DC Crix Make Their Picks and 'King' Rises to the Top Again

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Friday, December 19th 2003 at 8:48 PM

The Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA) made their top picks for 2003 and the final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy rings up another victory as Best Film and they award Peter Jackson Best Director for the fabulous production. Other movies, such as 21 Grams and Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation also won two awards each. Among those two Bill Murray (Lost in Translation) was awarded Best Actor for his best performance of his acting career and Naomi Watts (21 Grams) received Best Actress for her emotionally charged portrayal as Cristina Peck.

WAFCA names the cast of Love Actually as Best Ensemble, while selecting Finding Nemo as Best Animated Feature and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Best Guilty Pleasure.

WAFCA President Tim Gordon stated, "This year's awards were a challenge due to the MPAA's screener ban. We support all efforts against piracy, but feel the studios need to address the leading sources of pirated material instead of hindering efforts to recognize the best of film, whether that comes from the largest studio or the smallest. Thankfully, the studios worked closely with us to help get all movies screened in they way they are intended to be seen — on the big screen."

WAFCA 2003 Winners:

Best Film
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King/New Line Cinema

Best Ensemble
Love Actually/Universal

Best Director
Peter Jackson/Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King

Best Actor
Bill Murray/Lost In Translation

Best Actress
Naomi Watts/21 Grams

Best Supporting Actor
Benicio Del Toro/21 Grams

Best Supporting Actress
Anna Deavere Smith/The Human Stain

Best Screenplay, Original
Sofia Coppola/Lost In Translation

Best Screenplay, Adapted
Brian Helgeland/Mystic River

Best Animated Feature
Finding Nemo/Buena Vista Pictures

Best Documentary
Fog of War/Sony Pictures Classics

Best Guilty Pleasure
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl/Buena Vista Pictures

WAFCA is comprised of DC area film critics for newspaper, television, on- line and radio outlets. Winners were chosen from among Academy Award eligible films. Voting was conducted from December 15 – 17, 2003.

Source: Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association

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