MSN Entertainment Guide to the 2004 Academy Awards

look at the films and folks that Oscar forgot this year: "Best Picture:
You hear that crashing sound? That'd be Harvey Weinstein breaking office furniture in George Steinbrenner-like fashion on the Miramax lot. For the first time in recent memory, his Best Picture machine failed to get a film nominated in the category. The irony? This year, they deserved it. "Cold Mountain" is an elegant, romantic and ultimately brutal Civil War epic that many thought had Best Picture written all over it. But it didn't even get nominated. We're thinking it was ultimately too grim for the Academy. Another major omission was Tim Burton's lovely, poignant father/son fable, "Big Fish." Again, this is a head-scratcher, as the Academy usually eats this kind of stuff up. Ditto Jim Sheridan's "In America" though it did get several acting nods and a screenplay nomination. We do offer kudos to the Academy for not falling for "The Human Stain," which had early buzz but was appropriately skipped in all categories. Deserving but Never Had a Chance: "The Station Agent," "American Splendor," "All The Real Girls" "