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CNN Live At Daybreak
Oscar Hopefuls; Interview of Charlie Lyons, "Variety"
Aired February 12, 2002 - 06:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Going for the gold doesn't only refer to the Olympics this morning. Oscar nominations will be announced about two hours from now, and we'll soon find out who stands a chance of getting that golden statue. But right now we want to get some predictions from "Variety" magazine's Charlie Lyons, who is joining us from New York this morning.
Good morning, Charlie.
CHARLIE LYONS, "VARIETY" MAGAZINE: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
COSTELLO: No problem. So you have all of your picks in hand?
LYONS: I have a few, yes.
COSTELLO: OK. Should we start with best picture?
LYONS: Best picture, I would like to go with "Lord of the Rings." I think it's a terrific, sweeping epic, and I hope the academy acknowledges it.
COSTELLO: OK. So you don't think they're going to pick "Lord of the Rings," then. Is that what you're telling me?
LYONS: No, I think "Lord of the Rings" has a very, very good chance. It's between, in my opinion, "Lord of the Rings" and "A Beautiful Mind" for the best picture.
COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about best actor, because for the first time, two African-Americans could be nominated. Do you think they will be?
LYONS: I think it's likely. I think Denzel Washington was terrific in "Training Day," and I think the academy would probably acknowledge Will Smith's performance in "Ali." So both stand a good chance to be nominated. However, Russell Crowe is really the front runner. And I think even in Vegas, the odds are that he's going to win the award.
COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about best supporting actress, because I understand Halle Berry is up for one for the first time. So that would mean three African-Americans for the first time ever in the history of the Oscars. LYONS: Yes, it's a terrific performance by Halle Berry. Unfortunately, again, I think that the -- the odds favorites are other actresses like Jennifer Connelly in "A Beautiful Mind." I think the -- the movie "Monster's Ball" might not be strong enough to carry Halle Berry to that award.
COSTELLO: So what about best actress, then? The favorite, I guess, that's Nicole Kidman, right?
LYONS: Well, Nicole could be nominated either for one of two movies. Either "The Others" or "Moulin Rouge." But I actually think Sissy Spacek has a good deal of momentum, having won a lot of the other awards leading up to the Oscars.
COSTELLO: Do you think that some of the people will be nominated because the studios are spending so much money in getting their pictures out to the academy members who vote?
LYONS: I'm sorry, the question again?
COSTELLO: You know those movie studios are spending a lot of money to get the academy members to pay attention to their movie.
LYONS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Do you think that's why some of the same people get nominated each and every year?
LYONS: No. I think that the movies speak for themselves. And I think that, you know, Miramax in particular has pushed its nominations and not always been successful just because they put that much money into their campaigns. Last year, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Gladiator" were neither Miramax movies and did very well at the Oscars.
COSTELLO: But by in large, over the year, the money has helped.
LYONS: Money certainly helps. And the campaigns that will start today after the nominations will certainly influence decisions, I think, ultimately at the end.
COSTELLO: And just so people can understand, there's something like 6,000 academy members who actually vote. Is that correct?
LYONS: That's correct.
COSTELLO: And the money helps send maybe videotapes to each of the academy members who may watch the movie. And the movie studios put up these big billboards to get more pub for their movie and catch the attention of those academy members. Is that how it works?
LYONS: Yes, but I think you also have divisions in the academy that are, you know, past winners in the director's category and the other categories. And these people are savvy. They're, you know, artists themselves. And they are not easily swayed. So they're, one hopes, voting on what they believe to be the best performances and best pictures.
COSTELLO: Oh, they're liking you this morning. OK, so one surprise nomination, who will it be?
LYONS: You could actually see Dakota Fanning from "I am Sam," the young, young girl get a nomination for best supporting actress.
COSTELLO: OK, we'll hold you to that, because you're going to join us again tomorrow morning when the nominations are out.
LYONS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: And we'll see how right you are. Thank you very much for joining us live this morning. The nominations, by the way, for the 74th annual Academy Awards can be seen right here on CNN live.
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