nominations were the most for a foreign language film, to date. Best Actor winner Roberto Benigni was the second person to direct himself to an acting Oscar win. Laurence Olivier first achieved this feat for his performance in 1948's Hamlet. He also became the fourth individual to earn acting, directing, screenwriting nominations for the same film. In addition, Benigni was the third performer to win an Oscar for a non-English speaking role. By virtue of their nominations for portraying Queen Elizabeth I of England, Best Actress nominee Cate Blanchett and Best Supporting Actress winner Judi Dench became the first pair of actresses to earn acting nominations in the same year for portraying the same character in different films.

Awards

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger.

  • Steven Spielberg – Saving Private Ryan
  • * Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful
  • * John Madden – Shakespeare in Love
  • * Terrence Malick – The Thin Red Line
  • * Peter Weir – The Truman Show
  • Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful as Guido Orefice
  • * Tom Hanks – Saving Private Ryan as Captain John Miller
  • * Ian McKellen – Gods and Monsters as James Whale
  • * Nick Nolte – Affliction as Wade Whitehouse
  • * Edward Norton – American History X as Derek Vinyard
  • Gwyneth Paltrow – Shakespeare in Love as Viola De Lesseps
  • * Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth as Queen Elizabeth I of England
  • * Fernanda Montenegro – Central Station as Isadora "Dora" Teixeira
  • * Meryl Streep – One True Thing as Kate Gulden
  • * Emily Watson – Hilary and Jackie as Jacqueline du Pré
  • James Coburn – Affliction as Glen Whitehouse
  • * Robert Duvall – A Civil Action as Jerome Facher
  • * Ed Harris – The Truman Show as Christof
  • * Geoffrey Rush – Shakespeare in Love as Philip Henslowe
  • * Billy Bob Thornton – A Simple Plan as Jacob Mitchell
  • Judi Dench – Shakespeare in Love as Queen Elizabeth I of England
  • * Kathy Bates – Primary Colors as Libby Holden
  • * Brenda Blethyn – Little Voice as Mari Hoff
  • * Rachel Griffiths – Hilary and Jackie as Hilary du Pré
  • * Lynn Redgrave – Gods and Monsters as Hanna
  • Shakespeare in Love – Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
  • * Bulworth – Warren Beatty and Jeremy Pikser
  • * Life Is Beautiful – Vincenzo Cerami and Roberto Benigni
  • * Saving Private Ryan – Robert Rodat
  • * The Truman Show – Andrew Niccol
  • Gods and Monsters – Bill Condon based on the novel Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram
  • * Out of Sight – Scott Frank from the novel by Elmore Leonard
  • * Primary Colors – Elaine May adapted from the novel by Joe Klein
  • * A Simple Plan – Scott B. Smith based on his novel
  • * The Thin Red Line – Terrence Malick adapted from the novel by James Jones
  • Life Is Beautiful in Italian – Roberto Benigni
  • * Central Station in Portuguese – Walter Salles
  • * Children of Heaven in Persian – Majid Majidi
  • * The Grandfather in Spanish – José Luis Garci
  • * Tango in Spanish – Carlos Saura
  • "When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt – Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
  • * "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from Armageddon – Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren
  • * "That'll Do" from ' – Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman
  • * "A Soft Place to Fall" from The Horse Whisperer – Music and Lyrics by Allison Moorer and Gwil Owen
