Oscar Notes

Double Trouble

With best director nominations for “Traffic” and “Erin Brockovich,” Steven Soderbergh becomes the first director to score double nominations in the same year since Michael Curtiz earned nominations for best director of 1938 for “Angels With Dirty Faces” and “Four Daughters.” (Frank Capra won that year for “You Can’t Take It With You.”)

‘Show’ Must Go On

Best actress nominee Ellen Burstyn (“Requiem for a Dream”) and best supporting actor nominee Jeff Bridges (“The Contender”) both received their first Oscar nominations for their supporting roles in 1971’s “The Last Picture Show.”

Brother Act

Joaquin Phoenix receives his first Oscar nomination, for best supporting actor, for “Gladiator.” His late brother, River, received a nomination in this category for 1988’s “Running on Empty.”

No Language Barrier

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is nominated for best film and best foreign-language film. The first film to be nominated in both categories was 1969’s “Z.” It lost best film to “Midnight Cowboy” but won for best foreign-language film.

Family Ties

Kate Hudson is nominated in the best supporting actress category for “Almost Famous.” Her mother, Goldie Hawn, won in this category for 1969’s “Cactus Flower.”

39 and Counting

John Williams is the most-nominated living person, with 39 nominations. He is nominated this year for his score for “The Patriot.”

Cast Aside

Despite its 10 nominations, none of the cast of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” was nominated in the acting category. The last film to win best picture honors without any acting nominations was 1995’s “Braveheart.”

Part Speaks for Itself

If Benicio Del Toro wins best supporting actor for “Traffic,” he’ll be the first winner in that category since Robert De Niro for 1974’s “The Godfather Part II” to win for a predominately foreign-language-speaking part in an American film.

Oscar Notes

Keeping Up With Joneses

Frances McDormand, a best supporting nominee for “Almost Famous,” won the 1996 best actress Oscar for “Fargo.” The first Oscar-winning best actress to be subsequently nominated in a supporting category was Jennifer Jones. She won best actress for 1943’s “The Song of Bernadette” and was a supporting nominee in 1944 for “Since You Went Away.”

A ‘Tiger’ in Their Tank

With 10 nominations, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” has garnered more nominations than any other foreign-language film in history. The record was held by 1998’s “Life Is Beautiful,” with seven nominations. “Life Is Beautiful” ended up winning Oscars for original score, foreign film and best actor.

An Oscar Duet

James Schamus, who is nominated for co-writing the adapted screenplay for “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” also is nominated for writing the lyrics to the best song nominee from the film “A Love Before Time.”

1 + 1 = Award?

Both Hudson and McDormand are nominated for supporting actress for “Almost Famous.” Although critics often note that double nominees usually cancel each other out, there are exceptions. Hattie McDaniel and Olivia de Havilland were both nominated for best supporting actress for 1939’s “Gone With the Wind.” McDaniel won. In 1974, Robert De Niro, Michael V. Gazzo and Lee Strasberg were all nominated for best supporting actor from “The Godfather Part II” and De Niro won.

Reel People

Several of this year’s nominees play real people, including Javier Bardem (Reinaldo Arenas) in “Before Night Falls”; Ed Harris (Jackson Pollock) and Marcia Gay Harden (Lee Krasner) in “Pollock”; Willem Dafoe (Max Schreck) in “Shadow of the Vampire”; Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich) and Albert Finney (Ed Masry) in “Erin Brockovich”; Geoffrey Rush (Marquis de Sade) in “Quills”; and Joaquin Phoenix (Commodus) in “Gladiator.”

The Coen Odyssey

Ethan and Joel Coen, who are nominated for a screenplay based on material previously produced or published for “O Brother, Where Are Thou?,” based their Depression-era comedy on Homer’s “The Odyssey.”