75th Academy Awards


The 75th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took place on March 23, 2003, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories honoring films released in 2002. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and was directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Steve Martin hosted for the second time, having previously presided over the 73rd ceremony held in 2001. Three weeks earlier in a ceremony at Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California held on March 1, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Kate Hudson.
Chicago won six awards including Best Picture. Other winners included The Pianist with three awards, Frida and with two, and Adaptation, Bowling for Columbine, The ChubbChubbs!, 8 Mile, The Hours, Nowhere in Africa, Road to Perdition, Spirited Away, Talk to Her, This Charming Man, and Twin Towers with one. The telecast garnered about 33 million viewers in the United States, making it the least-watched and lowest-rated televised Oscar ceremony to that point.

Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 75th Academy Awards were announced on February 11, 2003, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Frank Pierson, president of the Academy, and actress Marisa Tomei. Chicago received the most nominations with thirteen. It was the eighth film to receive that many nominations. Gangs of New York came in second with ten.
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 23, 2003. Chicago became the first musical film to win Best Picture since 1968's Oliver! At age 29, Adrien Brody was the youngest person to win Best Actor. With her 13th nomination, Meryl Streep became the most nominated actor in Oscar history. Meanwhile, Best Actor nominee Jack Nicholson earned his 12th nomination, extending his record as the most nominated male performer. Julianne Moore was the ninth performer to earn two acting nominations in the same year. "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile became the first rap song to win the Best Original Song award.

Awards


, Best Director winner|alt=Photo of Roman Polanski in 2011.
, Best Actor winner|alt=Photo of Adrien Brody at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
, Best Actress winner|alt=Photo of Nicole Kidman at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.
, Best Supporting Actor winner|alt=Photo of Chris Cooper at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.
, Best Supporting Actress winner|alt=Photo of Catherine Zeta-Jones at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.
, Best Original Screenplay winner|alt=Photo of Pedro Almodóvar in 2017.
, Best Animated Feature winner|alt=Photo of Hayao Miyazaki in 2009.
, Best Documentary Feature co-winner|alt=Photo of Michael Moore in 2011.
, Best Documentary Short Subject winner|alt=Photo of Bill Guttentag at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.
, Best Original Song co-winner|alt=Photo of Eminem performing in 2014.

