71st Academy Awards

The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 1998 in film and took place on March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the third time. She first hosted the 66th ceremony held in 1994 and had last hosted the 68th ceremony in 1996. Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on February 27, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Anne Heche.

Shakespeare in Love won 7 awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Saving Private Ryan with 5 awards, Life Is Beautiful with 3, and Affliction, Bunny, Election Night, Elizabeth, Gods and Monsters, The Last Days, The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years, The Prince of Egypt, and What Dreams May Come with 1. The telecast garnered nearly 46 million viewers in the United States.

Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 71st Academy Awards were announced on February 9, 1999, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Robert Rehme, president of the Academy, and the actor Kevin Spacey. Shakespeare in Love earned the most nominations with 13; Saving Private Ryan came in second place with 11.

The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 21, 1999. Life Is Beautiful was the second film nominated simultaneously for Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film in the same year (the first being Z in 1969). Best Actor winner Roberto Benigni was the second person to direct himself to an acting Oscar win. Laurence Olivier first achieved this feat for his performance in 1948's Hamlet. He also became the fourth individual to earn acting, directing, screenwriting nominations for the same film. In addition, Benigni was the third performer to win an Oscar for a non-English speaking role. Best Actress nominee Fernanda Montenegro was the first Latina to be nominated in that category.

By virtue of their nominations for portraying Queen Elizabeth I of England, Best Actress nominee Cate Blanchett and Best Supporting Actress winner Judi Dench became the first pair of actresses to earn acting nominations in the same year for portraying the same character in different films.

Awards

thumb|right|150px|[[Edward Zwick, Best Picture co-winner|alt=Photo of Edward Zwick in 2016.]]

thumb|right|150px|[[Steven Spielberg, Best Director winner|alt=Photo of Steven Spielberg in 1999.]]

thumb|right|150px|[[Roberto Benigni, Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film winner|alt=Photo of Roberto Benigni in 2020.]]

thumb|right|150px|[[Gwyneth Paltrow, Best Actress winner|alt=Photo of Gwyneth Paltrow in 2011.]]

thumb|right|150px|[[James Coburn, Best Supporting Actor winner|alt=Photo of James Coburn in 1959.]]

thumb|right|150px|[[Judi Dench, Best Supporting Actress winner|alt=Photo of Judi Dench in 2007.]]

thumb|right|150px|[[Tom Stoppard, Best Original Screenplay co-winner|alt=Photo of Tom Stoppard in 2022.]]

thumb|right|150px|[[Nicola Piovani, Best Original Dramatic Score winner]]

thumb|right|150px|[[Stephen Schwartz, Best Original Song winner]]

thumb|right|150px|[[Janusz Kamiński, Best Cinematography winner|alt=Photo of Janusz Kamiński wearing a white scarf and a black bubble vest in 2014.]]

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

{| class=wikitable

| valign="top" width="50%" |

Shakespeare in Love – David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick and Marc Norman, producers
Elizabeth – Alison Owen, Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan, producers
Life Is Beautiful – Elda Ferri and Gianluigi Braschi, producers
Saving Private Ryan – Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon and Gary Levinsohn, producers
The Thin Red Line – Robert Michael Geisler, Grant Hill and John Roberdeau, producers

| valign="top" width="50%" |

Steven Spielberg – Saving Private Ryan
Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful
John Madden – Shakespeare in Love
Terrence Malick – The Thin Red Line
Peter Weir – The Truman Show

| valign="top" |

Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful as Guido Orefice
Tom Hanks – Saving Private Ryan as Captain John Miller
Ian McKellen – Gods and Monsters as James Whale
Nick Nolte – Affliction as Wade Whitehouse
Edward Norton – American History X as Derek Vinyard

| valign="top" |

Gwyneth Paltrow – Shakespeare in Love as Viola de Lesseps
Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth as Queen Elizabeth I of England
Fernanda Montenegro – Central Station as Isadora "Dora" Teixeira
Meryl Streep – One True Thing as Kate Gulden
Emily Watson – Hilary and Jackie as Jacqueline du Pré

