Previously, in 2000...

 2000: A Look Back

2000 is next up in our Oscar Viewing Project, and is our 23rd season of this series.  This is still an Oscars ceremony that I saw live (my first ceremony that I watched live was 1995, though my parents taped parts of the 1994 ceremony so my brother & I could see Best Actor, Actress, and the three song performances from The Lion King).  So we aren't in territory that I am only doing retrospectively (for many of you this probably predates your Oscar tenure, so I'll make a point of adding nuggets of what it was like to live the season), though I suspect we'll get there after this (I have one pre-1994 year completed, and unless I get overwhelmed by the prospect, we're going to tackle that next).  But first, we're going to finish up this millennium.

So now, let's go back.  Back to a time of Y2K, of boy bands & pop princesses, and of the Supreme Court deciding a presidential election (and somehow everyone not learning the lesson of how important it is to always vote).  And of course, let's remember the movies...

Box Office

This is what the Top 10 at the (Domestic) Box Office looked like:

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas

2. Cast Away

3. Mission: Impossible II

4. Gladiator

5. What Women Want

6. The Perfect Storm

7. Meet the Parents

8. X-Men

9. Scary Movie

10. What Lies Beneath

Oh boy, what a difference a year makes.  In 2001, we talked about how most of the films on that list were the starts of famous franchises (Harry Potter, Shrek, The Lord of the Rings), but in 2000-we are officially taking a box office trip back into the world of the Movie Star (capital letters intended), not of the intellectual property.  Yes, there is the start of two franchises (X-Men, Scary Movie) and the continuation of another (Mission: Impossible), but in the other films we have genuine movie stars (Jim Carrey, Robert de Niro, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Harrison Ford, & Michelle Pfeiffer) launching these films.  Yes, if you ask me this would be a much stronger Hollywood.  I have actually seen all ten of these movies (Scary Movie was just featured in our Halloween marathon), and of the films that made more than $100 million, the only one I've never seen is Gone in Sixty Seconds.  In the remaining films over $100 million it's worth noting is a lot more movie stars like Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich), Denzel Washington (Remember the Titans), Sandra Bullock (Miss Congeniality), and Mel Gibson again (The Patriot).

The Films I Missed

While I've seen all of the Oscar nominees, I haven't seen every film in 2000.  Looking at the precursor awards, some of the bigger titles I'm missing are Best in Show, Sunshine, Small Time Crooks, The House of Mirth, & Vertical Limit.  Of these five, I have every intention of seeing Sunshine, Small Time Crooks, & The House of Mirth, but a fear of heights & an antipathy to the films of Christopher Guest are going to keep me out of the remainder.  If you have any recommendations of films Oscar totally ignored I didn't just name-check, let me know in the comments.  Otherwise, we will be starting with Best Makeup later this week!