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

  • Roman Polanski – The Pianist
  • *Rob Marshall – Chicago
  • *Martin Scorsese – Gangs of New York
  • *Stephen Daldry – The Hours
  • *Pedro Almodóvar – Talk to Her
  • Adrien Brody – The Pianist as Władysław Szpilman
  • *Nicolas Cage – Adaptation as Charlie Kaufman / Donald Kaufman
  • *Michael Caine – The Quiet American as Thomas Fowler
  • *Daniel Day-Lewis – Gangs of New York as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting
  • *Jack Nicholson – About Schmidt as Warren R. Schmidt
  • Nicole Kidman – The Hours as Virginia Woolf
  • *Salma Hayek – Frida as Frida Kahlo
  • *Diane Lane – Unfaithful as Constance "Connie" Sumner
  • *Julianne Moore – Far from Heaven as Cathy Whitaker
  • *Renée Zellweger – Chicago as Roxie Hart
  • Chris Cooper – Adaptation as John Laroche
  • *Ed Harris – The Hours as Richard "Richie" Brown
  • *Paul Newman – Road to Perdition as John Rooney
  • *John C. Reilly – Chicago as Amos Hart
  • *Christopher Walken – Catch Me If You Can as Frank Abagnale Sr.
  • Catherine Zeta-Jones – Chicago as Velma Kelly
  • *Kathy Bates – About Schmidt as Roberta Hertzel
  • *Queen Latifah – Chicago as Matron "Mama" Morton
  • *Julianne Moore – The Hours as Laura McGrath Brown
  • *Meryl Streep – Adaptation as Susan Orlean
  • Talk to Her – Pedro Almodóvar
  • *Far from Heaven – Todd Haynes
  • *Gangs of New York – Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan
  • *My Big Fat Greek Wedding – Nia Vardalos
  • *Y Tu Mamá También – Carlos Cuarón and Alfonso Cuarón
  • The Pianist – Ronald Harwood based on the book by Władysław Szpilman
  • *About a Boy – Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, and Paul Weitz based on the book by Nick Hornby
  • *Adaptation – Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman based on the book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean
  • *Chicago – Bill Condon based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins
  • *The Hours – David Hare based on the novel by Michael Cunningham
  • Spirited Away – Hayao Miyazaki
  • *Ice Age – Chris Wedge
  • *Lilo & Stitch – Chris Sanders
  • *' – Jeffrey Katzenberg
  • *Treasure Planet – Ron Clements
  • Nowhere in Africa in German – Caroline Link
  • *The Crime of Father Amaro in Spanish – Carlos Carrera
  • *Hero in Mandarin – Zhang Yimou
  • *The Man Without a Past in Finnish – Aki Kaurismäki
  • *Zus & Zo in Dutch – Paula van der Oest
  • Bowling for Columbine – Michael Moore and Michael Donovan
  • *Daughter from Danang – Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco
  • *Prisoner of Paradise – Malcolm Clarke and Stuart Sender
  • *Spellbound – Jeffrey Blitz and Sean Welch
  • *Winged Migration – Jacques Perrin
  • Twin Towers – Bill Guttentag and Robert David Port
  • *The Collector of Bedford Street – Alice Elliott
  • *' – Robert Hudson and Bobby Houston
  • *Why Can't We Be a Family Again? – Roger Weisberg and Murray Nossel
  • This Charming Man – Martin Strange-Hansen and Mie Andreasen
  • *Fait D'Hiver – :nl:Dirk Beliën|Dirk Beliën and Anja Daelemans
  • *I'll Wait for the Next One... – Philippe Orreindy and Thomas Gaudin
  • *Inja – Steven Pasvolsky and Joe Weatherstone
  • *Johnny Flynton – Lexi Alexander and Alexander Buono
  • The ChubbChubbs! – Eric Armstrong
  • *Das Rad – Chris Stenner and Heidi Wittlinger
  • *Katedra – Tomek Baginski
  • *Mike's New Car – Pete Docter and Roger L. Gould
  • *Mount Head – Kōji Yamamura
  • Frida – Elliot Goldenthal
  • *Catch Me If You Can – John Williams
  • *Far from Heaven – Elmer Bernstein
  • *The Hours – Philip Glass
  • *Road to Perdition – Thomas Newman
  • "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile – Music by Eminem, Jeff Bass, and Luis Resto; Lyrics by Eminem
  • *"I Move On" from Chicago – Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb
  • *"Burn It Blue" from Frida – Music by Elliot Goldenthal; Lyrics by Julie Taymor
  • *"The Hands That Built America" from Gangs of New York – Music and Lyrics by Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen
  • *"Father and Daughter" from The Wild Thornberrys Movie – Music and Lyrics by Paul Simon
  • – Ethan Van der Ryn and Michael Hopkins
  • *Minority Report – Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
  • *Road to Perdition – Scott Hecker
  • Chicago – Michael Minkler, David Lee, and Dominick Tavella
  • *Gangs of New York – Tom Fleischman, Eugene Gearty, and Ivan Sharrock
  • *' – Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, and Hammond Peek
  • *Road to Perdition – Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, and John Patrick Pritchett
  • *Spider-Man – Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, and Ed Novick
  • Chicago – Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Gordon Sim
  • *Frida – Art Direction: Felipe Fernández del Paso; Set Decoration: Hania Robledo
  • *Gangs of New York – Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
  • *' – Art Direction: Grant Major; Set Decoration: Dan Hennah and Alan Lee
  • *Road to Perdition – Art Direction: Dennis Gassner; Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh
  • Road to Perdition – Conrad Hall
  • *Chicago – Dion Beebe
  • *Far from Heaven – Edward Lachman
  • *Gangs of New York – Michael Ballhaus
  • *The Pianist – Paweł Edelman
  • Frida – John E. Jackson and Beatrice De Alba
  • *The Time Machine – John M. Elliott Jr. and Barbara Lorenz
  • Chicago – Colleen Atwood
  • *Frida – Julie Weiss
  • *Gangs of New York – Sandy Powell
  • *The Hours – Ann Roth
  • *The Pianist – Anna B. Sheppard
  • Chicago – Martin Walsh
  • *Gangs of New York – Thelma Schoonmaker
  • *The Hours – Peter Boyle
  • *' – Michael Horton
  • *The Pianist – Hervé de Luze
  • ' – Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Alex Funke, and Joe Letteri
  • *Spider-Man – John Dykstra, Scott Stokdyk, Anthony LaMolinara, and John Frazier
  • *' – Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll, and Ben Snow

