In 1973, “The Sting” won 7 Oscars out of its 10 nominations, including Best Picture, Director for George Roy Hill, Story and Screenplay (Adapted) for David Ward, and Scoring for Marvyn Hamlisch.

In a subtle statement about the state of the film industry and its growing globalization, each and every one of the 1998 Best Picture nominees did all or most of its shooting overseas. In 1999, “American Beauty became” the first Best Picture in twenty-three years–since Rocky in 1976–to be lensed entirely in Hollywood.

February 3, 2008–All five best picture contenders–“Atonement,” “Juno,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will be Blood”–have enjoyed significant commercial gains since the announcement of Academy Award nominations on January 22.

“Brief Encounter” was nominated for three Oscars:
Director for David Lean, Screenplay for Anthony Havelock-Allan, David Lean, and Ronald Neame, and Best Actress for Celia Johnson.

“The River” was nominated for four Oscars, including Best Actress for Sissy Spacek and Cinematography for Vilmos Zsigmond.