| valign="top" |

James Coburn – Affliction as Glen Whitehouse
Robert Duvall – A Civil Action as Jerome Facher
Ed Harris – The Truman Show as Christof
Geoffrey Rush – Shakespeare in Love as Philip Henslowe
Billy Bob Thornton – A Simple Plan as Jacob Mitchell

| valign="top" |

Judi Dench – Shakespeare in Love as Queen Elizabeth I of England
Kathy Bates – Primary Colors as Libby Holden
Brenda Blethyn – Little Voice as Mari Hoff
Rachel Griffiths – Hilary and Jackie as Hilary du Pré
Lynn Redgrave – Gods and Monsters as Hanna

| valign="top" |

Shakespeare in Love – Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
Bulworth – Screenplay by: Warren Beatty and Jeremy Pikser; Story by Warren Beatty
Life Is Beautiful – Vincenzo Cerami and Roberto Benigni
Saving Private Ryan – Robert Rodat
The Truman Show – Andrew Niccol

| valign="top" |

Gods and Monsters – Bill Condon based on the novel Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram
Out of Sight – Scott Frank from the novel by Elmore Leonard
Primary Colors – Elaine May adapted from the novel by Joe Klein
A Simple Plan – Scott B. Smith based on his novel
The Thin Red Line – Terrence Malick adapted from the novel by James Jones

| valign="top" |

Life Is Beautiful (Italy) in Italian – Roberto Benigni
Central Station (Brazil) in Portuguese – Walter Salles
Children of Heaven (Iran) in Persian – Majid Majidi
The Grandfather (Spain) in Spanish – José Luis Garci
Tango (Argentina) in Spanish – Carlos Saura

| valign="top" |

The Last Days – James Moll and Ken Lipper
Dancemaker – Matthew Diamond and Jerry Kupfer
The Farm: Angola, USA – Jonathan Stack and Liz Garbus
Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth – Robert B. Weide
Regret to Inform – Barbara Sonneborn and Janet Cole

| valign="top" |

The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years – Keiko Ibi
A Place in the Land – Charles Guggenheim
Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square – Shui-Bo Wang and Donald McWilliams

| valign="top" |

Election Night – Kim Magnusson and Anders Thomas Jensen
Culture – Will Speck and Josh Gordon
Holiday Romance – Alexander Jovy and JJ Keith
La Carte Postale – Vivian Goffette
Victor – Simon Sandquist and Joel Bergvall

| valign="top" |

Bunny – Chris Wedge
The Canterbury Tales – Christopher Grace and Jonathan Myerson
Jolly Roger – Mark Baker
More – Mark Osborne and Steve Kalafer
When Life Departs – Karsten Kiilerich and Stefan Fjeldmark

| valign="top" |

Life Is Beautiful – Nicola Piovani
Elizabeth – David Hirschfelder
Pleasantville – Randy Newman
Saving Private Ryan – John Williams
The Thin Red Line – Hans Zimmer

| valign="top" |

Shakespeare in Love – Stephen Warbeck
A Bug's Life – Randy Newman
Mulan – Music by Matthew Wilder; Lyrics by David Zippel; Orchestral Score by Jerry Goldsmith
Patch Adams – Marc Shaiman
The Prince of Egypt – Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; Orchestral Score by Hans Zimmer

| valign="top" |

"When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt – Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from Armageddon – Music and Lyrics by Diane Warren
"The Prayer" from Quest for Camelot – Music by Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster; Lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, David Foster, Tony Renis and Alberto Testa
"A Soft Place to Fall" from The Horse Whisperer – Music and Lyrics by Allison Moorer and Gwil Owen
"That'll Do" from Babe: Pig in the City – Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman

