Peter Weir's 2003 Best Picture nominee Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is the next entry in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Great To Be Nominated" series. The adventure drama will be screened on Monday, July 21, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Following the screening, production designer William Sandell, set decorator Robert Gould, second unit director David Ellis, sound designer Richard King, sound rerecording mixers D.M. Hemphill and Paul Massey, production sound mixer Arthur Rochester, and hairstylist Barbara Lorenz will take part in a discussion about the film.
Director-screenwriter Weir and co-screenwriter John Collee combined two of Patrick O'Brian's seafaring novels into a visually striking depiction of power struggles in the high seas during the Napoleonic Wars. Unfortunately, the Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World filmmakers opted to leave ashore depth, warmth, and excitement, while the cast — including Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, and James D'Arcy — plays at being fancily dressed 18th-century sea rats.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World earned a total of 10 Academy Award nominations, winning Oscars for Cinematography (Russell Boyd) and Sound Editing (King). The film also received nominations for Best Picture (Samuel Goldwyn, Jr., Weir and Duncan Henderson, producers), Art Direction (Sandell; Set Decoration: Gould), Costume Design (Wendy Stites), Directing (Weir), Film Editing (Lee Smith), Makeup (Edouard Henriques III, Yolanda Toussieng), Sound Mixing (Massey, Hemphill, Rochester), Visual Effects (Dan Sudick, Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness, Robert Stromberg).
Two Oscar-nominated animated shorts, Dominique Monfery's Destino and Christopher Hinton's Nibbles, will be screened prior to the feature.
Individual tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Tickets may be purchased online at www.oscars.org, by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, depending on availability, on the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Curtain time for all features is 7:30 p.m., and pre-show elements will begin at 7 p.m. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information, call (310) 247-3600.
Photos: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library
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