71st Academy Awards


The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 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 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. 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

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

  • Steven Spielberg – Saving Private Ryan
  • * Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful
  • * John MaddenShakespeare in Love
  • * Terrence MalickThe Thin Red Line
  • * Peter WeirThe Truman Show
  • Roberto Benigni – Life Is Beautiful as Guido Orefice
  • * Tom HanksSaving Private Ryan as Captain John Miller
  • * Ian McKellenGods and Monsters as James Whale
  • * Nick NolteAffliction as Wade Whitehouse
  • * Edward NortonAmerican History X as Derek Vinyard
  • Gwyneth PaltrowShakespeare in Love as Viola de Lesseps
  • * Cate Blanchett – Elizabeth as Queen Elizabeth I of England
  • * Fernanda Montenegro – Central Station as Isadora "Dora" Teixeira
  • * Meryl StreepOne True Thing as Kate Gulden
  • * Emily WatsonHilary and Jackie as Jacqueline du Pré
  • James CoburnAffliction as Glen Whitehouse
  • * Robert DuvallA Civil Action as Jerome Facher
  • * Ed HarrisThe Truman Show as Christof
  • * Geoffrey RushShakespeare in Love as Philip Henslowe
  • * Billy Bob ThorntonA Simple Plan as Jacob Mitchell
  • Judi Dench – Shakespeare in Love as Queen Elizabeth I of England
  • * Kathy BatesPrimary Colors as Libby Holden
  • * Brenda BlethynLittle Voice as Mari Hoff
  • * Rachel GriffithsHilary and Jackie as Hilary du Pré
  • * Lynn RedgraveGods and Monsters as Hanna
  • Shakespeare in Love – Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard
  • * BulworthWarren Beatty and Jeremy Pikser
  • * Life Is BeautifulVincenzo Cerami and Roberto Benigni
  • * Saving Private RyanRobert Rodat
  • * The Truman ShowAndrew Niccol
  • Gods and Monsters – Bill Condon based on the novel Father of Frankenstein by Christopher Bram
  • * Out of SightScott Frank from the novel by Elmore Leonard
  • * Primary ColorsElaine 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
  • Life Is Beautiful in Italian – Roberto Benigni
  • * Central Station in PortugueseWalter Salles
  • * Children of Heaven in PersianMajid Majidi
  • * The Grandfather in SpanishJosé Luis Garci
  • * Tango in Spanish – Carlos Saura
  • The Last Days – James Moll and Ken Lipper
  • * DancemakerMatthew Diamond and Jerry Kupfer
  • * The Farm: Angola, USAJonathan Stack and Liz Garbus
  • * Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth – Robert B. Weide
  • * Regret to Inform – Barbara Sonneborn and Janet Cole
  • The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years – Keiko Ibi
  • * A Place in the LandCharles Guggenheim
  • * Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square – Shui-Bo Wang and Donald McWilliams
  • Election Night – Kim Magnusson and Anders Thomas Jensen
  • * CultureWill Speck and Josh Gordon
  • * Holiday Romance – Alexander Jovy and JJ Keith
  • * La Carte Postale – Vivian Goffette
  • * Victor – Simon Sandquist and Joel Bergvall
  • BunnyChris Wedge
  • * The Canterbury Tales – Christopher Grace and Jonathan Myerson
  • * Jolly RogerMark Baker
  • * MoreMark Osborne and Steve Kalafer
  • * When Life DepartsKarsten Kiilerich and Stefan Fjeldmark
  • Life Is Beautiful – Nicola Piovani
  • * ElizabethDavid Hirschfelder
  • * PleasantvilleRandy Newman
  • * Saving Private RyanJohn Williams
  • * The Thin Red LineHans Zimmer
  • Shakespeare in LoveStephen Warbeck
  • * A Bug's Life – Randy Newman
  • * Mulan – Music by Matthew Wilder; Lyrics by David Zippel; Orchestral Score by Jerry Goldsmith
  • * Patch AdamsMarc Shaiman
  • * The Prince of EgyptMusic and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz; Orchestral Score by Hans Zimmer
  • "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
  • * "That'll Do" from Babe: Pig in the City – Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman
  • * "A Soft Place to Fall" from The Horse Whisperer – Music and Lyrics by Allison Moorer and Gwil Owen
  • * "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
  • Saving Private Ryan – Gary Rydstrom and Richard Hymns
  • * ArmageddonGeorge Watters II
  • * The Mask of ZorroDavid McMoyler
  • Saving Private Ryan – Gary Rydstrom, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson and Ron Judkins
  • * ArmageddonKevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Keith A. Wester
  • * The Mask of Zorro – Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Pud Cusack
  • * Shakespeare in LoveRobin O'Donoghue, Dominic Lester and Peter Glossop
  • * The Thin Red Line – Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Paul Brincat
  • 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
  • Saving Private RyanJanusz Kamiński
  • * A Civil ActionConrad Hall
  • * ElizabethRemi Adefarasin
  • * Shakespeare in LoveRichard Greatrex
  • * The Thin Red LineJohn Toll
  • Elizabeth – Jenny Shircore
  • * Saving Private RyanLois Burwell, Conor O'Sullivan and Daniel C. Striepeke
  • * Shakespeare in LoveLisa Westcott and Veronica Brebner
  • Shakespeare in LoveSandy Powell
  • * BelovedColleen Atwood
  • * ElizabethAlexandra Byrne
  • * PleasantvilleJudianna Makovsky
  • * Velvet Goldmine – Sandy Powell
  • Saving Private Ryan – Michael Kahn
  • * Life Is BeautifulSimona Paggi
  • * Out of Sight – Anne V. Coates
  • * Shakespeare in LoveDavid Gamble
  • * The Thin Red LineBilly Weber, Leslie Jones and Saar Klein
  • What Dreams May ComeJoel Hynek, Nicholas Brooks, Stuart Robertson and Kevin Mack
  • * Armageddon – Richard R. Hoover, Pat McClung and John Frazier
  • * Mighty Joe YoungRick Baker, Hoyt Yeatman, Allen Hall and Jim Mitchell