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THE GAMECOCK ♦ Friday, February 14, 2003 7 CONTACT US M#H#fHA™DEHr wh'J* IT Story ideas? Questions? Comments? love there is life.” E-mail us at gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com - I BY ELIZABETH GIBBONS AND MEG MOORE 3m THE GAMECOCK i ; The members of the Academy of Motion Picture | | Arts and Sciences had a tough job picking this J | year’s Oscar nominations. j Surprisingly, several movies that garnered lots 1 of attention, such as “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” -i i “Minority Report” and “Star Wars: Episode II,” failed to gamer as many nominations as expect I ed. In fact, the top-grosSing film of2002, “Spider | Man,” got only two nominations: best sound m2 m an(j best visual effects. “Chicago” led the way with a jaw-dropping 13 nominations, including best motion picture. Noticeably missing from the “Chicago” list of nominees, however, was a Richard Gere, who missed out for best actor. Oh, well, as Gere says in the movie, “that’s Chicago.” Martin Scorsese’s “Gangs of New York” fol I lowed with an impressive 10 nominations, and “The Hours” racked up nine. Both films are also competing in the best-picture category. Rounding out the group of best-picture nomi nees were “Lord of the Rings: Two Towers” and the comparatively small success “The Pianist.” “Chicago” has all the right ingredients to take the best-picture award: strong box-office numbers, a solid showing in previous awards shows, I and the most Oscar nominations of the year. In the 1 past, movies with the most nominations have often taken this top Oscar. If “Chicago” does not snag this f award, “The Hours” will. The best-actor category features audience favorites 1 such as Nicholas Cage for “Adaptation” and Daniel Day Lewis for “Gangs of New York.” Cage played dual u roles in “Adaptation” — so if playing multiple parts in a movie earns a nominee brownie points, Cage '•'Jlj will likely walk away with an Oscar. Other promis ing picks include Michael Caine, for his role in “The Quiet American,” and the favorite. Jack Nicholson, for his role in “About Schmidt.” It’s going to be a close race, but count on Nicholson to win for what many are calling his best performance in years. This was the 12th nomination for three-time winner Nicholson, making him the most nomi nated male actor in history. His disgruntled man-past-his-prime parts seem to be favorites of the nominations committee. Nicholson does not have the most nomina tions in Oscar history, however. That honor instead belongs to Meryl Streep, who picked up a best supporting actress nomination this time around for “Adaptation. ” If only, like Cage, she had an on-screen alter ego to augment her prospects of win ning. ... Best-actress nom inations also went to Nicole Kidman for “The Hours," Selma Hayek for “Frida,” Diane Lane for “Unfaithful” and Julianne Moore for “Far From Heaven.” Many are speculating that Kidman will take this, but Lane’s excellent performance as an adulterous wife in “Unfaithful” could prevail; Hayek is also a contender for her career-expanding role in “Frida.” This could be A a fight to the finish. m Speaking of fights, a catfight could break out in A the best-supporting-actress group, “Chicago”-style. H That movie produced two nominations in this cat- H egory, Catherine Zeta Jones and Queen Latifah. p Zeta-Jones should pick up this award. Her perfor- f mance is phenomenal, and she’s got the vocals to j hold her own in this musical, more so than best-ac- % tress nominee Renee Zellweger. But if the Academy is 1 playing favorites, don’t be surprised to see Meryl ’ Streep at that podium. If this is her 13th nomination, she must be doing something right. “Chicago’s” Marshall and Stephen Daldry from “The Hours” both earned nods in the best-director category. Director Pedro Almodovar also picked up a nomination for his ^ Spanish film “Talk to Her.” Martin Scorsese, a long time favorite for his work such as "The Godfather” and “Goodfellas,” got a 1 nod for "Gangs of New York." The storied vet- U eran stands a good chance of taking home an award for his work I on 2002’s epic I “Gangs.” I This year’s best-di- I rector race has a I unique twist to it. Roman Polanski, di- H rector of "The jp Pianist," received the ■ final nomination in I the category. The ■ only problem is that I if Polanski, the