| 66th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Date | March 21, 1994 |
| Site | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Hosted by | Whoopi Goldberg |
| Produced by | Gil Cates |
| Directed by | Jeff Margolis |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | Schindler's List |
| Most awards | Schindler's List (7) |
| Most nominations | Schindler's List (12) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | ABC |
| Duration | 3 hours, 18 minutes[1] |
| Ratings | 46.26 million 31.86% (Nielsen ratings) |
The66th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honoredfilms released in 1993 and took place on March 21, 1994, at theDorothy Chandler Pavilion inLos Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m.PST / 9:00 p.m.EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presentedAcademy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States byABC, was produced byGil Cates and directed byJeff Margolis.[2][3] ActressWhoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the first time.[4] This ceremony was the first to present the annualIn Memoriam tribute.[5] Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held atThe Beverly Hilton inBeverly Hills, California on February 26, theAcademy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by hostLaura Dern.[6]
Schindler's List won seven awards, includingBest Picture.[7] Other winners includedJurassic Park andThe Piano with three awards,Philadelphia with two, andThe Age of Innocence,Belle Époque,Defending Our Lives,The Fugitive,I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School,Mrs. Doubtfire,Schwarzfahrer, andThe Wrong Trousers with one. The telecast was watched by more than 46 million viewers in the United States.
The nominees for the 66th Academy Awards were announced on February 9, 1994, at theSamuel Goldwyn Theater inBeverly Hills, California, by Academy presidentArthur Hiller and actressChristine Lahti.[8]Schindler's List led all nominees with twelve nominations;The Piano andThe Remains of the Day tied for second with eight.[9][10]
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 21, 1994. Best Director nomineeJane Campion became the second woman to be nominated in that category.[11]Holly Hunter andEmma Thompson's nominations in both lead and supporting acting categories marked the first, and so far, only occurrence that two performers earneddouble acting nominations in the same year.[12] Best Supporting Actress winnerAnna Paquin became the firstMillennial member to win an Academy Award and, at age 11, the second youngest winner of a competitive acting Oscar, behindTatum O'Neal, who won at age 10 forPaper Moon (1973).[13] 19-year oldLeonardo DiCaprio became theseventh-youngest nominee in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as Arnie Grape inWhat's Eating Gilbert Grape.[relevant?]
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Winners are listed first, highlighted inboldface, and indicated with a double-dagger (‡).[14][15]
The following 16 films had multiple nominations: | The following four films received multiple awards:
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The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers:[18][19]
| Name(s) | Role |
|---|---|
| Les Marshak | Announcer for the 66th annual Academy Awards |
| Arthur Hiller (AMPAS president) | Gave opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony |
| Tom Hanks | Presenter of the award forBest Art Direction |
| Elijah Wood | Presenter of the award forBest Visual Effects |
| Jeff Bridges | Presenter of the filmThe Fugitive on the Best Picture segment |
| Marisa Tomei | Presenter of the award forBest Supporting Actor |
| Joan Chen Val Kilmer | Presenters of the award forBest Makeup |
| Liam Neeson | Presenter of the award forBest Sound Effects Editing |
| Glenn Close | Presenter of theHonorary Academy Award toDeborah Kerr |
| Rosie O'Donnell | Presenter of the awards forBest Animated Short Film andBest Live Action Short Film |
| Richard Dreyfuss | Presenter of the filmSchindler's List on the Best Picture segment |
| Nicolas Cage Shirley MacLaine | Presenters of the award forBest Sound |
| Gene Hackman | Presenter of the award forBest Supporting Actress |
| Laura Dern | Presenter of the segment of theAcademy Awards for Technical Achievement and theGordon E. Sawyer Award |
| Johnny Depp | Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "Philadelphia" |
| Alec Baldwin | Presenter of the filmThe Remains of the Day on the Best Picture segment |
| Sharon Stone | Presenter of the awardBest Costume Design |
| Nicole Kidman Christian Slater | Presenters of the awards forBest Documentary Short Subject andBest Documentary Feature |
| Goldie Hawn | Introducer of the special dance number to the tune of theBest Original Score nominees and presenter of the award for Best Original Score |
