Oscar makes Johnny Cash movie walk the plank

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Johnny Cash movie “Walk the
Line” failed to secure an Oscar nomination for best picture on
Tuesday, despite Golden Globe victories and widespread acclaim
for a project that took a decade to get made.

Its omission was perhaps the biggest snub handed out by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, although
high-profile films such as “Match Point,” “Cinderella Man” and
“King Kong” were also left out of the big categories.

Unlike last year, when the Academy vetoed such hefty
contenders as “The Passion of the Christ” and “Fahrenheit
9/11,” there were fewer shocks this time.

The five contenders for best picture and director matched
up for the first time since 1981, which means observers cannot
complain that a picture directed itself.

“Walk the Line” did garner acting nominations, as expected,
for its stars, Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, and in
three craft categories. But neither its producers nor its
director, James Mangold, will get the chance to take the stage
when winners are announced in Hollywood on March 5.

Cathy Konrad, who produced the picture with Cash family
friend James Keach, told Reuters a best picture nomination
“would have been nice.” But she said the $28 million movie has
earned $106 million to date and is still playing strongly in
theaters.

“I feel like we made the people’s movie,” she said. “If
people going to the movies is a testament to what is a good
movie, then I feel like Jim and I won.”

The omission of Mangold, Konrad’s husband, was not
unexpected given that he was not nominated for the Directors
Guild Awards either. However, the film did receive a nomination
from the Producers Guild and it recently won Golden Globes for
best film, actor and actress in the comedy/musical categories.

‘CINDERELLA MAN’ PUNCHED OUT

The boxing drama “Cinderella Man” may have knocked out
critics but Oscar voters dealt the film a blow by ignoring both
star Russell Crowe and director Ron Howard.

The pugilistic actor hit a hotel worker with a telephone
the weekend the movie was released in June to disappointing
sales and that could have affected his standing among the
Academy’s actors branch, who decide the nominations.

Voters did, however, nominate the long-overlooked Paul
Giamatti for his supporting role as a trainer in “Cinderella
Man.”

Woody Allen had only a screenplay nomination to show for
his new thriller “Match Point,” judged by many observers to be
his most accessible work in years.

Some critics thought Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” could be
the next “Titanic.” But the only things they had in common were
huge budgets and lengthy running times. Audiences were
underwhelmed by the big ape remake and it had to settle for
four technical nominations.

Director Rob Marshall’s “Chicago” secured six Oscars three
years ago and prospects seemed bullish for his
long-in-the-works adaptation of “Memoirs of a Geisha.” But then
the movie opened, drawing critical derision.

However, with six Oscar nominations, it tied “Crash” and
“Good Night, and Good Luck” as the No. 2 nominee behind
“Brokeback Mountain” with eight.

Another widely anticipated period piece — at least until
people saw it — was Terrence Malick’s “The New World.” The
reclusive director was still tinkering with his 149-minute
Pocahontas picture just days before it began its
Oscar-qualifying run in December. It was to no avail, as the
picture suffered mixed reviews and complaints about its slow
pacing. Its only Oscar nomination was for cinematography.