fa vorite behind H Scorsese, were to H win, the Oscar would V have to be mailed to V him. He will not attend ■ the ceremony because H an appearance could re- V suit in his arrest. In 1977, Polanski was V arrested for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He ♦ OSCARS, SEE PAGE 9 ^ Far left: Oscar nominee Nicole Kidman is a favorite | for best actress. L Left: Leonardo I DiCaprio starred in K “Gangs of New Jr York,” which f garnered 10 nominations — though none for DiCaprio. PHOTOS COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS ACADEMY AWARDS CHALLENGE : . i ..in .» ~ i PHOTO BY LIONEL HAHN/KRT. CAMPUS Actress Marlsa Tomei and Frank Pierson, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, announce the best-picture nominees for the Academy Awards. Test your mettle against the Gamecock staff and win a prize pack! PREDICT WHO WILL WIN THE ACADEMY AWARDS. SEND YOUR ENTRY TO GAMECOCKMIXEDITOR@HOTMAIL.COM. Performance by an actor In a leading role Adrien Brody in “The Pianist” Nicolas Cage in “Adaptation” Michael Caine in “The Quiet American” Daniel Day-Lewis in “Gangs of New York” Jack Nicholson in “About Schmidt” Performance by an actor in a supporting role Chris Cooper in “Adaptation” Ed Harris in “The Hours Paul Newman in “Road to Perdition” John C. Reilly in “Chicago” Christopher Walken in “Catch Me If You Cain” ♦ NOMINEES, SEE PAGE 9 * Columbian coffee isn’t always what you expect BY TRINA RAHMAN THE GAMECOCK Courtyard Coffee:^-#,#,# out of Cafe Strudel:<#,#,# out of Cool Beans: ,#*#,# out of ##### Immaculate Consumption: M M 0ut of All joe is not created equal. One cafe’s cup of the day might taste like another’s cup from yesterday. The decor of your favorite coffee establish ment might be classic art, but it might also dis tract you from the real virtue of a cof fee shop: the coffee. Most shops offer a variety of “cups of the day.” Last Wednesday, Courtyard Coffee Hnnse. at 116 State St just over the Gervais Street Bridge, offered French Roast, Costa Rican, Valentine Chocolate and a Costa Rican decaf. At 9.5 ounces, it will cost you a dollar even. The Costa Rican blend had a nice, full flavor, almost nutty in taste. Courtyard’s cappuccino, at 7 ounces, comes in a saucer like cup for $2.50 — though a slightly larger to-go cup costs $2.63. It seemed as if there was more froth than coffee, but the taste of the coffee underneath came out strong. Courtyard grinds and roasts its beans, as do all these coffee shops, and is open until midnight. The cup of the day comes in a 12 ounce size for $1.25, and 16-ounce for $1.55. A to-go cup holds mux c than the cups used for dining in. Cafe Strudel, next door, sells a basic Costa Rican ground for a dollar plus tax. Coffee to go is $1 for the regular and $1.45 for a large. It was strong and fresh, but seemed a little flat in comparison to Courtyard’s, probably be cause it was decaffeinated. The other flavors for the cup of the day included Spiced Butter Rum, Winter’s Comfort and a St. Valentine’s Special. A cannuccinn will rnct vnn $9 SO fnr a tall and $3 for a grande. It wasn’t as fla vorful as Courtyard’s, though it lacked the frothy iceberg requiring you to mine for the coffee below. > ♦ COFFEE, SEE PAGE 8 Senegalese ‘Carmen’ draws diverse crowd Audience pleased with cultural presentations BY CAITLIN COKER THE GAMECOCK The Nickelodeon Theatre attracted a diverse audience for its Wednesday showing of “Karmen Gei,” a Senegalese spin on the 19th century opera “Carmen.” The house was three-fourths full for the 7 p.m. show, part of the theater’s African American International Film Festival, and only 10 out of the 40 people in the audience were black. Tiffany Stewart, a third-year Spanish stu dent, was drawn to the Nickelodeon by the in dependent-films movement as well as the film festival. It was her first time at the theater. “It’s a great opportunity to celebrate Black History Month by seeing our culture on screen,” Stewart said. As the house lights dimmed, French credits rolled across the screen accompanied by bebop jazz music. Karmen appeared in the film’s first scene, performing a sensual dance to drums, seduc ing her prison warden. Later in the prison cell, the women sing a song about Karmen, chant ing: “Hide your men, hide your women! Karmen is here, she who creates havoc is here.” And Karmen definitely creates havoc ♦ FILM FESTIVAL, SEE PAGE 8