69th Academy Awards

69th Academy Awards
Date	Monday, March 24, 1997
Site	Shrine Auditorium Los Angeles, California
Host	Billy Crystal
Producer	Gil Cates
Director	Louis J. Horvitz
Highlights
Best Picture	The English Patient
Most awards	The English Patient (9)
Most nominations	The English Patient (12)
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Duration	3 hours, 38 minutes
Ratings	40.83 million
< 68th Academy Awards 70th >

The 69th Academy Awards were dominated by movies produced by independent studios, financed outside of mainstream Hollywood, leading to 1996 being dubbed "The Year of the Independents". All but one of the nominees for Best Picture were low-budget independent movies (the next ceremony dominated by indie fims would be in 2006. 2008 was also dominated by independents).

The big winner at the ceremony was Anthony Minghella's The English Patient, which had received 12 nominations and won 9 awards including Best Picture.

Other notable movies to be honoured at the ceremony included Fargo, which had been nominated for 7 awards and won 2, Shine, which had been nominated for 7 awards and won just one, and Jerry Maguire, which had been nominated for 5 awards and also won just one.

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted with boldface

Best Picture	Best Director
The English Patient – Saul Zaentz Fargo – Ethan Coen Jerry Maguire – James L. Brooks, Cameron Crowe, Laurence Mark, Richard Sakai Secrets & Lies – Simon Channing-Williams Shine – Jane Scott	Anthony Minghella – The English Patient Joel Coen – Fargo Miloš Forman – The People vs. Larry Flynt Scott Hicks – Shine Mike Leigh – Secrets & Lies
Best Actor	Best Actress
Geoffrey Rush – Shine Tom Cruise – Jerry Maguire Ralph Fiennes – The English Patient Woody Harrelson – The People vs. Larry Flynt Billy Bob Thornton – Sling Blade	Frances McDormand – Fargo Brenda Blethyn – Secrets & Lies Diane Keaton – Marvin's Room Kristin Scott Thomas – The English Patient Emily Watson – Breaking the Waves
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
Cuba Gooding, Jr. – Jerry Maguire William H. Macy – Fargo Armin Mueller-Stahl – Shine Edward Norton – Primal Fear James Woods – Ghosts of Mississippi	Juliette Binoche – The English Patient Joan Allen – The Crucible Lauren Bacall – The Mirror Has Two Faces Barbara Hershey – The Portrait of a Lady Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Secrets & Lies
Best Original Screenplay	Best Adapted Screenplay
Fargo – Ethan Coen and Joel Coen Jerry Maguire – Cameron Crowe Lone Star – John Sayles Secrets & Lies – Mike Leigh Shine – Jan Sardi and Scott Hicks	Sling Blade – Billy Bob Thornton The Crucible – Arthur Miller The English Patient – Anthony Minghella Hamlet – Kenneth Branagh Trainspotting – John Hodge
Best Foreign Language Film	Best Original Song
Kolya (Czech Republic) Prisoner of the Mountains (Russia) A Chef in Love (Georgia) Ridicule (France) The Other Side of Sunday (Norway)	"You Must Love Me" from Evita – Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyric by Tim Rice "I Finally Found Someone" from The Mirror Has Two Faces – Music and Lyric by Barbra Streisand, Marvin Hamlisch, Bryan Adams and Robert “Mutt” Lange "For the First Time" from One Fine Day – Music and Lyric by James Newton Howard, Jud J. Friedman and Allan Dennis Rich "That Thing You Do!" from That Thing You Do! – Music and Lyric by Adam Schlesinger "Because You Loved Me" from Up Close & Personal – Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
Best Documentary Feature	Best Documentary Short
When We Were Kings – Leon Gast and David Sonenberg The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story – Susan W. Dryfoos Mandela – Jo Menell and Angus Gibson Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse – Anne Belle and Deborah Dickson Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press – Rick Goldsmith	Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien – Jessica Yu Cosmic Voyage – Jeffrey Marvin and Bayley Silleck An Essay on Matisse – Perry Wolff Special Effects: Anything Can Happen – Susanne Simpson and Ben Burtt The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage – Paul Seydor and Nick Redman
