Skandies 1995

My first attempt at what became the Skandies was a simple Oscar-style poll and involved only 17 participants -- less than half the number today. Consequently, I don't consider these results "official" -- even then, I feel certain that Exotica would handily have won Best Picture had I conducted the survey as I do today. But for posterity's sake, here were the results for this inaugural test run.


Best Picture: Leaving Las Vegas

Other nominees:

  • Dead Man Walking
  • Exotica
  • Safe
  • Se7en


    • Best Director: Atom Egoyan, Exotica

    Other nominees:

  • Mike Figgis, Leaving Las Vegas
  • David Fincher, Se7en
  • Terry Gilliam, Twelve Monkeys
  • Todd Haynes, Safe


    • Best Actress: Julianne Moore, Safe

    Other nominees:

  • Nicole Kidman, To Die For
  • Jennifer Jason Leigh, Georgia
  • Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
  • Elisabeth Shue, Leaving Las Vegas


    • Best Actor: Nicolas Cage, Leaving Las Vegas

    Other nominees:

  • Morgan Freeman, Se7en
  • Ian McKellen, Richard III
  • Sean Penn, Dead Man Walking
  • Massimo Troisi, The Postman (Il Postino)


    • Best Supporting Actor: Kevin Spacey, Se7en and The Usual Suspects*

    Other nominees:

  • Don Cheadle, Devil in a Blue Dress
  • James Cromwell, Babe
  • David Morse, The Crossing Guard
  • Brad Pitt, Twelve Monkeys

    • * (For this first year, the rules combined votes for separate performances by the same actor. I changed it the following year.)


    Best Supporting Actress: Mira Sorvino, Mighty Aphrodite

    Other nominees:

  • Joan Allen, Nixon
  • Illeana Douglas, To Die For
  • Ashley Judd, Heat and Smoke
  • Kate Winslet, Sense and Sensibility


    • Best Screenplay: Atom Egoyan, Exotica

    Other nominees:

  • Richard Linklater & Kim Krizan, Before Sunrise
  • Tim Robbins, Dead Man Walking
  • Todd Haynes, Safe
  • Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility


    • Best Cinematography: Darius Khondji, Se7en

    Other nominees:

  • Darius Khondji, The City of Lost Children*
  • Malik Sayeed, Clockers
  • Dante Spinotti, Heat
  • Emmanuel Lubezki, A Little Princess

    • * (I'm not sure why I combined votes in the acting categories but not in the technical categories.)


    Best Score: Mychael Danna, Exotica

    Other nominees:

  • David Robbins, Dead Man Walking
  • John Williams, Nixon
  • Ed Tomney, Safe
  • Paul Buckmaster, Twelve Monkeys


    • Best Documentary: Crumb

    Other nominees:

  • A Great Day in Harlem
  • Leona's Sister Gerri
  • Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey
  • Unzipped


    • Best Foreign-Language Film: The City of Lost Children

    Other nominees:

  • Burnt by the Sun
  • The Kingdom
  • Les Misérables
  • Shanghai Triad


    • Best Debut Film: Babe

    Other nominees:

  • The Brothers McMullen
  • Kicking and Screaming
  • Kids
  • Shallow Grave