2004 Trivia

Facts and Trends Covering the Fifth Annual Cosmique Movie Awards

No major records were set by the nominees at the Fifth Annual Cosmique Movie Awards. Although the number of categories was increased, Spider-Man 2 received 11 nominations, the most of any film this year - but fewer than the top nominees in previous years. (In 2001, Gosford Park received 12 nominations, and Moulin Rouge received 13, though only 11 were positive. In 2002, The Two Towers received 21 nominations, setting a new record, while Chicago received 16 and The Hours received 11. In 2003, The Return of the King set a new record of 26 nominations, while X2: X-Men United earned 15, and Big Fish and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl each earned 12.

Even so, some interesting "firsts" and trends can be spotting from the 2004 nominees.

Nomination Trends and Trivia

Note: unless otherwise noted, when these points of trivia reference other years, the first year of the Cosmique Movie Awards is omitted since that year was dedicated solely to Lifetime Achievement Awards.

• Zach Braff is the first person to be nominated in both acting and directing categories.

  Braff wrote, directed, and starred in the indie film Garden State. Although Braff was not nominated for any directing awards elsewhere used to calculate our Best Director nominations, the strength of the film's nominations at the Cosmos, especially in major categories, allowed him to achieve a directing nod here. The film was also nominated for Best Script, but the Cosmos don't single out writers by name due to complexities of ensuring compliance with WGA requirements.

• Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut is the first Best Picture nominee to only receive a single nomination.

• Whoopie Goldberg is the first African American to be nominated in a Hall of Fame category.

• Don Cheadle and Jamie Foxx are the first African Americans to be nominated into a major acting category.

Halle Berry was the first African American to be nominated for – and win – a Cosmo Award, but it was in a specialty category.

• Natalie Portman received the most nominations this year but does not hold a record.

Natalie Portman's four individual and two ensemble nominations for Closer and Garden State are the most for any actor this year, but the current record is held by Ian McKellen, who received four individual and four ensemble nominations last year.

• Cate Blanchett is once again the most nominated individual in Cosmo history.

With her two nominations for The Aviator, Cate Blanchett now holds nine individual and four ensemble nominations, surpassing Ian McKellen's record of six individual and six ensemble nominations.

• Only two of this year's six Best Film nominees (Garden State and Million Dollar Baby) were nominated to one of the major genre categories.

Prior to this year, Amélie was the only film to be nominated for Best Picture that was not also nominated for one of the top two genre categories (Drama or Comedy/Musical). But this year, only Garden State and Million Dollar Baby were nominated for a major genre category, both for Best Drama. The remaining Best Picture nominees (The Aviator, Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Fahrenheit 9/11) were not, though all but Donnie Dark were nominated for other genre categories..

• George W. Bush is the first non-actor to be nominated for anything other than a cameo.

George Bush is also the first non-actor to be nominated into more than one category. Previous non-actors Marilyn Manson and Stephen Sondheim won for Best Cameo, and Senator Robert Byrd was also nominated for Best Cameo. Bush's nominations are for Best Male Villain and Worst Performance for Fahrenheit 9/11.

• Fahrenheit 9/11 is the first documentary to receive a Best Film nomination.

For that matter, it is also the first documentary to receive a nomination for anything outside of the documentary category.

• Emma Watson, 14, is the youngest nominee this year (for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), but does not hold a record.

Emma Watson beats Lemony Snicket's nominee Liam Aiken by only a few months, but she's not the youngest ever. That record is held by Jack Rovello, who at the age of 8 was nominated for Best Performance by a Younger Actor for The Hours. She is also not the youngest person to be nominated for a category not devoted to younger actors - that record is held by Sarah Bolger, who was 12 when she received Best Actress and Best Heroic Character nominations for In America.

• Zach Braff is the only Best Director nominee this year to receive a nomination for his cinematic directing debut.

Braff has previously directed some episodes of Scrubs, but Garden State represents his feature film. Michel Gondry comes close, but although most of his previous directing experience has been shorts, documentaries, and music videos, he has directed one other feature film, disqualifying Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as a directorial debut. The only other previous first-time cinematic director to receive a nomination, Rob Marshall, went on to win the Best Director Cosmo for Chicago.

• Halle Berry is the first actress to be re-nominated for Intimate Actress

Halle Berry won the Intimate Actress category two years ago when it was first created, and was re-nominated this year for Catwoman. On the boys' side, Tobey Maguire is the only nominee this year to have been previously nominated for that category, but he's not the first guy ever to be re-nominated: Orlando Bloom and Viggo Mortensen both received consecutive Intimate Actor nominations in previous years, but were not nominated this year.

• Gene Wilderr and Gilda Radner are the first married couple to be simultaneously nominated side by side.

Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner technically count as a formerly married couple, given Radner's passing in 1989. They were both nominated into the Best Comedic Actor and Actress Halls of Fame this year.

• W. C. Fields is believed to be the Cosmo nominee born longest ago.

W. C. Fields was born in 1880, nine years earlier than the previous record-holder, fellow nominee Charlie Chaplin. This does not make him the oldest nominee, however, as he passed away in 1946 at the age of 66. The oldest nominee is believed to be Katharine Hepburn, who was 94 when she was inducted into the Best Actress Hall of Fame at the first annual awards. She passed away in 2003.

• Debbie Reynolds is believed to be the first person to be nominated into the same category as a blood relative.

Debbie Reynolds was nominated for Best Cameo for Connie and Carla, an award for which her daughter Carrie Fisher was nominated last year for Wonderland.