AFI MOVIES OF THE YEAR-OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

AMERICAN SPLENDOR

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

DIRECTOR Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman

PRODUCER Ted Hope

SCREENWRITER Robert Pulcini, Shari Springer Berman

COMPOSER John Kuramoto

CINEMATOGRAPHER Terry Stacey

EDITOR Robert Pulcini

PRODUCTION DESIGN Therese DePrez

DIGITAL EFFECTS ARTIST Gary Leib

RATIONALE: AMERICAN SPLENDOR is a celebration of the painful dance between life and art. This wry and original comedy of depression tells its story through fiction, documentary, animation and archival footage as if it were turning the pages of a comic book. Harvey Pekar and Paul Giamatti, in a brilliantly bruised performance as the fictional Harvey Pekar, capture the theme of the film best when they say, "Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff."

FINDING NEMO

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

DIRECTOR Andrew Stanton

PRODUCER Graham Walters

SCREENWRITER Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds

COMPOSER Thomas Newman

PRODUCTION DESIGNER Ralph Eggleston

CINEMATOGRAPHER Sharon Calahan, Jeremy Lasky

EDITOR David Ian

RATIONALE: FINDING NEMO swam its way into America's heart by combining a razor sharp script that harkens back to the comedy of Preston Sturges and a stunning animated world that entrances with each shift in the light. Albert Brooks and Ellen DeGeneres bring a funny, but always touching human element to the film that will make it an animation classic for generations to come.

THE HUMAN STAIN

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

DIRECTOR Robert Benton

PRODUCER Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Scott Steindorff

SCREENWRITER Nicholas Meyer

COMPOSER Rachel Portman

CINEMATOGRAPHER Jean-Yves Escoffier

EDITOR Christopher Tellefsen

PRODUCTION DESIGN David Gropman

DIGITAL EFFECTS ARTIST James McQuaide

RATIONALE: THE HUMAN STAIN is a moving exploration of three American obsessions ---sex, race and class. The bold casting of Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman addresses the fundamental issue of the film --the silent pain of passing for something you're not. Their brilliant performances and Robert Benton's nuanced direction create a complex ,emotional core for this skillful adaptation of Philip Roth's novel.

IN AMERICA

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

DIRECTOR Jim Sheridan

PRODUCER Jim Sheridan & Arthur Lappin

SCREENWRITER Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan

COMPOSER Gavin Friday & Maurice Seezer

CINEMATOGRAPHER Declan Quinn

EDITOR Naomi Geraghty

PRODUCTION DESIGN Mark Geraghty

RATIONALE: IN AMERICA is a spellbinding fable that captures the modern day immigrant experience and retells it through the eyes of a child. Jim Sheridan's heartfelt tale struggles between the thrill of a new life and the longing to escape the ghosts that follow us there. Real-life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger bring a sense of wonder and excitement to a film that overflows with joy for the adventure of tomorrow.

THE LAST SAMURAI

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

PRINCIPAL CAST Tom Cruise, Timothy Spall, Ken Watanabe, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada

DIRECTOR Ed Zwick

PRODUCER Marshall Herskovitz, Ed Zwick, Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner, Scott Kroopf, Tom Engelman

SCREENWRITER John Logan, Ed Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz

COMPOSER Hans Zimmer

CINEMATOGRAPHER John Toll

EDITOR Steve Rosenblum, Victor du Bois

PRODUCTION DESIGN Lilly Kilvert

DIGITAL EFFECTS ARTIST Jeffrey A. Okun

RATIONALE: THE LAST SAMURAI presents a timeless story of honor in the cinematic tradition of Akira Kurosawa. This beautifully crafted star vehicle serves one of America's modern screen icons, and Tom Cruise not only rises to the challenge, but carries the film into the history books with great dignity. The recreation of 19th Century Japan is a feast for the eyes, and Ed Zwick's masterful direction not only presents spectacular battle scenes, but never loses sight of what the individual warriors stood for.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

DIRECTOR Peter Jackson

PRODUCER Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh

SCREENWRITER Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson

COMPOSER Howard Shore

CINEMATOGRAPHER Andrew Lesnie

EDITOR Jamie Selkirk

PRODUCTION DESIGN Grant Major

DIGITAL EFFECTS ARTIST Joe Letterie, Jim Rygiel

RATIONALE: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING punctuates the greatest trilogy in American film with an exclamation point. Peter Jackson proves himself to be the true magician of this masterpiece, for only a wizard could summon all the forces of American film three times and utilize them to such astounding success. Against all odds, Jackson met the challenge of visualizing J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved classics for a demanding, global audience.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

PRINCIPAL CAST Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson

DIRECTOR Sofia Coppola

PRODUCER Ross Katz, Sofia Coppola

SCREENWRITER Sofia Coppola

COMPOSER Kevin Shields

CINEMATOGRAPHER Lance Acord

EDITOR Sarah Flack

PRODUCTION DESIGN Anne Ross, K.K. Barrett

RATIONALE: LOST IN TRANSLATION is only the second feature film by Sofia Coppola, yet it presents a unique voice in American film. Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson bring great humor and credibility to characters adrift inside the neon and steel of today's Tokyo. The film creates and sustains a bold, but delicate mood where they share days of isolation and celebrity and marriage and loneliness - two foreigners who need each other in an alien landscape.

MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

DIRECTOR Peter Weir

PRODUCER Peter Weir, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and Duncan Henderson

SCREENWRITER Peter Weir & John Collee

COMPOSER Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon and Richard Tognetti

CINEMATOGRAPHER Russell Boyd

EDITOR Lee Smith

PRODUCTION DESIGN William Sandell

DIGITAL EFFECTS ARTIST Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness, Robert Stromberg, Daniel Sudick

RATIONALE: MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD transports its audience to a 19th Century ship and shows what it would be like to live among its crew. The film unfolds in the tradition of sea-going movie classics, but with a modern attention to detail and camerawork that fully enlists the viewer in the journey. Russell Crowe proves once again that he is the leading man for human tales in epic form.

MONSTER

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

DIRECTOR Patty Jenkins

PRODUCER Charlize Theron, Mark Damon, Clark Peterson, Donald Kushner, Brad Wyman

SCREENWRITER Patty Jenkins

COMPOSER BT

CINEMATOGRAPHER Steve Bernstein

EDITOR Jane Kurson

PRODUCTION DESIGN Edward T. McAvoy

RATIONALE: MONSTER tells the gruesome story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos and manages to find a human being amidst the horror. Writer and director Patty Jenkins brings light to this dark tale of a woman whose tragic story is never condoned but deftly brought to life in all its complexity. Charlize Theron gives a breathtaking performance that ranks among the best of the year.

MYSTIC RIVER

CREATIVE ENSEMBLE:

DIRECTOR Clint Eastwood

PRODUCER Clint Eastwood, Robert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt

SCREENWRITER Brian Helgeland

COMPOSER Clint Eastwood

CINEMATOGRAPHER Tom Stern

EDITOR Joel Cox

PRODUCTION DESIGN Henry Bumstead

RATIONALE: MYSTIC RIVER is a masterful portrait of fate and friendship across generations. Director Clint Eastwood draws brilliant performances from an outstanding ensemble cast in which Sean Penn's searing portrayal of a father in pain calls to mind a young Marlon Brando. The use of locations in working class Boston presents an authentic background for a story of people whose lives are woven together in a world that they cannot escape.