BRITS LEAD THE PACK FOR THE OSCARS

February 11, 2002Feb 11, 2002, 11:00 PM GMT

The 74th Academy nominations were announced on Tuesday, with British talent riding the crest of a wave to be among the celebrated in the industry. Epic fantasy Lord Of The Rings leads the race for the Oscars, scooping a total 13 nominations, with A Beautiful Mind and Moulin Rouge scooping second place with eight each. All three films are up for best picture, together with In The Bedroom and Gosford Park.

British actors, however, proved among the most popular with Academy voters, scooping a total nine nominations in the top categories, including Tom Wilkinson’s best actor nod for In The Bedroom, and Judi Dench shortlisted as best actress for her role in Iris. Dame Judi’s co-stars in Iris, Jim Broadbent and Kate Winslet, are up for supporting nominations alongside Gosford Park’s Helen Mirren and Dame Maggie Smith.

For the first time in history two black actors got a best actor nod – Denzel Washington for his part as a corrupt cop in Training Day and Will Smith for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the biopic Ali. Russell Crowe made the best actor shortlist for the third time in a row for A Beautiful Mind; he won last year for Gladiator and was nominated for The Insider in 2000.

Most of the Lord Of The Rings nominations were for technical achievements and special effects, but Sir Ian McKellen was short listed for best supporting actor. Also nominated are fellow Brit Ben Kingsley for Sexy Beast, Training Day’s Ethan Hawke and Ali’s Jon Voight.

British director Ridley Scott was nominated in the Best Director category for Black Hawk Down where he’ll be competing with Peter Jackson for Lord Of The Rings, Ron Howard for A Beautiful Mind, David Lynch for Mulholland Drive and Gosford Parks’s Robert Altman.

Presenting the nomination ceremony were Marcia Gay Harden, last year’s best supporting actress winner, and Academy president Frank Pierson. The winners will be announced in a lavish presentation televised worldwide on March 24.

Click here for a list of the 2002 Oscar nominees

Dame Judi Dench, pictured here with fellow nominee Jim Broadbent, gets her fourth Oscar nomination for her role in Iris and for picture gallery

Helen Mirren, pictured above with co-star Ryan Phillippe, gets her second best supporting actress nod from the Academy for Gosford Park. She was nominated in 1995 for The Madness Of King George

Sir Ian McKellen gets a best supporting actor nod for his role as Gandalf in the epic fantasy Lord Of The Rings

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