# List of accolades received by Memoirs of a Geisha

Memoirs of a Geisha is a 2005 drama film directed by Rob Marshall and written by Robin Swicord. The screenplay is based on the novel of the same name by Arthur Golden, which follows the fictional story of Chiyo Sakamoto (Suzuka Ohgo and Zhang Ziyi), who, as a young girl, leaves behind her fishing village and becomes Sayuri Nitta, a celebrated geisha working in Kyoto, Japan, before and after World War II. The film also stars Ken Watanabe as Sayuri's love interest, Gong Li as her rival, and Michelle Yeoh as her mentor. It had a limited theatrical release in the United States from December 9, 2005, before it went on a wide release on December 23, 2005. Memoirs of a Geisha grossed a worldwide box office total of over $162 million, against an estimated budget of $85 million.
Memoirs of a Geisha garnered various awards and nominations following its release, with nominations ranging from recognition of the cast's acting performances, particularly those of Zhang and Li, to its costume design, cinematography, and John Williams' score. The film received six nominations at the 78th Academy Awards and won three at the ceremony. Production designer John Myhre won the Art Directors Guild Award for Excellence in Production Design for a Period Film for his work on the film, while cinematographer Dion Beebe won three awards from the American Society of Cinematographers, Australian Cinematographers Society, and the Australian Film Institute. At the 59th British Academy Film Awards, Memoirs of a Geisha won two awards from six nominations. The location crew were recognised at the California on Location Awards, where they won two awards. Memoirs of a Geisha received three nominations at the 11th Critics' Choice Awards; Williams won Best Composer.
The film earned five nominations from the Gold Derby Film Awards, with costume designer Colleen Atwood going on to win Best Costume Design. She also received the Costume Designers Guild Award for Excellence in Period Film. The sound and dialogue artists won one award out of three nominations from the Golden Reel Awards. At the 63rd Golden Globe Awards, Zhang earned a nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture, while Williams won Best Original Score. Williams would go on to win two awards from a total of six nominations for his score at the GoldSpirit Awards, as well as the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media and two IFMCA Awards. Producers Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick were honored at the 2005 Hollywood Film Festival, along with Atwood, who was named Costume Designer of the Year.
Film editor Pietro Scalia was awarded the Special Silver Ribbon from the Nastro d'Argento. Memoirs of a Geisha was named as one of the Top Ten Films at the 2005 National Board of Review Awards. Gong also won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress accolade. The film received a total of nine nominations at the 10th Satellite Awards, including Best Film. Swicord went on to win Best Adapted Screenplay. Zhang's performance earned her nominations for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. She was also nominated for Sexiest Performance at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards. At the 27th Young Artist Awards, Suzuka Ohgo won Best Supporting Young Actress.