Best Live Action Short	Best Animated Short
Dear Diary – David Frankel and Barry Jossen De tripas, corazón – Antonio Urrutia Ernst & lyset – Kim Magnusson and Anders Thomas Jensen Esposados – Juan Carlos Fresnadillo Senza parole – Bernadette Carranza and Antonello De Leo	Quest – Tyron Montgomery and Thomas Stellmach Canhead – Timothy Hittle La Salla – National Film Board of Canada - Richard Condie Wat's Pig – Peter Lord
Best Original Dramatic Score	Best Original Musical or Comedy Score
The English Patient – Gabriel Yared Hamlet – Patrick Doyle Michael Collins – Elliot Goldenthal Shine – David Hirschfelder Sleepers – John Williams	Emma – Rachel Portman The First Wives Club – Marc Shaiman The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz James and the Giant Peach – Randy Newman The Preacher's Wife – Hans Zimmer
Best Sound Editing	Best Sound Mixing
The Ghost and the Darkness – Bruce Stambler Daylight – Richard L. Anderson and David A. Whittaker Eraser – Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman	The English Patient – Walter Murch, Mark Berger, David Parker and Chris Newman Evita – Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer and Ken Weston Independence Day – Chris Carpenter, Bill W. Benton, Bob Beemer and Jeff Wexler The Rock – Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell and Keith A. Wester Twister – Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker, Kevin O'Connell and Geoffrey Patterson
Best Art Direction	Best Cinematography
The English Patient – Art Direction: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephanie McMillan The Birdcage – Art Direction: Bo Welch; Set Decoration: Cheryl Carasik Evita – Art Direction: Brian Morris; Set Decoration: Philippe Turlure Hamlet – Art Direction and Set Decoration: Tim Harvey William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet – Art Direction: Catherine Martin; Set Decoration: Brigitte Broch	The English Patient – John Seale Evita – Darius Khondji Fargo – Roger Deakins Fly Away Home – Caleb Deschanel Michael Collins – Chris Menges
Best Makeup	Best Costume Design
The Nutty Professor – Rick Baker and David LeRoy Anderson Ghosts of Mississippi – Matthew W.Mangle and Deborah La Mia Denaver Star Trek: First Contact – Michael Westmore, Scott Wheeler and Jake Garber	The English Patient – Ann Roth Angels and Insects – Paul Brown Hamlet – Alexandra Byrne Emma – Ruth Myers The Portrait of a Lady – Janet Patterson
Best Film Editing	Best Visual Effects
The English Patient – Walter Murch Evita – Gerry Hambling Fargo – Ethan Coen and Joel Coen Jerry Maguire – Joe Hutshing Shine – Pip Karmel	Independence Day – Volker Engel, Douglas Smith, Clay Pinney and Joseph Viskocil Dragonheart – Scott Squires, Phil Tippett, James Straus and Kit West Twister – Stefen Fangmeier, John Frazier, Habib Zargarpour and Henry La Bounta

Academy Honorary Award

• Michael Kidd

Irving G. Thalberg Award

• Saul Zaentz

Scientific and Technical Award

• IMAX Corporation

Multiple nominations and awards

The following seventeen films received multiple nominations:

• Twelve: The English Patient
• Seven: Fargo and Shine
• Five: Evita, Jerry Maguire and Secrets & Lies
• Four: Hamlet
• Two: The Crucible, Emma, Ghosts of Mississippi, Independence Day, Michael Collins, The Mirror Has Two Faces, The People vs. Larry Flynt, The Portrait of a Lady, Sling Blade, Twister

The following two films received multiple awards:

• Nine: The English Patient
• Two: Fargo

In Memoriam

In Memoriam Presented by Angela Bassett, the Academy takes a moment to remember motion picture personnel that died in the previous year: Jo Van Fleet, Tupac Shakur, Brigitte Helm, Dorothy Lamour, screenwriter Stirling Silliphant, designer Saul Bass, screenwriter Steve Tesich, Juliet Prowse, cinematographer Joseph Biroc, Howard E. Rollins, Jr., Jack Weston, director Krzysztof Kieslowski, director Fred Zinnemann, Ben Johnson, Gene Nelson, art director Edward C. Carfagno, Joanne Dru, cinematographer John Alton, Greer Garson, producer Albert R. Broccoli, producer Pandro S. Berman, Lew Ayres, Sheldon Leonard, Claudette Colbert and Marcello Mastroianni.

