Broadcast Film Critics Association has released its list of nominees for the 2003 Critics’ Choice Awards, including Disney/Pixar’s Finding Nemo among its Best Picture contenders. The Critics’ Choice Awards are presented at the BFCA’s annual awards ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel in late January.
While the Broadcast Critics Awards has a category for Best Animated Feature, the association has decided to let Nemo swim with the big fish, including Sony Pictures’ Big Fish, Miramax’s Cold Mountain, Twentieth Century Fox’s In America, Warner Bros.’ The Last Samurai, New Line’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Focus Features’ Lost In Translation, Twentieth Century Fox’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Warner Bros.’ Mystic River and Universal’s Seabiscuit.
Nemo is also a contender in the Best Animated Feature category, along with Disney’s Brother Bear and Sony Pictures Classics’ The Triplets of Belleville.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King also racked up its share of nominations. It will compete with A Mighty Wind, Love Actually and Mystic River for Best Acting Ensemble, while helmer Peter Jackson goes up against Tim Burton (Big Fish), Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation), Clint Eastwood (Mystic River) and Jim Sheridan (In America) for Best Director.
In addition, ROTK composer Howard Shore is up for Best Composer, taking on Mystic River’s Clint Eastwood, Big Fish’s Danny Elfman, Cold Mountain’s Gabriel Yared and The Last Samurai’s Hans Zimmer.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in the running for Best Family Film (live action), a category rounded out by Disney’s sleeper hit Freaky Friday, Universal’s Peter Pan, South Pacific Pictures’ Whale Rider and Disney’s Holes.
A full list of nominees can be seen at www.bfca.org/criticschoiceawards.asp. The annual awards ceremony will be broadcast the evening of Jan. 10, 2004 live on E! Entertainment Television from the Beverly Hills Hotel.
