A Reel 20: December of 2002

This month marks the 20^th anniversary of the glorious days of December 2002; a month packed from top to bottom with Oscar contenders, blockbusters, and films that have lasted the test of time. 

 

The month was dominated by Peter Jackson’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, which was the second of his epic, three-film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. THE TWO TOWERS would earn nearly a billion dollars worldwide, finishing as the highest grosser of the year and earn six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. 

 

Hot on the heels of THE TWO TOWERS was Rob Marshall’s eventual Best Picture winner, CHICAGO. The adaptation of the stage musical was the first musical to win Best Picture since 1968, with Catherine Zeta-Jones winning for Best Actress. And also in the Oscar race was Roman Polanski’s WWII drama THE PIANIST, which would earn Polanski a win for Best Director, and Best Actor for Adrien Brody. 

 

The month also saw two heavyweights return in the form of Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. Spielberg brought us the fun romp CATCH ME IF YOU CAN with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio, while Scorsese delivered big-time with GANGS OF NEW YORK. DiCaprio would also star in GANGS, which would earn 10 Oscar nominations and further the legend of Daniel Day-Lewis. Other notables from prominent directors include Spike Lee’s 25^TH HOUR, Stephen Daldry’s THE HOURS, and George Clooney’s CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND. There was also Charlie Kaufman’s ADAPTATION, which won an Oscar for Chris Cooper. 

 

Also in this month, the STAR TREK franchise beamed down its 10^th film with the pivotal STAR TREK: NEMESIS, the late great Harold Ramis directed ANALYZE THAT, Jack Nicholson took a shot at comedy with ABOUT SCHMIDT, Denzel Washington had his directorial debut with ANTWONE FISHER, and Jennifer Lopez had a box office hit with MAID IN MANHATTAN.

 

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The year of 2002 was a milestone in cinema. It was the first to see three films cross the $800 million mark (THE TWO TOWERS, HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS, and SPIDER-MAN), and would set a record for the most ticket sales in a single year. Much of that dough was earned in the month of December, but it wasn’t just about money. THE TWO TOWERS became a new standard for fantasy films, while CHICAGO proved that the old toe-tappin’ musical was far from dead. It was one of those rare months where there were many options at the theatre. This Blogger recalls the month well, spending many hours at a beloved Cinemark theatre for repeat viewings of THE TWO TOWERS with his Fellowship, or catching up on the Oscar race. This was a special month in a special year, and one that is not likely to be repeated.