Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oscar, Oscar, Oscar!
Illawarra Mercury
Monday March 22, 1999
There won't be anybody chanting Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi! but there will be a distinctly Australian flavour at the 71st Academy Awards.
Among the designer labels, sparkling jewels and thousand-dollar hairstyles will be seven Australians hoping to take home the film industry's most coveted statuette.
Leading the charge is Cate Blanchett, a short-priced favourite (5/2) to win best actress for her brilliant performance in the title role of Elizabeth.
Her mentor Geoffrey Rush (5/1) will be hoping his effort in the romantic comedy Shakespeare In Love earns him his second Oscar in three years and proves he is not a one-hit wonder.
Rachel Griffiths (7/2) has been nominated for best supporting actress in Hilary and Jackie, based on the life of cellist Jacqueline de Pre.
And Peter Weir (10/1) earned his third best director nomination for The Truman Show.
Melbourne composer David Hirschfelder, who was nominated in 1996 for his work on Shine, will hope to go one step better and bring home the gold for original dramatic score on Elizabeth.
Producer Grant Hill and sound technician Paul Brincat round out the Australian contingent as part of the teams which worked on war epic The Thin Red Line.
This year's Australian contingent is two shy of the record nine nominations (1995, 1996).
Blanchett embraced the role of England's legendary Virgin Queen with gusto, which earnt her much critical acclaim worldwide.
She is up against darling of the moment Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare In Love), Meryl Streep (One True Thing), Fernanda Montenegro (Central Station) and Emily Watson (Hilary and Jackie).
Weir is no stranger to the Academy Awards with previous nominations for Witness (1985) and Dead Poets Society (1989), and a best screenplay nomination in 1990 for Green Card.
Fellow nominees are Roberto Benigni (Life Is Beautiful), Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan), John Madden (Shakespeare In Love) and Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line).
And Rush is no stranger either after capturing world attention when he was awarded the best actor trophy for his portrayal of eccentric pianist David Helfgott in Shine.
This time he has been nominated in the best supporting actor category for his role as the wily theatre owner Phillip Henslowe opposite Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes.
He is up against first-time nominee James Coburn (Affliction), Robert Duvall (Civil Action), Ed Harris (The Truman Show) and Billy Bob Thornton (A Simple Plan).
On being nominated Rush said: ``I suppose it means deep down you don't feel like you are a one-hit wonder. I didn't (feel I was) but I know that a lot of observers may have."
Griffiths is in a formidable field with Kathy Bates (Primary Colours), Brenda Blethyn (Little Voice), Dame Judi Dench (Shakespeare In Love) and Lynn Redgrave (Gods and Monsters).
Australia has already tasted success at this year's Oscars with computer software designer Gary Tregaskis receiving a technical award last month.
He designed visual effects tools which have been used on blockbuster films such as Titanic, Independence Day and Armageddon.
© 1999 Illawarra Mercury