| Jack Valenti | Presenter of the "Film cinematography" montage and introducer of presenter Kirk Douglas |
| Kirk Douglas | Presenter of the award forBest Cinematography |
| Madeleine Stowe | Presenter of the filmThe Piano on the Best Picture segment |
| Tom Cruise | Presenter of theJean Hersholt Humanitarian Award toPaul Newman |
| Anthony Hopkins | Presenter of the award forBest Foreign Language Film |
| Geena Davis | Presenter of the award forBest Film Editing |
| Antonio Banderas | Introducer of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "Streets of Philadelphia" |
| Whitney Houston | Presenter of the award forBest Original Song |
| Jeremy Irons | Presenters of the awards forBest Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen andBest Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published |
| Glenn Close | Presenter of theIn Memoriam tribute |
| Emma Thompson | Presenter of the award forBest Actor |
| Donald Sutherland | Presenter of the filmIn the Name of the Father on the Best Picture segment |
| Al Pacino | Presenter of the award forBest Actress |
| Clint Eastwood | Presenter of the award forBest Director |
| Harrison Ford | Presenter of the award forBest Picture |
| Name(s) | Role | Performed |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Conti | Musical arranger | Orchestral |
| Bernadette Peters | Performer | "Putting It Together" fromSunday in the Park with George during the opening number |
| Janet Jackson | Performer | "Again" fromPoetic Justice |
| Neil Young | Performer | "Philadelphia" fromPhiladelphia |
| James Ingram Dolly Parton | Performers | "The Day I Fall in Love" fromBeethoven's 2nd |
| Les Ballets Africains National Ballet of Canada Central Ballet of China Cuban National Ballet Dance Theatre of Harlem Garth Fagan Dance Inc. Paris Opera Ballet Shanghai Ballet Troupe[20] | Performers | Performed dance number synchronized with selections from Best Original Score nominees |
| Keith Carradine | Performer | "A Wink and a Smile" fromSleepless in Seattle |
| Bruce Springsteen | Performer | "Streets of Philadelphia" fromPhiladelphia |
Due to the negative reception received from thepreceding year's ceremony, actorBilly Crystal announced that after overseeing four consecutive Oscar ceremonies, he would not be hosting the 1994 telecast.[21] In a statement released by his publicist, he stated, "After threeGrammys, four Oscars and sixComic Reliefs, I'm going to take a break from my hosting duties. I always felt honored to host the show and did my best to carry on the tradition ofBob Hope andJohnny Carson. I hope the new host has as good a time as I did."[22] With Crystal absent to host the Oscars, many media outlets wondered whom producerGil Cates would hire to emcee the program. Film columnist Jack Matthews suggested that actorTom Hanks, who would eventually win Best Actor forPhiladelphia, should host the show writing that he "has charm, dignity, wit, intelligence and, it's worth mentioning, he's a movie star!"[23] Cates also offered the role to performersSteve Martin,Bette Midler, andJohnny Carson, but they all turned down the opportunity.[23]
After several days of speculation, Cates announced that he hired Oscar-winning actress and comedianWhoopi Goldberg to host the festivities for the first time.[24] By virtue of her selection, Goldberg became both the firstAfrican American to host as well as the first woman to host the telecast solo.[25] In an interview with theLos Angeles Times, Cates explained the decision to hire her saying, "She is a highly recognizable star who has millions of fans."[26] He also addressed the media's concerns regarding Goldberg's raunchy and outspoken humor stating, "Some people may think she's potentially dangerous, and she says things that come to her mind. It's going to be exciting for me. The main thing is she wants to do it and she's smart. Whatever she says will be appropriate."[27] Goldberg expressed that she was thrilled to be selected to emcee the 1994 ceremony commenting, "To go from watching to winning to hosting in one lifetime is major."[28]
As with previous ceremonies he produced, Cates centered the show around a theme. This year, he christened the show with the theme "People Behind the Camera" commenting that "It will be a salute to those unseen men and women who make what we see on the screen, the artist and craftspeople responsible for the magic of the movies."[29] In tandem with the theme, the ceremony's opening number featured a montage produced byChuck Workman saluting the many individuals such as directors, editors, and composers who are involved in moviemaking. During that segment, singerBernadette Peters performing a modified version ofStephen Sondheim's song "Putting It Together" from his musicalSunday in the Park with George.[30] Filmmaker and editor Carol A. Streit assembled another montage featuring a salute to the work of cinematographers and their contributions to film.[31]
