Theater News

Chicago Film Receives 13 Academy Award Nominations

The Miramax film Chicago, based on the Broadway musical by John Kander, Fred Ebb, and Bob Fosse, has received 13 Academy Award nominations.

The nominations were announced this morning by Marisa Tomei and Frank Pierson at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre in Hollywood. Chicago was among the nominees for Best Picture. Other major nods for the film: Renée Zellweger for Best Actress (for her role as Roxie Hart), Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones for Best Supporting Actress (for their respective roles of Mama Morton and Velma Kelly), John C. Reilly for Best Supporting Actor (for his role of Amos Hart), Bill Condon for Best Adapted Screeenplay, and Rob Marshall for Best Director.

The film was amply recognized in the technical and design categories as well, receiving nominations for art direction (by John Myhre and Gord Sim), cinematography (Dion Beebe), costume design (Colleen Atwood), film editing (Martin Walsh), and sound (Michael Minkler, Dominick Tavella, David Lee). Kander and Ebb also received a nomination — not for the bulk of the Chicago score, which was ineligible, but for the original song “I Move On,” written specifically for the film and sung by Zellweger and Zeta-Jones over the end credits.

The only principal actor in the film not to receive a nomination was Richard Gere, who has received great praise for his performance as Billy Flynn.