## Accolades

| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
| Academy Awards | March 5, 2006 | Best Art Direction | John Myhre, Gretchen Rau | Won | [4] [5] |
| Academy Awards | March 5, 2006 | Best Cinematography | Dion Beebe | Won | [4] [5] |
| Academy Awards | March 5, 2006 | Best Costume Design | Colleen Atwood | Won | [4] [5] |
| Academy Awards | March 5, 2006 | Best Original Score | John Williams | Nominated | [4] [5] |
| Academy Awards | March 5, 2006 | Best Sound | Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline, John Pritchett | Nominated | [4] [5] |
| Academy Awards | March 5, 2006 | Best Sound Editing | Wylie Stateman | Nominated | [4] [5] |
| American Society of Cinematographers | February 26, 2006 | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography | Dion Beebe | Won | |
| Art Directors Guild | February 11, 2006 | Excellence in Production Design for a Period Film | John Myhre | Won | |
| Australian Cinematographers Society | 2006 | International Award | Dion Beebe | Won | |
| Australian Film Institute | December 6–7, 2006 | Excellence in Filmmaking | Dion Beebe | Won | |
| British Academy Film Awards | February 19, 2006 | Best Actress | Zhang Ziyi | Nominated | [10] [11] |
| British Academy Film Awards | February 19, 2006 | Best Cinematography | Dion Beebe | Won | [10] [11] |
| British Academy Film Awards | February 19, 2006 | Best Costume Design | Colleen Atwood | Won | [10] [11] |
| British Academy Film Awards | February 19, 2006 | Best Film Music | John Williams | Won | [10] [11] |
| British Academy Film Awards | February 19, 2006 | Best Makeup and Hair | Kate Biscoe, Lyndell Quiyou, Kelvin R. Trahan, Noriko Watanabe | Nominated | [10] [11] |
| British Academy Film Awards | February 19, 2006 | Best Production Design | John Myhre | Nominated | [10] [11] |
| British Society of Cinematographers | July 15, 2007 | Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film | Dion Beebe | Nominated | [12] [13] |
| California on Location Awards | 2005 | Location Professional of the Year | Mike Fantasia | Won | |
| California on Location Awards | 2005 | Production Company/Location Team of the Year | | Won | |
| Casting Society of America | November 1, 2006 | Best Casting for a Drama Feature Film | Francine Maisler | Nominated | |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | January 9, 2005 | Best Original Score | John Williams | Nominated | |
| Cinema Audio Society Awards | February 25, 2006 | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Motion Picture | Kevin O'Connell, Greg P. Russell, Rick Kline, John Pritchett | Nominated | |
| Costume Designers Guild | February 25, 2006 | Excellence in Period Film | Colleen Atwood | Won | |
| Critics' Choice Movie Award | January 9, 2006 | Best Composer | John Williams | Won | |
| Critics' Choice Movie Award | January 9, 2006 | Best Picture | Memoirs of a Geisha | Nominated | |
| Critics' Choice Movie Award | January 9, 2006 | Best Soundtrack | Memoirs of a Geisha | Nominated | |
| Gold Derby Film Awards | 2005 | Best Art Direction | John Myhre, Gretchen Rau | Nominated | |
| Gold Derby Film Awards | 2005 | Best Cinematography | Dion Beebe | Nominated | |
| Gold Derby Film Awards | 2005 | Best Costume Design | Colleen Atwood | Won | |
| Gold Derby Film Awards | 2005 | Best Makeup/Hair | Kate Biscoe | Nominated | |
| Gold Derby Film Awards | 2005 | Best Original Score | John Williams | Nominated | |
| Golden Globe Awards | January 16, 2006 | Best Original Score | John Williams | Won | |
| Golden Globe Awards | January 16, 2006 | Best Actress in a Drama Motion Picture | Zhang Ziyi | Nominated | |
| Golden Reel Awards | March 4, 2006 | Best Sound Editing in Feature Film – Dialogue & ADR | | Won | [22] [23] |
| Golden Reel Awards | March 4, 2006 | Best Sound Editing in Feature Film – Music | Ramiro Belgardt, Kenneth Karman, Kenneth Wannberg | Nominated | [22] [23] |
| Golden Reel Awards | March 4, 2006 | Best Sound Editing in Feature Film – Sound Effects & Foley | | Nominated | [22] [23] |
| GoldSpirit Awards | 2005 | Best Drama Score | John Williams | Won | |
| GoldSpirit Awards | 2005 | Best Drama Theme | "Sayuri's Theme and End Credits" | Nominated | |
| GoldSpirit Awards | 2005 | Best Drama Theme | "Becoming a Geisha" | Nominated | |
| GoldSpirit Awards | 2005 | Best Romantic Theme | "The Chairman's Waltz" | Nominated | |
| GoldSpirit Awards | 2005 | Best Score | John Williams | Won | |
| GoldSpirit Awards | 2005 | Best Theme | "Becoming a Geisha" | Nominated | |
| Grammy Award | February 11, 2007 | Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media | John Williams | Won | |
| Hollywood Film Festival | October 18–24, 2005 | Costume Designer of the Year | Colleen Atwood | Won | [26] [27] |
| Hollywood Film Festival | October 18–24, 2005 | Producer of the Year | Lucy Fisher and Douglas Wick | Won | [26] [27] |
| IFMCA Awards | 2005 | Film Score of the Year | Memoirs of a Geisha – John Williams | Won | |
| IFMCA Awards | 2005 | Best Original Score for a Drama Film | Memoirs of a Geisha – John Williams | Won | |
| MTV Movie Awards | June 3, 2006 | Sexiest Performance | Zhang Ziyi | Nominated | |
| NAACP Image Awards | February 26, 2006 | Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture | Zhang Ziyi | Nominated | |
| Nastro d'Argento | February 7, 2006 | Special Silver Ribbon | Pietro Scalia | Won | |
| National Board of Review | January 10, 2006 | Best Supporting Actress | Gong Li | Won | |
| National Board of Review | January 10, 2006 | Top Ten Films | Memoirs of a Geisha | Won | |
| New York Film Critics Circle | December 12, 2005 | Best Actress | Zhang Ziyi (also for 2046) | Nominated | |
| Satellite Awards | December 17, 2005 | Best Actress | Zhang Ziyi | Nominated | [34] [35] |
| Satellite Awards | December 17, 2005 | Best Adapted Screenplay | Robin Swicord | Won | [34] [35] |
| Satellite Awards | December 17, 2005 | Best Art Direction and Production Design | John Myhre | Nominated | [34] [35] |
| Satellite Awards | December 17, 2005 | Best Cinematography | Dion Beebe | Nominated | [34] [35] |
| Satellite Awards | December 17, 2005 | Best Costume Design | Colleen Atwood | Nominated | [34] [35] |
| Satellite Awards | December 17, 2005 | Best Director | Rob Marshall | Nominated | [34] [35] |
| Satellite Awards | December 17, 2005 | Best Film | Memoirs of a Geisha | Nominated | [34] [35] |
| Satellite Awards | December 17, 2005 | Best Original Score | John Williams | Nominated | [34] [35] |
| Satellite Awards | December 17, 2005 | Best Supporting Actress | Gong Li | Nominated | [34] [35] |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | January 29, 2006 | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role | Zhang Ziyi | Nominated | |
| Visual Effects Society | February 15, 2006 | Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture | Robert Stromberg, Julia Frey, Paul Graff, Adam Watkins | Nominated | |
| Young Artist Award | March 25, 2006 | Best Supporting Young Actress | Suzuka Ohgo | Won | |
| Young Artist Award | March 25, 2006 | Best Family Drama Feature Film | Memoirs of a Geisha | Nominated | |