List of accolades received by American Beauty

List of accolades received by American Beauty

Alan Ball, whose screenplay was the focus of many of the awards wins and nominations
Total number of wins and nominations
Totals 89 160
Footnotes

American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. The film stars Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged office worker who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend. Released in North America on September 15, 1999, American Beauty was positively received by critics and audiences alike; it was the best-reviewed American film of the year and grossed over $350 million worldwide. Reviewers praised all aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey and Ball; criticism tended to focus on the familiarity of the characters and setting. At the 1999 Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Spacey), Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography (for Conrad Hall). The film was nominated for and won numerous other awards and honors, mainly for the direction, writing, and acting.

DreamWorks launched a major campaign to promote the film five weeks before the ballots for the Academy Awards were due. Its campaign combined traditional advertising and publicity with more focused strategies to reach 5,600 Academy voters. Although direct mail campaigning was prohibited, DreamWorks reached voters by promoting the film in "casual, comfortable settings" in voters' communities. The studio's candidate for the Academy Award for Best Picture the previous year, Saving Private Ryan, lost to Shakespeare in Love, so the studio took a new approach by hiring outsiders to provide input for the campaign. Nancy Willen encouraged DreamWorks to produce a special about the making of American Beauty, to set up displays of the film in the communities' bookstores, and to arrange a question-and-answer session with Mendes for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Dale Olson, who led the film's campaign,[1] advised the studio to not limit its marketing to major newspapers, but to also advertise in free publications that circulated in Beverly Hills, home to many voters. Olson arranged to screen American Beauty to about 1,000 members of the Actors Fund of America, as many participating actors were also voters.[2]

American Beauty's closest contender for Best Picture was seen as The Cider House Rules from Miramax. Both studios mounted aggressive campaigns; in the weeks leading up the ceremony, DreamWorks bought 38% more advertising space in Variety than Miramax.[3] In 2000, the Publicists Guild of America recognized DreamWorks for the best film publicity campaign.[4] In September 2008, Empire named American Beauty the 96th "Greatest Movie of All Time" after a poll of 10,000 readers, 150 filmmakers and 50 film critics.[5] The film's award success was seen as vindication for DreamWorks, a studio which had only formed six years previously—to industry skepticism.[6]

Selected awards and nominations

Award Category Name Outcome
72nd Academy AwardsBest PictureBruce Cohen, Dan JinksWon
Best ActorKevin SpaceyWon
Best DirectorSam MendesWon
Best Original ScreenplayAlan BallWon
Best CinematographyConrad HallWon
Best ActressAnnette BeningNominated
Original Music ScoreThomas NewmanNominated
Film EditingTariq AnwarNominated
American Cinema EditorsBest Edited Feature Film – DramaticTariq Anwar, Christopher Greenbury Nominated
American Comedy AwardsFunniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)Annette BeningWon
Funniest Motion PictureNominated
Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)Kevin SpaceyNominated
American Society of CinematographersOutstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical ReleasesConrad HallWon
Art Directors GuildExcellence in Production Design Award for Feature FilmNaomi Shohan, David Lazan, Catherine SmithNominated
Australian Film InstituteBest Foreign FilmBruce Cohen, Dan JinksWon
Awards of the Japanese AcademyBest Foreign FilmNominated
Belgian Syndicate of Cinema CriticsGrand PrixNominated
53rd British Academy Film AwardsBest FilmBruce Cohen, Dan JinksWon
Best Actor in a Leading RoleKevin SpaceyWon
Best Actress in a Leading RoleAnnette BeningWon
Best EditingTariq Anwar, Christopher GreenburyWon
Best CinematographyConrad HallWon
Anthony Asquith Award (Best Film Music)Thomas NewmanWon
David Lean AwardSam MendesNominated
Best Screenplay – OriginalAlan BallNominated
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting RoleWes BentleyNominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting RoleThora BirchNominated
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting RoleMena SuvariNominated
Best SoundScott Martin Gershin, Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, Richard Van DykeNominated
Best Production DesignNaomi ShohanNominated
Best Make Up/HairTania McComas, Carol A. O'ConnellNominated
BMI Film & TV AwardsBMI Film MusicThomas NewmanWon
Blockbuster Entertainment AwardsFavorite Actress – DramaAnnette BeningNominated
Favorite Supporting Actor – DramaWes BentleyNominated
Favorite Supporting Actress – DramaThora Birch Nominated
Favorite Actor – DramaKevin Spacey Nominated
Favorite Actress – Newcomer (Internet Only)Mena SuvariNominated
BRIT AwardsBest SoundtrackNominated
Bodil AwardsBest American FilmSam MendesWon
British Society of CinematographersBest CinematographyConrad HallWon
Directors Guild of AmericaOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion PicturesSam MendesWon
Chicago Film Critics Association AwardsBest ActorKevin SpaceyWon
Best Director Sam Mendes Won
Best PictureBruce Cohen, Dan JinksWon
Most Promising ActorWes BentleyWon
Best ActressAnnette BeningNominated
Best CinematographyConrad L. HallNominated
Best ScreenplayAlan BallNominated
Cinema Audio SocietyOutstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Feature FilmScott Millan, Bob Beemer, Richard Van Dyke Nominated
National Board of ReviewBest PictureWon
Breakthrough Performance – MaleWes BentleyWon
Screen Actors Guild AwardBest ActorKevin SpaceyWon
Best ActressAnnette BeningWon
Best Supporting ActorChris CooperNominated
Best EnsembleKevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney, Peter GallagherWon
57th Golden Globe AwardsBest Motion Picture – DramaBruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, Stanley J. Wlodkowski, Alan BallWon
Best DirectorSam MendesWon
Best ScreenplayAlan BallWon
Best Actress – DramaAnnette BeningNominated
Best Actor – DramaKevin SpaceyNominated
Best Original ScoreThomas NewmanNominated

References

  1. ↑ "Dale Olson, Hollywood publicist, dies". BBC News. 2012-08-10. Retrieved 2012-09-08.
  2. ↑ Wallace, Amy (March 28, 2000). "Aggressive campaign may have helped 'Beauty's' win". The Journal Gazette. (Reprinted from the Los Angeles Times.)
  3. ↑ Karger, Dave (March 10, 2000). "Apple Juice". Entertainment Weekly.
  4. ↑ McNary, Dave (March 23, 2000). "Pubs tap 'Beauty,' 'Wing'". Variety.
  5. ↑ Staff (September 2008). "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". Empire.
  6. ↑ Lyman, Rick (March 28, 2000). "Oscar Victory Finally Lifts The Cloud for DreamWorks". The New York Times.

External links

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