Best Picture:

1. 20 30 40
2. 2046
3. Hana and Alice
4. House of Flying Daggers
5. Kung Fu Hustle
6. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
7. The Power of Nightmares
8. Throw Down
9. Tropical Malady
10. The World

For a long time I’ve had Wong Kar-wai’s career-summarizing masterpiece in the top spot for 2004. But come Endy-time here, I’m feeling a bit iconoclastic, a bit in the mood to shake things up. So I’m going with Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s folkloric slow cinema romance in the upset.Best Director:

1. Wong Kar-wai, 2046
2. Shunji Iwai, Hana and Alice
3. Stephen Chow, Kung Fu Hustle
4. Johnnie To, Throw Down
5. Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Tropical Malady

If you assign a film a number of stars based on quality, say 1-5, and then add up the total number of stars accumulated by a director in a given calendar year, I suspect that Johnnie To in 2004 earned more stars in one year than any director since John Ford in 1939. However, due to a rule change in 2015, I’m no longer considering multiple films for a single nomination, and so the Endy goes to Apichatpong Weerasethakul, despite To being responsible for three of my top twenty films of the year.

Best Actor:

1. Tony Leung, 2046
2. Will Farrell, Anchorman
3. Lau Ching-wan, Fantasia
4. Bill Murray, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
5. Denzel Washington, Man on Fire

Best Actress:

1. Sylvia Chang, 20 30 40
2. Zhang Ziyi, 2046
3. Yū Aoi, Hana and Alice
4. Uma Thurman, Kill Bill Vol. 2
5. Emmanuelle Devos, Kings and Queen

Supporting Actor:

1. David Carradine, Kill Bill Vol. 2
2. Mathieu Amalric, Kings and Queen
3. Yuen Wah, Kung Fu Hustle
4. Willem Dafoe, The Life Aquatic
5. Sakda Kaewbuadee, Tropical Malady

Supporting Actress:

1. Angelica Lee, 20 30 40
3. Yuen Qiu, Kung Fu Hustle
4. Cate Blanchett, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2. Rachel McAdams, Mean Girls
5. Cherie Ying, Throw Down

1. Will Farrell & Adam McKay, Anchorman
2. Stephen Chow, Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung & Tsang Kan-cheung, Kung Fu Hustle
3. Wes Anderson & Noah Baumbach, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Yau Nai-hoi, Yip Tin-shing & Au Kin-yee, Throw Down
5. Wong Kar-wai, 2046

Adapted Screenplay:

1. Shunji Iwai, Hana and Alice
2. Guillermo del Toro & Peter Briggs, Hellboy
3. Hayao Miyazaki, Howl’s Moving Castle
4. Brian Helgeland, Man on Fire
5. Tina Fey, Mean Girls

Maybe it’s just me and my weird taste as a cinephile, but it does seem like good adapted screenplays are increasingly rare. Every year I really have to scrounge to find five good ones. Whereas I’m devastated at having to leave Tropical Malady, 20 30 40, Collateral and House of Flying Daggers off the nominee list for Original Screenplay.

Film Editing:

1. 2046
2. Kung Fu Hustle
3. Man on Fire
4. Throw Down
5. Tropical Malady

Original Score:

1. House of Flying Daggers
2. The Incredibles
3. L’Intrus
4. Kung Fu Hustle
5. The World

When in doubt, go with Lim Giong.

Adapted Score:

1. Garden State
2. Kill Bill Vol. 2
3. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
4. Le Pont des Arts
5. Shaun of the Dead