Before this message, I had not yet felt compelled to respond to any of the extremely interesting and informative messages posted here. However, Mr. Norton's recent comment about Jerry McGuire has finally driven me to try my voice. This past week, my wife and I put it upon ourselves to see all five best picture nominees before Monday. Although, I have yet to see The English Patient (scheduled for later today), we, coincidentally, saw Jerry McGuire last night, and I must take offense to Norton's inquisitive quote: "How did THAT film get on the Academy Nominee list?????" Maybe I can help. In what the media, in their need to label everything, has called "The Year of the Independents", I found Jerry McGuire, the only major Hollywood studio-produced film nominated for best picture, to be both awe-inspiring and very encouraging for the future of cinema. This may sound like a strong statement, but let me explain... After a year in which a movie like Independence Day can break box office records, any true film buff is bound to be concerned for the future of major motion pictures. We've already seen Hollywood's pitiful attempts at coat-tail riding with things like the made-for-TV flop, Asteroid and the upcoming Men In Black. The mere fact that all but one of the five films nominated are independently produced is certainly, then, very encouraging. But what I find most encouraging and exciting this year is that the one studio-production in the group is a film that not only carries a strong and admirable message, but also beautifully conveys that message through director Crowe's masterful use of the medium. The theme in Jerry McGuire-- sorting out priorities of the heart in a competitive, sometimes heartless world-- is one to which many people, if not all, can relate. But through subtle visuals and the deliberate use of sound, Crowe (who I've never been too impressed with until now) lets the audience feel the inner struggle that plagues the lead character throughout the film. One small example follows a frenzied scene in which McGuire is desperately trying to recover from getting fired and losing his clients all in one day. The sound drops out, and we hear nothing but his heartbeat. Tom Cruise's acting range in this film carries off this inner struggle sufficiently on his own, but as the heartbeat slows, we can really fe el the character fight to gain control of himself. In fact, this made me aware that my own heart was beating quickly, and allowed me to calm myself. Although this is a very small (and perhaps somewhat bad) example of my point, it is this kind of scene that evokes audience participation and lets us get swept into the story. And it is surely this kind of creative use of the medium that justifies film as one of the greatest art forms today. To see Jerry McGuire represent the only "studio" film up for best picture, in my opinion is one of the more exciting things the academy has done in a long time. Let's just hope that Hollywood gets the message. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production, I'm an aspiring filmmaker myself and (although I'm rooting for Fargo) Jerry McGuire is a perfect example of the kind of film I plan to make someday. Thanks for listening, Aaron Palmer ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]