To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > Arts & Entertainment March 15, 2000 URL: http://www.salon.com/ent/special/oscars Oscar Watch Salon's critics consider the Oscar-nominated movies of 1999. - - - - - - - - - - - - OSCAR NEWS Warren Beatty The ambitious and radical star who crafted a remarkable and uncompromising slate of mainstream movies takes home an Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Oscar on Sunday. By Stephanie Zacharek 03/20/00 Who in the world watches the Oscars? Oscar claims to have billions of viewers in hundreds of countries. The truth is somewhat different. By Lance Gould 03/22/00 Age and the academy A new study of Oscar nominees shows that older guys and younger women get the stauettes. By Jeff Stark 03/13/00 Scooping the Oscars Does the Wall Street Journal know who will win? Not if the academy can help it. By Joe Mader 03/14/00 Winners and losers Why have so many actors who've won Oscars seen their careers tank? By Donna Freydkin 03/22/00 - - - - - - - - - - - - THIS YEAR'S BEST PICTURE NOMINEES "American Beauty" "American Beauty" Kevin Spacey keeps a biting suburban satire from eating itself alive. By Andrew O'Hehir (09/15/99) Kevin Spacey knows our secrets The enigmatic actor's roles embody manipulation and cunning. By Michael Sragow (09/10/99) Laughter after irony Are new movies like "Holy Smoke" and "American Beauty" reinventing screen comedy? By Christopher Kelly (01/18/00) "The Insider" "The Insider" An actionless thriller about a solved mystery somehow emerges as one of the best films of the year. By Andrew O'Hehir (11/05/99) All the corporations' men "The Insider" director Michael Mann talks about corporate morality, muckraking and the drama of making real-life decisions. By Michael Sragow (11/04/99) Not just blowing smoke "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman reveals the real story behind "The Insider." By David Weir (11/05/99) "The Cider House Rules" "The Cider House Rules" Driven by Tobey Maguire's marvelously layered performance, Lasse Hallström's old-fashioned cinematic yarn-spinning yields genuine emotion without sentimentality. By Stephanie Zacharek (01/25/00) The John Irving rules Oscar watch: The author of "The Cider House Rules" talks about his Academy Award nomination, abortion and his strange fixation on oral sex. By Jeff Stark (03/08/00) "The Sixth Sense" "The Sixth Sense" A clumsy supernatural thriller searches -- and searches and searches -- for the soul of a little boy, but finds only the edge of exploitation. By Charles Taylor (08/06/99) "The Green Mile" "The Green Mile" Tom Hanks and a sparkling cast squeeze Stephen King's story for surprisingly effective Hollywood melodrama. By Andrew O'Hehir (12/10/99) - - - - - - - - - - - - REVIEWS AND FEATURES ON OTHER NOMINATED MOVIES "Boys Don't Cry" The fictionalized account of the Brandon Teena story is sensationalistic storytelling at its best. By Stephanie Zacharek (10/11/99) The secret behind "Boys Don't Cry" Director Kimberly Peirce says it's fun -- until the bitter end. By Michael Sragow (03/09/00) "The Straight Story" Forget the G rating -- this road movie is as weird as David Lynch gets. By Charles Taylor (10/15/99) "I want a dream when I go to a film" David Lynch, the human tuning fork, talks about his most unusual movie -- a G-rated adventure about a man, a lawnmower and an emotional journey. By Michael Sragow (10/28/99) "Being John Malkovich" Director Spike Jonze puts his brilliantly offbeat twist on the "15 minutes of fame" theory. By Andrew O'Hehir (10/29/99) "The End of the Affair" Julianne Moore triumphs in Neil Jordan's latest crying game. By Michael Sragow (12/03/99) "Sweet and Lowdown" Rising star Samantha Morton shines in this charming, finely crafted film from Woody Allen. By Stephanie Zacharek (12/03/99) The roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd Director Mike Leigh gives Gilbert and Sullivan the Dickens in "Topsy-Turvy." By Michael Sragow (12/23/99) - - - - - - - - - - - - CAMILLE PAGLIA AND CINTRA WILSON WRITE ON LAST YEAR'S ACADEMY AWARDS And the frumps are ... The 71st Academy Awards are a parade of pomaded pretty boys and washed-out drag queens from lame movies. Where is the glamour? By Camille Paglia (03/22/99) Not abhorrent! Just when you're ready to give up on awards shows altogether, the Oscars turn out to be halfway entertaining. By Cintra Wilson (03/22/99) salon.com | March 15, 2000   - - - - - - - - - - - -