| valign="top" |

Saving Private Ryan – Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Ron Judkins
Armageddon – Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Keith A. Wester
The Mask of Zorro – Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Pud Cusack
Shakespeare in Love – Robin O'Donoghue, Dominic Lester and Peter Glossop
The Thin Red Line – Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Paul Brincat

| valign="top" |

Saving Private Ryan – Gary Rydstrom and Richard Hymns
Armageddon – George Watters II
The Mask of Zorro – David McMoyler

| valign="top" |

Shakespeare in Love – Art Direction: Martin Childs; Set Decoration: Jill Quertier
Elizabeth – Art Direction: John Myhre; Set Decoration: Peter Howitt
Pleasantville – Art Direction: Jeannine Oppewall; Set Decoration: Jay Hart
Saving Private Ryan – Art Direction: Tom Sanders; Set Decoration: Lisa Dean Kavanaugh
What Dreams May Come – Art Direction: Eugenio Zanetti; Set Decoration: Cindy Carr

| valign="top" |

Saving Private Ryan – Janusz Kamiński
A Civil Action – Conrad Hall
Elizabeth – Remi Adefarasin
Shakespeare in Love – Richard Greatrex
The Thin Red Line – John Toll

| valign="top" |

Elizabeth – Jenny Shircore
Saving Private Ryan – Lois Burwell, Conor O'Sullivan and Daniel C. Striepeke
Shakespeare in Love – Lisa Westcott and Veronica Brebner

| valign="top" |

Shakespeare in Love – Sandy Powell
Beloved – Colleen Atwood
Elizabeth – Alexandra Byrne
Pleasantville – Judianna Makovsky
Velvet Goldmine – Sandy Powell

| valign="top" |

Saving Private Ryan – Michael Kahn
Life Is Beautiful – Simona Paggi
Out of Sight – Anne V. Coates
Shakespeare in Love – David Gamble
The Thin Red Line – Billy Weber, Leslie Jones and Saar Klein

| valign="top" |

What Dreams May Come – Joel Hynek, Nicholas Brooks, Stuart Robertson and Kevin Mack
Armageddon – Richard R. Hoover, Pat McClung and John Frazier
Mighty Joe Young – Rick Baker, Hoyt Yeatman, Allen Hall and Jim Mitchell

Honorary Award

To Elia Kazan in recognition of his indelible contributions to the art of motion picture direction.

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Norman Jewison

Films with multiple nominations and awards

The following 19 films received multiple nominations:

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

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

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

| style="text-align: center;" | 13

| Shakespeare in Love

| style="text-align: center;" | 11

| Saving Private Ryan

| rowspan=3 style="text-align:center" | 7

| Elizabeth

| Life Is Beautiful

| The Thin Red Line

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

| Armageddon

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

| Gods and Monsters

| Pleasantville

| The Truman Show

| rowspan=10 style="text-align:center" | 2

| Affliction

| Central Station

| A Civil Action

| Hilary and Jackie

| The Mask of Zorro

| Out of Sight

| Primary Colors

| The Prince of Egypt

| A Simple Plan

| What Dreams May Come

The following three films received multiple awards:

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

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

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

| style="text-align: center;" | 7

| Shakespeare in Love

| style="text-align: center;" | 5

| Saving Private Ryan

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

| Life Is Beautiful

Presenters and performers

The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.

Presenters

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Name(s) !! Role

| || Announcer for the 71st annual Academy Awards

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

| || Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actor

| || Presenter of the award for Best Art Direction

| || Presenter of the films Elizabeth and Shakespeare in Love on the Best Picture segment

| || Presenter of the award for Best Makeup

| || Introducer of the performance of Best Song nominee "When You Believe"

| || Presenter of the award for Best Live Action Short Film

| Heimlich || Presenters of the award for Best Animated Short Film

| || Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actress

| || Presenter of the award for Best Sound Effects Editing

| || Introducer of the performance of Best Song nominee "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing"