News and recap

Shortly before the ceremony, two light aircraft flew over the auditorium streaming banners behind them. They first appeared as Larry Flynt, the subject of the Oscar-nominated film The People vs. Larry Flynt, arrived, which read "Columbia Studios Sucks — Larry Flynt". The second banner read "Disney uses sweatshops — 30 cents an hour in Haiti", criticizing Walt Disney Studios about the conditions under which some of its movie merchandise are allegedly produced.

The Awards marked one of the greatest upsets in Oscar history as most had predicted Lauren Bacall would win Best Supporting Actress for The Mirror Has Two Faces. Instead, the Oscar went to Juliette Binoche for The English Patient.

It was the first time ever that a singer sang twice during the Academy Awards. Because Natalie Cole had the flu, Céline Dion not only sang her own song "Because You Loved Me", but also Barbra Streisand's song "I Finally Found Someone", after only a few hours to rehearse.

The ceremony attracted a low 40.83, the lowest audience without dipping below the 40 million mark (later surpassed by the 40.54m who watched in 2002).

Presenters

• Julie Andrews (Presenter: Honorary Award to Michael Kidd)
• Beavis and Butthead (Presenters: Best Sound Effects Editing)
• Juliette Binoche (Presenter: Best Costume Design)
• Kenneth Branagh (Presenter: Shakespeare on Film Montage)
• Sandra Bullock (Presenter: Best Art Direction)
• Nicolas Cage (Presenter: Best Actress)
• Jim Carrey (Presenter: Best Visual Effects)
• Claire Danes (Presenter: The Wonders Performance)
• Michael Douglas (Presenter: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award)
• Jodie Foster (Presenter: Writing Awards)
• Mel Gibson (Presenter: Best Director)
• Goldie Hawn, Diane Keaton, and Bette Midler (Presenters: Best Original Song)
• Salma Hayek (Presenter: Kenny Loggins Performance)
• Gregory Hines (Presenter: Best Original Dramatic Score)
• Helen Hunt (Presenter: Scientific & Technical Awards)
• Nicole Kidman (Presenter: Best Film Editing)
• Jennifer Lopez (Presenter: Celine Dion Performance)
• Courtney Love (Presenter: Best Makeup)
• Chris O'Donnell (Presenter: Best Sound)
• Al Pacino (Presenter: Best Picture)
• Debbie Reynolds (Presenter: Best Original Musical or Comedy Score)
• Tim Robbins (Presenter: Best Cinematography)
• Susan Sarandon (Presenter: Best Actor)
• Mira Sorvino (Presenter: Best Supporting Actor)
• Kristin Scott Thomas and Jack Valenti (Presenters: Best Foreign Language Film)

Performers

• Celine Dion ("Because You Loved Me" from Up Close & Personal and "I Finally Found Someone" from The Mirror Has Two Faces)
• Michael Flatley and Lord of the Dance (Film Editing Montage)
• Kenny Loggins ("For the First Time" from One Fine Day)
• Madonna ("You Must Love Me" from Evita)
• The Wonders ("That Thing You Do" from That Thing You Do!)

See also

• Academy Award
• Academy Honorary Award
• 69th Academy Awards nominees and winners
• 54th Golden Globe Awards
• 3rd Screen Actors Guild Awards
• 17th Golden Raspberry Awards
• 1996 in film
• List of Academy Awards ceremonies
• Submissions for the 69th Academy Award for Best Foreign Film
• 39th Grammy Awards
• 48th Primetime Emmy Awards
• 49th Primetime Emmy Awards
• 50th British Academy Film Awards
• 51st Tony Awards
• Governors Awards

References

• http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/oscarlegacy/1990-1999/69nominees.html