    • Academy Honorary Award

  • Peter O'Toole whose remarkable talents have provided cinema history with some of its most memorable characters.

    Films with multiple nominations and awards

    • NominationsFilm
    13Chicago
    10Gangs of New York
    9The Hours
    7The Pianist
    6Frida
    6Road to Perdition
    6'
    4Adaptation
    4Far from Heaven
    2Talk to Her
    2About Schmidt
    2Catch Me If You Can
    2Spider-Man

    AwardsFilm
    6Chicago
    3The Pianist
    2Frida
    2'

    Presenters and performers

    The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.

    Presenters

    Performers

    Ceremony information

    In November 2002, the Academy hired veteran Oscar telecast producer Gil Cates to oversee the telecast for the eleventh time. "With ten shows under his belt, no other living producer even comes close to the depth of his experience," said AMPAS president Frank Pierson in a press release announcing the selection. "Gil practically invented the awards show as a stylistic genre. We're privileged to have him present a very special event to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Oscars." A few days later, actor and comedian Steve Martin was chosen to emcee the upcoming telecast. Cates explained his reason to bring back the veteran comedian saying, "A host who's witty, clever, sharp, intelligent, quick on his feet and always on top of the unfolding action. Wait, I've forgotten something. Oh yeah, and outrageously funny." According to the article published in the Los Angeles Times, Cates approached actor and veteran Oscar host Billy Crystal for emceeing duties. However, as time passed and Crystal was still undecided regarding the job, Cates offered the hosting role to Martin. In a statement, Martin expressed that he was honored to be selected to emcee the telecast joking, "I'm very pleased to be hosting the Oscars again, because fear and nausea always make me lose weight." In addition, this was the first Oscar ceremony broadcast in high-definition.
    To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Academy Awards, 59 actors who have received both competitive and honorary awards appeared seated onstage together during a segment called Oscar's Family Album. Each former winner was acknowledged by announcer Neil Ross and Randy Thomas with the films he or she won for. At the end of the segment newly minted winners Adrien Brody, Chris Cooper, Nicole Kidman, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, along with Honorary Oscar recipient Peter O'Toole, joined them.
    Furthermore, the American-led invasion of Iraq affected the telecast and its surrounding events. Hours after news that the war had commenced several actors such as Cate Blanchett, Jim Carrey, and Will Smith resigned from their roles as presenters citing safety concerns and respect for military families. Despite pleas from broadcaster ABC to postpone the proceedings up to a week, AMPAS president Pierson and ceremony producer Cates refused to delay the gala to a different date citing unavailability of the Kodak Theatre during that time. Pierson also stated that moving the festivities to a different venue would be too expensive for the Academy. However, they also announced that the red carpet festivities would be severely curtailed. The bleacher seats situated along Hollywood Boulevard would also be dismantled, and ticket holders for those seats would receive rain checks that were good toward next year's event. Periodically during commercial breaks, ABC News anchor and journalist Peter Jennings gave news brief updates regarding the events happening overseas. Hayao Miyazaki, who won Best Animated Feature for Spirited Away, boycotted in protest against the Iraq War, stating that he "didn't want to visit a country that was bombing Iraq".

