CNN - The hard work is over

For Oscar nominees, the hard work is over

Now, they sweat it out

March 25, 1996
Web posted at: 3:00 p.m. EST

From Correspondent Sherri Sylvester

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Making movies may seem glamorous, but making a winner is hard work before the film gets to the silver screen.

The numbers tell it all. It took 612 flights at Mach 1, the speed of sound, to create the zero gravity of "Apollo 13;" 1,700 Irish Army volunteers firing 10,000 arrows for the battles of "Braveheart;" and 60 trainers wrangling 970 animals for "Babe." It took 14 drafts of a 200-year-old novel to get a screenplay for "Sense and Sensibility."

One Hollywood heartthrob knows what it takes.

"It's a miserable existence, you know. You dream it, so you wake up in a cold sweat, things like that," says Mel Gibson, a best director nominee for "Braveheart."

Would he do it again? "Of course," he says.

Braveheart's battles also attracted a best picture nomination. Ditto for "Babe" and its director Chris Noonan. "Il Postino" made Oscar history. It is only the fifth foreign-language film ever nominated for best picture. Director Michael Radford was singled out for a nomination as well.

"What the Academy's done, they've actually paid tribute to world cinema in an extremely generous and positive way," says Radford, who coached Massimo Troisi toward a "best actor" nomination. Troisi died the day after filming.

Best director hopeful Tim Robbins guided both "Dead Man Walking" stars into lead categories: Sean Penn for best actor and Susan Sarandon for best actress.

Mike Figgis landed in the best director category after "Leaving Las Vegas." Performances by Elizabeth Shue and Nicolas Cage garnered their first-ever best acting nominations. Cage remembers his Oscar dreams when he was just an 8-year-old kid named Nicolas Coppola.

"I remember watching the Oscars when my uncle Francis was nominated for the "Godfather" and thinking, 'Wow, that is really great, that is amazing,'" Cage says.

Those who followed the race in 1977 saw Richard Dreyfuss take the best actor trophy for the "Goodbye Girl." It took 19 years and "Mr.Holland's Opus" to give him a second chance.

"I'm much more aware of the day-to-day joy," Dreyfuss says. "I just kind of took it as business as usual, and I've grown up."

Anthony Hopkins' performance in "Nixon" brings him back to the best actor arena. Emma Thompson wrote her own ticket to the Academy Awards. A return trip in the best actress category is accompanied by her writing nomination for the screenplay for "Sense and Sensibility."

The words of "Casino" brought Sharon Stone her greatest acting challenge.

"The fact that it actually worked is good because it was a complicated thing to orchestrate," says Stone, who has been nominated in the best actress category.

Meryl Streep's 10th nomination comes for "The Bridges of Madison County." She is Francesca, a woman who finds that one great love late in life.

"Maybe that's the fantasy of this and why people love it, because it says you never know what's around the corner," says Streep, a contender for best actress.

Streep will be in the company of several newcomers, including all 10 nominees in the best supporting actress and supporting actor categories. For them, a chance to own an Oscar is truly a once in a lifetime dream.

For Oscar nominees, the hard work is over

Now, they sweat it out

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