2003 Academy Awards

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

The 2003 Academy Awards were presented Feb. 29, 2004 at the Kodak Theatre.

Best Picture

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Barrie M. Osborne, Peter Jackson, and Fran Walsh, producers

Lost in Translation, Ross Katz and Sofia Coppola, producer

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Paul Massey, D.M. Hemphill, and Arthur Rochester, producers

Mystic River, Robert Lorenz, Judie G. Hoyt, and Clint Eastwood, producers

Seabiscuit, Gary Ross, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Jane Sindell, producers

Best Animated Picture

Brother Bear (Walt Disney Pictures)

Finding Nemo (Pixar/Walt Disney)

The Triplets of Belleville (Sony Pictures)

Actor in a Leading Role

Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl

Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog

Jude Law, Cold Mountain

Bill Murray, Lost in Translation

Sean Penn, Mystic River

Actress in a Leading Role

Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider

Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give

Samantha Morton, In America

Charlize Theron, Monster

Naomi Watts, 21 Grams

Actor in a Supporting Role

Alec Baldwin, The Cooler

Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams

Djimon Hounsou, In America

Tim Robbins, Mystic River

Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai

Actress in a Supporting Role

Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog

Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April

Marcia Gay Harden, Mystic River

Holly Hunter, Thirteen

Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain

Directing

Fernando Meirelles, City of God

Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation

Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Clint Eastwood, Mystic River

Writing

Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen	Denys Arcand, The Barbarian Invasions
	Steven Knight, Dirty Pretty Things
	Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, and David Reynolds, Finding Nemo
	Jim Sheridan, Naomi Sheridan, Kirsten Sheridan, In America
	Sofia Coppola, *Lost in Translation*
Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published	Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, American Splendor
	Braulio Mantovani, City of God
	Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson, *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*
	Brian Helgeland, Mystic River
	Gary Ross, Seabiscuit

Cinematography

Cesar Charlone, City of God

John Seale, Cold Mountain

Eduardo Serra, Girl with a Pearl Earring

Russell Boyd, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

John Schwartzman, Seabiscuit

Art Direction

Girl with a Pearl Earring, Ben Van Os, art direction; Cecile Heideman, set decoration

The Last Samurai, Lilly Kilvert, art direction; Gretchen Rau, set decoration

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Grant Major, art direction; Dan Hennah and Alan Lee, set decoration

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, William Sandell, art direction; Robert Gould, set decoration

Seabiscuit, Jeannine Oppewall, art direction; Leslie Pope, set decoration

Sound

Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, and Jeff Wexler, The Last Samurai

Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges, and Hammond Peek, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Paul Massey, D.M. Hemphill, and Arthur Rochester, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Christopher Boyes, David Parker, David Campbell, and Lee Orloff, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl

Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, and Tod A. Maitland, Seabiscuit

Music

Song	“Into the West, ” *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,* Fran Walsh, Howard Shore, and Annie Lennox
	“A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow, ” A Mighty Wind, Michael McKean and Annette O'Toole
	“Scarlet Tide, ” Cold Mountain, T Bone Burnett and Elvis Costello
	“The Triplets of Belleville, ” The Triplets of Belleville, Benoit Charest and Sylvain Chomet
	“You Will Be My Ain True Love,” Cold Mountain, Sting
Original Score	Danny Elfman, Big Fish
	Gabriel Yared, Cold Mountain
	Thomas Newman, Finding Nemo
	James Horner, House of Sand and Fog
	Howard Shore, *The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King*

Film Editing

Daniel Rezende, City of God

Walter Murch, Cold Mountain

Jamie Selkirk, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Lee Smith, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

William Goldenberg, Seabiscuit

Costume Design

Dien van Straalen, Girl with a Pearl Earring

Ngila Dickson, The Last Samurai

Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Wendy Stites, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Judianna Makovsky, Seabiscuit

Makeup

Richard Taylor and Peter King, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Edouard Henriques III and Yolanda Toussieng, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Ve Neill and Martin Samuel, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl

Visual Effects

Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook, and Alex Funke, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Daniel Sudick, Stefen Fangmeier, Nathan McGuinness, and Robert Stromberg, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson, and Terry Frazee, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl

Sound Editing

Gary Rydstrom and Michael Silvers, Finding Nemo

Richard King, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Christopher Boyes and George Watters II, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl

Short Films

Animation	Boundin' (Bud Luckey)
	Destino (Dominique Monfery and Roy Edward Disney)
	Gone Nutty (Carlos Saldanha and John C. Donkin)
	*Harvie Krumpet* (Adam Elliot)
	Nibbles (Chris Hinton)
Live Action	Die Rote Jacke (The Red Jacket) (Florian Baxmeyer)
	Most (The Bridge) (Bobby Garabedian and William Zabka)
	Squash (Lionel Bailliu)
	(A) Torzija ([A] Torsion) (Stefan Arsenijevic)
	*Two Soldiers* (Aaron Schneider and Andrew J. Sacks)

Documentary

Short Subject	Asylum (Sandy McLeod and Gini Reticker)
	*Chernobyl Heart* (Maryann DeLeo)
	Ferry Tales (Katja Esson)
Feature	Balseros (Carlos Bosch and Marcos Loris Omedes)
	Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki and Marc Smerling)
	*The Fog of War* (Errol Morris and Michael Williams)
	My Architect (Nathaniel Kahn and Susan R. Behr)
	The Weather Underground (Sam Green and Bill Siegel)