| || Presenter of the award for Best Sound

| || Introducer of presenter John Glenn

| || Presenter of the "Historical Figures in Cinema" montage

| || Presenter of the film Life Is Beautiful on the Best Picture segment and the award for Best Foreign Language Film

| Andie MacDowell || Presenters of the award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score

| || Introducer of the special dance number to the tune of the Best Original Dramatic Score nominees and presenter of the award for Best Original Dramatic Score

| || Presenter of the Frank Sinatra tribute montage

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

| || Presenter of the award for Best Film Editing

| || Introducer of the performance of the Best Song nominee "A Soft Place to Fall"

| || Presenter of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to Norman Jewison

| || Presenter of the award for Best Visual Effects

| || Presenter of the Gene Autry and Roy Rogers tribute montage

| || Presenter of the award for Best Actor

| || Introducer of the performance of Best Song nominee "That'll Do"

| Matt Damon || Presenters of the awards for Best Documentary Short Subject and Best Documentary Feature

| Martin Scorsese || Presenters of the Honorary Academy Award to Elia Kazan

| || Presenter of the award for Best Costume Design

| || Introducer of the performance of Best Song nominee "The Prayer"

| || Presenter of the award for Best Original Song

| || Presenter of the In Memoriam tribute

| || Introducer of presenter Colin Powell

| || Presenter of the films Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line on the Best Picture segment

| || Presenter of the award for Best Cinematography

| || Presenter of the award for Best Actress

| || Presenter of the Stanley Kubrick tribute montage

| Steve Martin || Presenters of the awards for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published

| || Presenter of the award for Best Director

| || Presenter of the award for Best Picture

Performers

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Name(s) !! Role !! Performed

| || Musical arranger || Orchestral

| Whitney Houston || Performers || "When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt

| || Performers || "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from Armageddon

| Savion Glover Tai Jiminez Desmond Richardson Rasta Thomas || Performers || Performed dance number synchronized with selections from Best Original Dramatic Score nominees

| || Performer || "A Soft Place to Fall" from The Horse Whisperer

| Randy Newman || Performers || "That'll Do" from Babe: Pig in the City

| Andrea Bocelli || Performers || "The Prayer" from Quest for Camelot

Ceremony information

thumb|upright=0.8|[[Whoopi Goldberg hosted the 71st Academy Awards]]

Riding on the success of the previous year's ceremony which garnered record-high viewership figures and several Emmys, AMPAS sought changes to the festivities that would help build upon this recent success. In June 1998, Academy president Robert Rehme announced that the show would be held on a Sunday for the first time in history. AMPAS and network ABC hoped to capitalize on the high television ratings and viewership that benefit programs airing on that particular day of the week. The Academy also stated that the move to Sunday would ease concerns about traffic gridlock and transportation that are significantly lower on weekends. Additionally, AMPAS decided to continue producing the ceremony and presenting a finished feed to ABC, instead of entrusting production to the network, similarly as last year. He immediately selected Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg as host of the 1999 ceremony. Cates explained his decision to bring back Goldberg as host saying, "The audience adores Whoopi and that affection, plus Whoopi's extraordinary talent makes her a terrific host for the show." In a statement, Goldberg expressed that she was honored and excited to be selected to emcee the telecast commenting, "I am thrilled to escort Oscar into the new millennium. Who would have thought that I would be hosting the last Oscar telecast of the century? It's a huge deal." In addition to supervising the Best Song nominee performances, choreographer Debbie Allen produced a dance number featuring five dancers from around the world showcasing the nominees for Best Original Dramatic Score. For the first time, the Academy produced its own pre-show that preceded the main telecast. Produced by Dennis Doty, the half-hour program was hosted by actress Geena Davis and CNN reporter Jim Moret. Similar to coverage of red carpet arrivals on networks such as E!, the pre-show featured interviews with nominees and other guests, recaps of nominations and segments highlighting behind-the-scenes preparations for the telecast.