  • * "The Prayer" from Quest for Camelot – Music by Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster; Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, David Foster, Tony Renis and Alberto Testa
  • The Last Days – James Moll and Ken Lipper
  • * Dancemaker – Matthew Diamond and Jerry Kupfer
  • * ' – Jonathan Stack and Liz Garbus
  • * ' – Robert B. Weide
  • * Regret to Inform – Barbara Sonneborn and Janet Cole
  • – Keiko Ibi
  • * A Place in the Land – Charles Guggenheim
  • * Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square – Shui-Bo Wang and Donald McWilliams
  • Election Night – Kim Magnusson and Anders Thomas Jensen
  • * Culture – Will Speck and Josh Gordon
  • * Holiday Romance – Alexander Jovy and JJ Keith
  • * La Carte Postale – Vivian Goffette
  • * Victor – Simon Sandquist and Joel Bergvall
  • Bunny – Chris Wedge
  • * The Canterbury Tales – Christopher Grace and Jonathan Myerson
  • * Jolly Roger – Mark Baker
  • * More – Mark Osborne and Steve Kalafer
  • * When Life Departs – Karsten Kiilerich and Stefan Fjeldmark
  • Life Is Beautiful – Nicola Piovani
  • * Elizabeth – David Hirschfelder
  • * Pleasantville – Randy Newman
  • * Saving Private Ryan – John Williams
  • * The Thin Red Line – Hans Zimmer
  • Shakespeare in Love – Stephen Warbeck
  • * A Bug's Life – Randy Newman
  • * Mulan – Music by Matthew Wilder; Lyrics by David Zippel; Orchestral Score by Jerry Goldsmith
  • * Patch Adams – Marc Shaiman
  • * The Prince of Egypt – Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; Orchestral Score by Hans Zimmer
  • Saving Private Ryan – Gary Rydstrom and Richard Hymns
  • * Armageddon – George Watters II
  • * The Mask of Zorro – David McMoyler
  • Saving Private Ryan – Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Ron Judkins
  • * Armageddon – Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Keith A. Wester
  • * The Mask of Zorro – Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Pud Cusack
  • * Shakespeare in Love – Robin O'Donoghue, Dominic Lester and Peter Glossop
  • * The Thin Red Line – Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Paul Brincat
  • Shakespeare in Love – Art Direction: Martin Childs; Set Decoration: Jill Quertier
  • * Elizabeth – Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Peter Howitt
  • * Pleasantville – Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall; Set Decoration: Jay Hart
  • * Saving Private Ryan – Art Direction: Tom Sanders; Set Decoration: Lisa Dean Kavanaugh
  • * What Dreams May Come – Art Direction: Eugenio Zanetti; Set Decoration: Cindy Carr
  • Saving Private Ryan – Janusz Kamiński
  • * A Civil Action – Conrad Hall
  • * Elizabeth – Remi Adefarasin
  • * Shakespeare in Love – Richard Greatrex
  • * The Thin Red Line – John Toll
  • Elizabeth – Jenny Shircore
  • * Saving Private Ryan – Lois Burwell, Conor O'Sullivan and Daniel C. Striepeke
  • * Shakespeare in Love – Lisa Westcott and Veronica Brebner
  • Shakespeare in Love – Sandy Powell
  • * Beloved – Colleen Atwood
  • * Elizabeth – Alexandra Byrne
  • * Pleasantville – Judianna Makovsky
  • * Velvet Goldmine – Sandy Powell
  • Saving Private Ryan – Michael Kahn
  • * Life Is Beautiful – Simona Paggi
  • * Out of Sight – Anne V. Coates
  • * Shakespeare in Love – David Gamble
  • * The Thin Red Line – Billy Weber, Leslie Jones and Saar Klein
  • What Dreams May Come – Joel Hynek, Nicholas Brooks, Stuart Robertson and Kevin Mack'
  • * Armageddon – Richard R. Hoover, Pat McClung and John Frazier
  • * Mighty Joe Young'' – Rick Baker, Hoyt Yeatman, Allen Hall and Jim Mitchell