Several other people and elements were also involved with the production of the ceremony. Production designer Roy Christopher designed a new stage for the ceremony which prominently featured five giant Oscar statues each flanked inside metal cones that were illuminated recurrently throughout the show.[32] Film composer and musicianBill Conti served as musical director of the ceremony.[33] DancerDebbie Allen choreographed a dancer number showcasing the Best Original Score nominees featuring eight prestigious ballet and dance troupes from around the world.[20]
At the time of the nominations announcement on February 9, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $261 million, with an average of $52.2 million per film.[34]The Fugitive was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $179 million in domestic box office receipts.[34] The film was followed bySchindler's List ($29.6 million),The Piano ($25.7 million),The Remains of the Day ($19.5 million), and finallyIn the Name of the Father ($6.5 million).[34]
Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 36 nominations went to 14 films on the list. OnlyThe Fugitive (3rd),The Firm (4th),Sleepless in Seattle (6th),In the Line of Fire (7th),Dave (13th),Philadelphia (29th),What's Love Got to Do With It (38th), andThe Age of Innocence (49th) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, or Best Picture.[35] The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations wereJurassic Park (1st),Mrs. Doubtfire (2nd),Cliffhanger (9th),The Nightmare Before Christmas (24th),Addams Family Values (25th), andBeethoven's 2nd (27th).[35]
The show received a positive reception from most media publications.The New York Times film criticJanet Maslin raved that the telecast had "less silliness and less small talk, with more emphasis on cleverly chosen film clips and the bona fide Hollywood magic being celebrated." She also praised host Goldberg saying that she "sustained a tone of levity, which became particularly important as the sweep bySchindler's List threatened to bring out great ponderousness in some quarters."[36]Pittsburgh Post-Gazette television critic Robert Bianco commended Goldberg's performance writing that "She never acted like she was too smart or to hip for the show she was hosting; she never smirked like there was a joke she alone was cool enough to get." He also extolled producer Cates by commenting, "In place of the extraneous jokes and terrible production numbers, he gave us a theme that worked and a generous selection of clips to back it up."[37]Anne Thompson ofEntertainment Weekly lauded Goldberg by stating, "Her elegant appearance (at least during the first half), her uncharacteristic restraint (she didn't cuss), and her ability to make it funny (despite the very somber speeches) made the ho-hum telecast worth watching."[38]
Some media outlets were more critical of the show. Television critic Howard Rosenberg of theLos Angeles Times lamented that Goldberg's humor "wilted in a blessedly brief 3-hour-and-18-minute telecast." He also wrote that compared with Billy Crystal, her hosting skills were "balmy".[39]Orlando Sentinel film critic Jay Boyar bemoaned that "this year's Oscarcast was only a little more exciting than a wine snob droning on about his favorite vintages."[40] Harold Schindler ofThe Salt Lake City Tribune remarked that Whoopi's preference for "insider" jokes "left the audience murmuring and most viewers probably scratching their heads." He also added the biggest letdown of the telecast was "Goldberg's seeming ineptness at understanding the moment"[41]
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 46.26 million people over its length, which was a 1% increase from theprevious year's ceremony.[42][43] However, the show drew lowerNielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 31.86% of households watching over a 49.28 share.[44] It also drew a lower 18–49 demographic rating with a 19.73 rating over a 40.53 share among viewers in that demographic.[44]
In July 1994, the ceremony presentation received seven nominations at the46th Primetime Emmys.[45][46] Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Outstanding Technical Direction/Camera/Video for a Miniseries or Special (Averill Perry, Jim Ralston, Kenneth R. Shapiro, Bill Pope, Hector Ramirez, Larry Heider, Dave Levisohn, Blair White, Bill Philben, Ralph Alcocer, Larry Stenman, Bud Holland, David Irete, Tom Geren, Dale Carlson, David Plakos, Ted Ashton, Jeff Mydoc, Chuck Pharis, Jean M. Mason).[47]
The first annual "In Memoriam" tribute was presented by actressGlenn Close. The montage featured an excerpt of the main title ofTerms of Endearment composed byMichael Gore.[48]
