List of accolades received by American Beauty
Introduction + '''List of accolades received by ''American Beauty'''''200pxAlan Ball, whose screenplay was the focus of many of the awards wins and nominations Award wins & nominations '''Award''' '''Won''' '''Nominated''';Academy Awards;Amanda Awards;American Cinema Editors;American Comedy Awards;ASC Awards;Art Directors Guild Awards;Australian Film Institute Awards;Awards of the Japanese Academy;Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics;British Academy of Film and Television Arts;BMI Film & Television Awards;Blockbuster Entertainment Awards;Bodil Awards;Bogey Awards;Brit Awards;British Society of Cinematographers Awards;Broadcast Film Critics;Casting Society of America Award;César Award;Chicago Film Critics Association;Cinema Audio Society Awards;Costume Designers Guild Awards;Czech Lion Award;Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award;David di Donatello Awards;Directors Guild of America Awards;Empire Awards;European Film Awards;Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards;Florida Film Critics Circle Award ;Golden Globe Awards;Golden Screen Award;Grammy Awards ;Guldbagge Awards;Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards;International Monitor Awards;Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Awards;Kansas City Film Critics Circle;Kinema Junpo Awards;Las Vegas Film Critics Society;London Film Critics' Circle Awards;Los Angeles Film Critics;Lumière Awards;Motion Picture Sound Editors;MTV Movie Awards;National Board of Review;National Society of Film Critics Awards;Online Film Critics Society;People's Choice Awards;PGA Awards;Publicists Guild of America Awards;Robert Award;Russian Guild of Film Critics Awards;San Diego Film Critics Society;Satellite Awards;Screen Actors Guild Awards;Southeastern Film Critics Association;Teen Choice Awards;Toronto Film Critics Association Awards;Writers Guild of America Awards;Young Artist Award;Young Hollywood Artist Awards;YoungStar Awards;'''Total number of wins and nominations''' Footnotes''American Beauty'' is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. The film stars Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged office worker who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend. Released in North America on September 15, 1999, ''American Beauty'' was positively received by critics and audiences alike; it was the best-reviewed American film of the year and grossed over $350 million worldwide. Reviewers praised all aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey and Ball; criticism tended to focus on the familiarity of the characters and setting. At the 1999 Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Spacey), Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography (for Conrad Hall). The film was nominated for and won numerous other awards and honors, mainly for the direction, writing, and acting.DreamWorks launched a major campaign to promote the film five weeks before the ballots for the Academy Awards were due. Its campaign combined traditional advertising and publicity with more focused strategies to reach 5,600 Academy voters. Although direct mail campaigning was prohibited, DreamWorks reached voters by promoting the film in "casual, comfortable settings" in voters' communities. The studio's candidate for the Academy Award for Best Picture the previous year, ''Saving Private Ryan'', lost to ''Shakespeare in Love'', so the studio took a new approach by hiring outsiders to provide input for the campaign. Nancy Willen encouraged DreamWorks to produce a special about the making of ''American Beauty'', to set up displays of the film in the communities' bookstores, and to arrange a question-and-answer session with Mendes for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Dale Olson, who led the film's campaign, advised the studio to not limit its marketing to major newspapers, but to also advertise in free publications that circulated in Beverly Hills, home to many voters. Olson arranged to screen ''American Beauty'' to about 1,000 members of the Actors Fund of America, as many participating actors were also voters. ''American Beauty''s closest contender for Best Picture was seen as ''The Cider House Rules'' from Miramax. Both studios mounted aggressive campaigns; in the weeks leading up the ceremony, DreamWorks bought 38% more advertising space in ''Variety'' than Miramax. In 2000, the Publicists Guild of America recognized DreamWorks for the best film publicity campaign. In September 2008, ''Empire'' named ''American Beauty'' the 96th "Greatest Movie of All Time" after a poll of 10,000 readers, 150 filmmakers and 50 film critics. The film's award success was seen as vindication for DreamWorks, a studio which had only formed six years previously—to industry skepticism.
Selected awards and nominations  Award  Category  Name  Outcome72nd Academy AwardsBest PictureBruce Cohen and Dan JinksBest DirectorSam MendesBest ActorKevin SpaceyBest ActressAnnette BeningBest Original ScreenplayAlan BallBest CinematographyConrad HallBest Film EditingTariq Anwar and Christopher GreenburyBest Original ScoreThomas NewmanAmerican Cinema EditorsBest Edited Feature Film – DramaticTariq Anwar, Christopher Greenbury American Comedy AwardsFunniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)Annette BeningFunniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)Kevin SpaceyAmerican Society of CinematographersOutstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical ReleasesConrad HallArt Directors GuildExcellence in Production Design Award for Feature FilmNaomi Shohan, David Lazan, Catherine SmithAustralian Film InstituteBest Foreign FilmBruce Cohen, Dan JinksAwards of the Japanese AcademyBelgian Syndicate of Cinema CriticsGrand Prix|53rd British Academy Film AwardsBest FilmBruce Cohen, Dan JinksBest Actor in a Leading RoleKevin SpaceyBest Actress in a Leading RoleAnnette BeningBest EditingTariq Anwar, Christopher GreenburyBest CinematographyConrad HallAnthony Asquith Award (Best Film Music)Thomas NewmanDavid Lean AwardSam MendesBest Screenplay – OriginalAlan BallBest Performance by an Actor in a Supporting RoleWes BentleyBest Performance by an Actress in a Supporting RoleThora BirchBest Performance by an Actress in a Supporting RoleMena SuvariBest SoundScott Martin Gershin, Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, Richard Van DykeBest Production DesignNaomi ShohanBest Make Up/HairTania McComas, Carol A. O'ConnellBMI Film & TV AwardsBMI Film MusicThomas NewmanBlockbuster Entertainment AwardsFavorite Actress – DramaAnnette BeningFavorite Supporting Actor – DramaWes BentleyFavorite Supporting Actress – DramaThora Birch Favorite Actor – DramaKevin Spacey  Favorite Actress – Newcomer (Internet Only)Mena Suvari Brit Awards  Soundtrack/Cast Recording   Bodil AwardsBest American FilmSam MendesBritish Society of CinematographersBest CinematographyConrad HallDirectors Guild of AmericaOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion PicturesSam MendesChicago Film Critics Association AwardsBest ActorKevin SpaceyBest Director Sam Mendes Best PictureBruce Cohen, Dan JinksMost Promising ActorWes BentleyBest ActressAnnette BeningBest CinematographyConrad L. HallBest ScreenplayAlan BallCinema Audio SocietyOutstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Feature FilmScott Millan, Bob Beemer, Richard Van Dyke 57th Golden Globe AwardsBest Motion Picture – DramaBruce Cohen and Dan JinksBest DirectorSam MendesBest ScreenplayAlan BallBest Actress – DramaAnnette BeningBest Actor – DramaKevin SpaceyBest Original ScoreThomas NewmanNational Board of ReviewBreakthrough Performance – MaleWes BentleyScreen Actors Guild AwardBest ActorKevin SpaceyBest ActressAnnette BeningBest Supporting ActorChris CooperBest EnsembleKevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher* AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes** "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in." – Nominated.
References
External links *