    • Academy Honorary Award

  • Elia Kazan

    Irving G. Thalberg Award

  • Norman Jewison

    Films with multiple nominations and awards

    • The following 19 films received multiple nominations:
    NominationsFilm
    13Shakespeare in Love
    11Saving Private Ryan
    7Elizabeth
    7Life Is Beautiful
    7The Thin Red Line
    4Armageddon
    3Gods and Monsters
    3Pleasantville
    3The Truman Show
    2Affliction
    2Central Station
    2A Civil Action
    2Hilary and Jackie
    2The Mask of Zorro
    2Out of Sight
    2Primary Colors
    2The Prince of Egypt
    2A Simple Plan
    2What Dreams May Come

    The following three films received multiple awards:
    AwardsFilm
    7Shakespeare in Love
    5Saving Private Ryan
    3Life Is Beautiful

    Presenters and performers

    The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.

    Presenters

    Performers

    Ceremony information

    Riding on the success of the previous year's ceremony which garnered record-high viewership figures and several Emmys, AMPAS sought changes to the festivities that would help build upon this recent success. In June 1998, Academy president Robert Rehme announced that the show would be held on a Sunday for the first time in history. AMPAS and network ABC hoped to capitalize on the high television ratings and viewership that benefit programs airing on that particular day of the week. The Academy also stated that the move to Sunday would ease concerns about traffic gridlock and transportation that are significantly lower on weekends.
    The following January, Gil Cates was selected as a producer of the telecast. He immediately selected Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg as host of the 1999 ceremony. Cates explained his decision to bring back Goldberg as host saying, "The audience adores Whoopi and that affection, plus Whoopi's extraordinary talent makes her a terrific host for the show." In a statement, Goldberg expressed that she was honored and excited to be selected to emcee the telecast commenting, "I am thrilled to escort Oscar into the new millennium. Who would have thought that I would be hosting the last Oscar telecast of the century? It's a huge deal."
    Several other people participated in the production of the ceremony and its related events. Bill Conti served as musical director for the festivities. In addition to supervising the Best Song nominee performances, choreographer Debbie Allen produced a dance number featuring five dancers from around the world showcasing the nominees for Best Original Dramatic Score. For the first time, the Academy produced its own pre-show that preceded the main telecast. Produced by Dennis Doty, the half-hour program was hosted by actress Geena Davis and CNN reporter Jim Moret. Similar to coverage of red carpet arrivals on networks such as E!, the pre-show featured interviews with nominees and other guests, recaps of nominations and segments highlighting behind-the-scenes preparations for the telecast.

    Box office performance of nominees

    At the time of the nominations announcement on February 9, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees was $302 million with an average of $60.4 million per film. Saving Private Ryan was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $194.2 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Shakespeare in Love, The Thin Red Line, Elizabeth, and finally Life is Beautiful.
    Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 36 nominations went to 13 films on the list. Only Saving Private Ryan, The Truman Show, A Civil Action and Primary Colors were nominated for Best Picture, directing, acting or screenwriting. The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Armageddon, A Bug's Life, Patch Adams, Mulan, The Mask of Zorro, The Prince of Egypt, The Horse Whisperer, What Dreams May Come and Pleasantville.

    Critical reviews

    The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Columnist Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly quipped that "Whoopi bombed last night, she knew it—and yet, crassly, she took it as a sign of her own outrageousness." The Washington Post television critic Tom Shales bemoaned that Goldberg "spent a great deal of time laughing at her own jokes, many of which were dirty, a few dirty." He also lambasted the host's presentation of the five Best Costume Design nominees saying calling it time-consuming and tasteless. Film critic John Hartl of The Seattle Times lamented that the telecast "was the longest and possibly the dullest Oscar show of the century, clocking in at four hours."
    Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Television columnist Robert Bianco of USA Today commended Goldberg's hosting performance writing that he liked "the sharper, more socially conscious edge Goldberg brings." The Boston Globe television critic Matthew Gilbert commented, "It was the perfect year with more than enough Hollywood intrigue and a battle for her to play off." Joanne Ostrow of The Denver Post raved that "Whoopi definitely was on, more so than in her two previous hosting stints." She added that "the show was exceptionally smooth."

    Ratings and reception

    The American telecast on ABC drew an average of 45.51 million viewers over its length, which was an 18% decrease from the previous year's ceremony. An estimated 78.10 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. The show also drew lower Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 28.63% of households watching over a 47.79 share. It also drew a lower 1849 demo rating with an 18.85 rating over a 37.31 share among viewers in that demographic.
    In July 1999, the show received seven nominations at the 51st Primetime Emmy Awards. Two months later, the ceremony won two of those nominations for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program and Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Drama Series, Variety Series, Miniseries, Movie, or Special.

    ''In Memoriam''

    The annual In Memoriam tribute was presented by actress Annette Bening. The montage featured an excerpt of the main title from Ever After composed by George Fenton.
    A separate tribute to actor, singer and former Oscar host Frank Sinatra was presented by John Travolta. Later, actor Val Kilmer presented one to actors Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. After the In Memoriam segment was shown, host Goldberg and director Steven Spielberg eulogized film critic Gene Siskel and director Stanley Kubrick respectively.