1998, 4th Annual Awards

Best Movie

Best Director

Curtis Hanson for L. A. Confidential - No one was more surprised than I, that the director of such films as The River Wild and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle could create such a complex, engrossing and well-acted film as L. A. Confidential. Based on the multi-layered James Ellroy novel, Hanson, who also CO-wrote the screenplay doesn't miss a step.

also nominated: Atom Egoyan for The Sweet Hereafter, Ang Lee for The Ice Storm, Angela Pope for Hollow Reed, Alan Rickman for The Winter Guest

Best Actress

Helena Bonham Carter for the roles of Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove and Margaret MacNeil in Margaret's Museum British actress Helena Bonham Carter burst on the scene in 1986 with roles in two films, most notably, the award winning, A Room With a View. Bonham Carter is best known for her roles in period pieces, such as Hamlet, Where Angels Fear to Tread and Howard's End. Her role of Margaret MacNeil a feisty young woman living in the mining town of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia during the late 1940's took her firmly out of the British period and created a vivid and troubled character. The multifaceted Kate Croy, whom she plays in The Wings of the Dove, although another British period piece, allows Bonham Carter to stretch her acting abilities to the limit. She is scintillating.

also nominated: Judy Davis for the role of Joan Fraser in Children of the Revolution, Minnie Driver for the role of Debi Newberry in Grosse Pointe Blank, Allison Folland for the role of Claude in All Over Me, Helen Hunt for the role of Carol Connelly in As Good As It Gets, Sarah Polley for the role of Nicole Burnell in The Sweet Hereafter, Emma Thompson for the role of Frances in The Winter Guest

Best Actor

Russell Crowe for the role of Bud White in L. A. Confidential Australian actor Russell Crowe has certainly made a splash in Hollywood since his first appearance in the Australian film, Proof. Sharon Stone hand picked him for a role in his first Hollywood film, The Quick & the Dead. In L. A. Confidential Crowe plays the passionate and conflicted Los Angeles police officer who has a hair-trigger temper when it comes to the mistreatment of women.

Best Supporting Actress

Joan Cusack for the roles of Marcella in Grosse Pointe Blank and Emily Montgomery in In & Out Joan Cusack is a superb comic actress who really delivered a couple of great performances in 1997. In Grosse Pointe Blank she plays the secretary for a hit man, played by her real-life brother, John Cusack. She also gets some of the biggest laughs as the forgotten bride in In & Out. She has appeared in a number of supporting roles, often stealing her scenes from the lead actors. Some memorable performances include Broadcast News, Working Girl and Men Don't Leave.

also nominated: Janeane Garofalo for the role of Heather Mooney in Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Phyllida Law for the role of Elspeth in The Winter Guest, Julianne Moore for the roles of Amber Waves in Boogie Nights and Mia in The Myth of Fingerprints, Christina Ricci for the role of Wendy Hood in The Ice Storm, Maggie Smith for the role of Aunt Livinia Penniman in Washington Square.

Best Supporting Actor

Best Screenplay

Best Cinematography

Dante Spinotti for L. A. Confidential Spinotti has been nominated for an Academy Award for his bringing to life 1950's Hollywood so beautifully. There's not a scene out of place in this gorgeous film whose emphasis is so strongly on appearances. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association has already awarded Spinotti with their Best Cinematography Award.

also nominated: Michael Coulter for FairyTale: a True Story, Frederick Elmes for The Ice Storm , Daniel Jobin for Lilies , Stephen Kazmierski for The Myth of Fingerprints, Seamus McGarvey for The Winter Guest