62nd Academy Awards

The 62nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1989 and took place on March 26, 1990, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Jeff Margolis. Actor Billy Crystal hosted the show for the first time.

Driving Miss Daisy won four awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Glory with three awards, Born on the Fourth of July, The Little Mermaid, and My Left Foot with two, and The Abyss, Balance, Batman, Cinema Paradiso, Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, Dead Poets Society, Henry V, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Johnstown Flood, and Work Experience with one. The telecast garnered more than 40 million viewers in the United States.

Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 62nd Academy Awards were announced on February 14, 1990, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Karl Malden, president of the academy, and actress Geena Davis. Driving Miss Daisy received the most nominations with nine total; Born on the Fourth of July came in second with eight. Winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 26, 1990. Driving Miss Daisy became the third film to win Best Picture without a Best Director nomination. At age 80, Jessica Tandy became the oldest winner of a competitive acting Oscar at the time. Kenneth Branagh was the fifth person nominated for Best Lead Actor and Best Director for the same film.

Awards

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface and indicated with a double-dagger ().

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Driving Miss Daisy – Richard D. Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck, producers
Born on the Fourth of July – A. Kitman Ho and Oliver Stone, producers
Dead Poets Society – Steven Haft, Paul Junger Witt, and Tony Thomas, producers
Field of Dreams – Lawrence Gordon and Charles Gordon, producers
My Left Foot – Noel Pearson, producer

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Oliver Stone – Born on the Fourth of July
Woody Allen – Crimes and Misdemeanors
Peter Weir – Dead Poets Society
Kenneth Branagh – Henry V
Jim Sheridan – My Left Foot

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Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot as Christy Brown
Kenneth Branagh – Henry V as King Henry V of England
Tom Cruise – Born on the Fourth of July as Ron Kovic
Morgan Freeman – Driving Miss Daisy as Hoke Colburn
Robin Williams – Dead Poets Society as John Charles Keating

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Jessica Tandy – Driving Miss Daisy as Daisy Werthan
Isabelle Adjani – Camille Claudel as Camille Claudel
Pauline Collins – Shirley Valentine as Shirley Valentine-Bradshaw
Jessica Lange – Music Box as Ann Talbot
Michelle Pfeiffer – The Fabulous Baker Boys as Susie Diamond

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Denzel Washington – Glory as Pvt. Silas Trip
Danny Aiello – Do the Right Thing as Sal Frangione
Dan Aykroyd – Driving Miss Daisy as Boolie Werthan
Marlon Brando – A Dry White Season as Ian Mackenzie
Martin Landau – Crimes and Misdemeanors as Judah Rosenthal

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Brenda Fricker – My Left Foot as Bridget Fagan Brown
Anjelica Huston – Enemies, A Love Story as Tamara Broder
Lena Olin – Enemies, A Love Story as Masha
Julia Roberts – Steel Magnolias as Shelby Eatenton Latcherie
Dianne Wiest – Parenthood as Helen Buckman

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Dead Poets Society – Tom Schulman
Crimes and Misdemeanors – Woody Allen
Do the Right Thing – Spike Lee
Sex, Lies, and Videotape – Steven Soderbergh
When Harry Met Sally... – Nora Ephron

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Driving Miss Daisy – Alfred Uhry based on his play
Born on the Fourth of July – Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic based on the autobiography by Ron Kovic
Enemies, A Love Story – Roger L. Simon and Paul Mazursky based on the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Field of Dreams – Phil Alden Robinson based on Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella
My Left Foot – Jim Sheridan and Shane Connaughton based on the autobiography by Christy Brown

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Cinema Paradiso (Italy) – Giuseppe Tornatore
Camille Claudel (France) – Bruno Nuytten
Jesus of Montreal (Canada) – Denys Arcand
Waltzing Regitze (Denmark) – Kaspar Rostrup
What Happened to Santiago (Puerto Rico) – Jacobo Morales

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Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt – Rob Epstein and Bill Couturié
Adam Clayton Powell – Richard Kilberg and Yvonne Smith
Crack USA: County Under Siege – Vince DiPersio and Bill Guttentag
For All Mankind – Al Reinert and Betsy Broyles Breier
Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren – Judith Leonard and Bill Jersey

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The Johnstown Flood – Charles Guggenheim
Fine Food, Fine Pastries, Open 6 to 9 – David Petersen
Yad Vashem: Preserving the Past to Ensure the Future – Ray Errol Fox

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Work Experience – James Hendrie
Amazon Diary – Robert Nixon
The Childeater – Jonathan Tammuz

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Balance – Christoph Lauenstein and Wolfgang Lauenstein
The Cow – Aleksandr Petrov
The Hill Farm – Mark Baker

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The Little Mermaid – Alan Menken
Born on the Fourth of July – John Williams
The Fabulous Baker Boys – Dave Grusin
Field of Dreams – James Horner
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – John Williams

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"Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman
"After All" from Chances Are – Music by Tom Snow; Lyrics by Dean Pitchford
"The Girl Who Used to Be Me" from Shirley Valentine – Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman
"I Love To See You Smile" from Parenthood – Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman
"Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman

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Glory – Donald O. Mitchell, Gregg Rudloff, Elliot Tyson and Russell Williams II
The Abyss – Don Bassman, Kevin F. Cleary, Richard Overton and Lee Orloff
Black Rain – Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Keith A. Wester
Born on the Fourth of July – Michael Minkler, Gregory H. Watkins, Wylie Stateman and Tod A. Maitland
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – Ben Burtt, Gary Summers, Shawn Murphy and Tony Dawe

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Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – Richard Hymns and Ben Burtt
Black Rain – Milton Burrow and William Manger
Lethal Weapon 2 – Robert G. Henderson and Alan Robert Murray

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Batman – Art Direction: Anton Furst; Set Decoration: Peter Young
The Abyss – Art Direction: Leslie Dilley; Set Decoration: Anne Kuljian
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen – Art Direction: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
Driving Miss Daisy – Art Direction: Bruno Rubeo; Set Decoration: Crispian Sallis
Glory – Art Direction: Norman Garwood; Set Decoration: Garrett Lewis

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Glory – Freddie Francis
The Abyss – Mikael Salomon
Blaze – Haskell Wexler
Born on the Fourth of July – Robert Richardson
The Fabulous Baker Boys – Michael Ballhaus

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Driving Miss Daisy – Manlio Rocchetti, Lynn Barber and Kevin Haney
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen – Maggie Weston and Fabrizio Sforza
Dad – Dick Smith, Ken Diaz and Greg Nelson

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Henry V – Phyllis Dalton
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen – Gabriella Pescucci
Driving Miss Daisy – Elizabeth McBride
Harlem Nights – Joe I. Tompkins
Valmont – Theodor Pištěk

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Born on the Fourth of July – David Brenner and Joe Hutshing
The Bear – Noëlle Boisson
Driving Miss Daisy – Mark Warner
The Fabulous Baker Boys – William Steinkamp
Glory – Steven Rosenblum

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The Abyss – Dennis Muren, Hoyt Yeatman, John Bruno and Dennis Skotak
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen – Richard Conway and Kent Houston
Back to the Future Part II – Ken Ralston, Michael Lantieri, John Bell and Steve Gawley

Honorary Award

To Akira Kurosawa for accomplishments that have inspired, delighted, enriched and entertained audiences and influenced filmmakers throughout the world.

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Howard W. Koch

Films with multiple nominations and multiple awards

The following 19 films received multiple nominations:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

! scope="col" style="width:55px;"| Nominations

! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"| Film

| style="text-align: center;" | 9

| Driving Miss Daisy

| style="text-align: center;" | 8

| Born on the Fourth of July

| rowspan=2 style="text-align:center" | 5

| Glory

| My Left Foot

| rowspan=4 style="text-align:center" | 4

| The Abyss

| The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

| Dead Poets Society

| The Fabulous Baker Boys

|rowspan=6 style="text-align:center" | 3

| Crimes and Misdemeanors

| Enemies, A Love Story

| Field of Dreams

| Henry V

| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

| The Little Mermaid

|rowspan=5 style="text-align:center" | 2

| Black Rain

| Camille Claudel

| Do the Right Thing

| Parenthood

| Shirley Valentine

The following five films received multiple awards:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

! scope="col" style="width:55px;"| Awards

! scope="col" style="text-align:center;"| Film

| style="text-align: center;" | 4

| Driving Miss Daisy

| style="text-align: center;" | 3

| Glory

| rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" | 2

| Born on the Fourth of July

| The Little Mermaid

| My Left Foot

Presenters and performers

The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.

Presenters (in order of appearance)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Name(s) !! Role

| || Announcer for the 62nd annual Academy Awards

| (AMPAS President) || Gave opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony

| || Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actor

| Mel Gibson || Presenters of the award for Best Art Direction

| || Introducer of presenter Kim Basinger

| || Presenter of the film Dead Poets Society on the Best Picture segment

| || Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "I Love to See You Smile"

| || Presenter of the award for Best Original Score

| Elizabeth McGovern || Presenters of award for Best Makeup

| Natalya Negoda || Presenters of the award for Best Foreign Language Film

| || Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actress

| Jeff Bridges || Presenters of the film Field of Dreams on the Best Picture segment

| Rick Moranis || Presenters of the award for Best Live Action Short Film

| || Introducer of the performances of Best Original Song nominees "Kiss the Girl" and "Under the Sea"

| || Presenter of the award for Best Animated Short Film

| || Presenter of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Howard W. Koch

| || Presenter of the film Driving Miss Daisy on the Best Picture segment

| Jessica Tandy || Presenter of the award for Best Film Editing

| || Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "The Girl Who Used to Be Me"

| || Introducer of Isabelle Huppert

| || Presenter of the segment of the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement and the Gordon E. Sawyer Award

| Rachel Ward || Presenters of the awards for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing

| Tom Hanks || Presenters of the award for Best Cinematography

| || Presenter of the award for Best Actress

| || Presenter of the award for Best Costume Design

| Chevy Chase || Presenters of the award for Best Visual Effects

| || Introducer of presenters George Lucas and Steven Spielberg

| Steven Spielberg || Presenters of the Honorary Academy Award to Akira Kurosawa

| || Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "After All"