Box office performance of nominees

At the time of the nominations announcement on February 9, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees was $302 million with an average of $60.4 million per film. Saving Private Ryan was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $194.2 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Shakespeare in Love ($36.5 million), The Thin Red Line ($30.6 million), Elizabeth ($21.5 million), and finally Life is Beautiful ($18.4 million). The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Armageddon (1st), A Bug's Life (5th), Patch Adams (12th), Mulan (13th), The Mask of Zorro (17th), The Prince of Egypt (18th), The Horse Whisperer (24th), What Dreams May Come (37th) and Pleasantville (49th). The Washington Post television critic Tom Shales bemoaned that Goldberg "spent a great deal of time laughing at her own jokes, many of which were dirty, a few dirty." He also lambasted the host's presentation of the five Best Costume Design nominees calling it time-consuming and tasteless. Film critic John Hartl of The Seattle Times lamented that the telecast "was the longest and possibly the dullest Oscar show of the century, clocking in at four hours."

Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Television columnist Robert Bianco of USA Today commended Goldberg's hosting performance writing that he liked "the sharper, more socially conscious edge Goldberg brings." The Boston Globe television critic Matthew Gilbert commented, "It was the perfect year with more than enough Hollywood intrigue and a battle for her to play off." Joanne Ostrow of The Denver Post raved that "Whoopi definitely was on, more so than in her two previous hosting stints." She added that "the show was exceptionally smooth."

Ratings and reception

The American telecast on ABC drew an average of 45.51 million viewers over its length, which was an 18% decrease from the previous year's ceremony. An estimated 78.10 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. It also drew a lower 1849 demo rating with an 18.85 rating over a 37.31 share among viewers in that demographic.

In July 1999, the show received seven nominations at the 51st Primetime Emmy Awards. Two months later, the ceremony won two of those nominations for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program (Roy Christopher and Stephen Olson) and Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Drama Series, Variety Series, Miniseries, Movie, or Special (Robert Dickinson, Robert T. Barnhart, Andy O'Reilly, Matt Ford).

"In Memoriam"

The annual "In Memoriam" tribute was presented by actress Annette Bening. The montage featured an excerpt of the main title from Ever After composed by George Fenton.

Dane Clark – Character actor
Linwood G. Dunn – Special Effects
George W. Davis – Art Director
Dick O'Neill – Actor
Charles Lang – Cinematographer
Norman Fell – Actor
James Goldman – Screenwriter
Vincent Winter – Child actor
Freddie Young – Cinematographer
John P. Veitch – Executive
E. G. Marshall – Actor
Jeanette Nolan – Actress
Alan J. Pakula – Writer/Director/Producer
Jerome Robbins – Director/Choreographer
Susan Strasberg – Actress
John Derek – Actor
John Addison – Composer
Jean Marais – Actor
Richard Kiley – Actor
Maureen O'Sullivan – Actress
Phil Hartman – Actor/comedian
Esther Rolle – Actress
Gene Raymond – Actor
Binnie Barnes – Actress
Valerie Hobson – Actress
Huntz Hall – Child actor
Akira Kurosawa – Director
Alice Faye – Actress/singer
Robert Young – Actor
Roddy McDowall – Actor

A separate tribute to actor, singer and former Oscar host Frank Sinatra was presented by John Travolta. Later, actor Val Kilmer presented one to actors Gene Autry and Roy Rogers. After the In Memoriam segment was shown, host Goldberg and director Steven Spielberg eulogized film critic Gene Siskel and director Stanley Kubrick respectively.

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)

;News resources

The Oscars 1999 BBC News

;Analysis

1998 Academy Awards Winners and History Filmsite
Academy Awards, USA: 1999 Internet Movie Database

;Other resources

Winners and nominees

Awards

Honorary Award

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Films with multiple nominations and awards

Presenters and performers

Presenters

Performers

Ceremony information

Box office performance of nominees

Ratings and reception

"In Memoriam"

See also

References

Bibliography

External links