    Box office performance of nominated films

    At the time of the nominations announcement on February 11, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $486 million, with an average of $97.3 million per film. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $321 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Gangs of New York, Chicago, The Hours, and finally The Pianist.
    Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 47 nominations went to 14 films on the list. Only The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Ice Age, Catch Me If You Can, Lilo & Stitch, Road to Perdition, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Gangs of New York, and Chicago were nominated for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature, or any of the directing, acting, or screenwriting awards. The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Spider-Man, Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Minority Report, 8 Mile, and The Time Machine.

    ''Bowling for Columbine'' acceptance speech

    Shortly after winning the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, Bowling for Columbine director Michael Moore spoke out against U.S. President George W. Bush and the Iraq War. He further criticized the president stating, "We live in a time with fictitious election results that elect fictitious presidents. We live in a time when we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons." The speech was received with a mix of boos, applause, and standing ovations from the audience at the theater. Moments after the speech concluded, in order to lighten the mood, host Martin joked, "The Teamsters are helping Michael Moore into the trunk of his limo."

    Critical response

    The show received a positive reception from most media publications. Television critic Robert Bianco of USA Today commended Martin's hosting performance writing that, "Luckily for viewers, Martin has two other qualities that are essential to a good Academy Awards host: wit and insider status. He used both to his and our advantage, winning the crowd's confidence and then gleefully mocking them all night." He also noted that the political remarks from presenters and speeches "a touch of tension to what is so often a dull evening." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette television columnist Rob Owen raved that "Martin radiates class and wit, something often lacking in awards show hosts. From jokes about the allegedly scaled-down ceremony to reaction to his return to the Oscar stage, Martin entertained consistently." He also quipped that even the segments honoring Oscar history "seemed tighter and less tedious." Tom Shales of The Washington Post gave high marks to Martin commenting, "Helping immeasurably to make it a great show was Steve Martin, who served as host for the second time and triumphed as a welcome sardonic voice amid all the usual piousness and self-adulation." He also commented that despite the toned-down atmosphere, the speeches and tributes provided several heartfelt and memorable moments desperately needed in uncertain times.
    Some media outlets were more critical of the show. Television critic Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly bemoaned, "A wonderful, intelligent Oscar host two years ago, Martin on this night looked as though he'd thrown in the towel backstage and let comedy writer Bruce Vilanch come up with a batch of gormless ain't-Hollywood-goofy lines to absolve him of responsibility for being hilarious." Chicago Tribune columnist Steve Johnson lamented, "Martin in his second turn hosting Hollywood's big night was, especially in the early going, slightly off-key, his attempt to keep a jovial face on things understandable but eventually coming to seem a touch disrespectful." He went on to say, "Except for the Moore line, he simply was not able to perform a perhaps impossible task, putting people at ease about attending, or watching, a party as a war raged, visible to anyone who flipped over to CNN." David Zurawik of The Baltimore Sun quipped, "As the rest of the world saw televised images of captives and corpses identified as American soldiers, we watched host Steve Martin and a theater full of celebrities celebrating their self importance. Try as they might last night in the capital of Fantasy Land to create a program that would transport us beyond current events, they never came close." He also complained that many of the evening's comments and jokes seemed tone deaf and disrespectful in light of the war.

    Ratings and reception

    The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 33.04 million people over its length, which was a 21% decrease from the previous year's ceremony. An estimated 62.55 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. The show also earned lower Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 20.58% of households watching over a 40.34 share. In addition, it garnered a lower 1849 demo rating with a 12.55 rating over a 35.37 share among viewers in that demographic. Many media outlets observed that cable news coverage of the Iraq war diverted home viewers' attention from the ceremony and therefore contributed to the lower ratings. Until 2018, it earned the lowest viewership for an Academy Award telecast since figures were compiled beginning with the 46th ceremony in 1974 and the lowest ratings for any broadcast since Nielsen Media Research kept track of such data since the 33rd ceremony in 1961.
    In July 2003, the ceremony presentation received eight nominations at the 55th Primetime Emmys. Two months later, the ceremony won three of those nominations for Outstanding Art Direction For A Variety Or Music Program, Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program, and Outstanding Music Direction.

    ''In Memoriam''

    The annual In Memoriam tribute, presented by actress Susan Sarandon, honored the following people.