| Dudley Moore || Presenters of the award for Best Original Song

||| Presenter of the film Born on the Fourth of July Best Picture segment

| Charlton Heston|| Presenters of the awards for Best Documentary Short Subject and Best Documentary Feature

| || Presenter of the awards for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

| || Presenter of the film My Left Foot on the Best Picture segment

| Martin Scorsese || Presenters of the award for Best Director

| || Presenter of the award for Best Actor

| || Introducer of the performance of "Over the Rainbow"

| Jack Nicholson || Presenters of the award for Best Picture

Performers (in order of appearance)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Name(s) !! Role !! Performed

| || Musical Arranger || Orchestral

| || Performer || Opening number: My Left Foot (to the tune of "Me and My Shadow") Field of Dreams (to the tune of "Tangerine" from The Fleet's In) Dead Poets Society (to the tune of "Mutual Admiration Society" from Happy Hunting) Driving Miss Daisy (to the tune of "Walkin' My Baby Back Home") Born on the Fourth of July (to the tune of "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen)

| || Performer || "I Love to See You Smile" from Parenthood

| || Performer || "Kiss the Girl" and "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid

| || Performer || "The Girl Who Used to Be Me" from Shirley Valentine

| Melissa Manchester || Performers || "After All" from Chances Are

| || Performer || "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz

Ceremony information

thumb|130px|right|[[Billy Crystal hosted the 62nd Academy Awards.|alt=Photo of Billy Crystal.]]

After the negative reception received from the preceding year's ceremony, AMPAS created an Awards Presentation Review Committee to evaluate and determine why the telecast earned such a negative reaction from the media and the entertainment industry. The committee later determined that Carr's biggest mistake was allowing the questionable opening number to run for 12 minutes. Producer and former Directors Guild of America president Gilbert Cates, who headed the committee, said that Carr would not have received such harsh criticism if the number had been much shorter. Malden explained the decision to hire him, saying, "Cates, a veteran film and TV director known for his tasteful work in both media, will attempt to rectify the damage the last Oscar show did to the Academy's reputation." "We are extremely pleased to have Billy host the show," Cates said in a press release justifying his choice. "His unique talents and his ability to handle the unexpected will be important assets this year."

Cates christened the show with the theme "Around the World in 3 1/2 Hours," commenting that it would be "a party thrown around the world". He also explained, "The world is changing, and hopefully the awards show is changing, matching the changes in the world."

Several other people participated in the production of the ceremony. Documentary filmmaker Chuck Workman assembled a montage saluting "100 Years at the Movies" that was shown at the beginning of the telecast. Film composer and musician Bill Conti served as musical director for the ceremony. Dancer and singer Paula Abdul supervised the Best Song nominee performances and a dance number featuring the Best Costume Design nominees. Singer Diana Ross performed the Oscar-winning song "Over the Rainbow" in a tribute to the 50th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz.

Box office performance of nominees

At the time of the nominations announcement on February 14, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $244 million with an average of $48.9 million. Dead Poets Society was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $95.8 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Field of Dreams ($64.4 million), Born on the Fourth of July ($48.6 million), Driving Miss Daisy ($35.6 million) and My Left Foot ($2.1 million).

Critical reviews

The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Some media outlets were more critical of the show. Film critic Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave an average review of Crystal but lamented, "The effort to make this year's Academy Awards show an international media miracle led to nothing but headaches." Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times quipped that the broadcast was "a conventional telecast that was arguably an extension of an industry calcified by convention". He gave positive remarks toward Crystal but felt that "The Oscarcast was an old kid on the block."

Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. USA Today television critic Matt Roush lauded "...the glib and savvy Billy Crystal, who kept things as lively and funny as he could all night long. What a chore, too." He concluded that, "Hollywood no doubt went to bed happy (maybe early), because for a change, Oscar didn't embarrass himself." Mike Drew of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel remarked, "While too "inside" and not as funny as Hollywood thinks he is, Crystal was an efficient host." Film critic Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "It was encouraging that director Gilbert Cates took the opportunity to emphasize films instead of chorus girls." She also extolled Crystal's performance, acknowledging that his "nimble opening number set a Johnny Carson comic tone."

Ratings and reception

The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 40.24 million people over its length, which was a 5% decrease from the previous year's ceremony. An estimated 70 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. The show also drew lower Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony, with 27.82% of households watching over a 49.42 share.

In July 1990, the ceremony presentation received five nominations at the 42nd Primetime Emmys. Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program (Roy Christopher and Greg Richman).

References

Bibliography

External links

;Official websites

Academy Awards Official website
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Official website
Oscar's Channel at YouTube (run by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)

;Analysis

1989 Academy Awards Winners and History Filmsite
Academy Awards, USA: 1990 Internet Movie Database

;Other resources

Winners and nominees

Awards

Honorary Award

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Films with multiple nominations and multiple awards

Presenters and performers

Presenters (in order of appearance)

Performers (in order of appearance)

Ceremony information

Box office performance of nominees

Critical reviews

Ratings and reception

See also

References

Bibliography

External links