# List of accolades received by American Beauty

American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. The film stars Kevin Spacey as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged office worker who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend. Released in North America on September 15, 1999, American Beauty was positively received by critics and audiences alike; it was the best-reviewed American film of the year and grossed over $350 million worldwide. Reviewers praised all aspects of the production, with particular emphasis on Mendes, Spacey and Ball; criticism tended to focus on the familiarity of the characters and setting. At the 1999 Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Spacey), Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography (for Conrad Hall). The film was nominated for and won numerous other awards and honors, mainly for the direction, writing, and acting.
DreamWorks launched a major campaign to promote the film five weeks before the ballots for the Academy Awards were due. Its campaign combined traditional advertising and publicity with more focused strategies to reach 5,600 Academy voters. Although direct mail campaigning was prohibited, DreamWorks reached voters by promoting the film in "casual, comfortable settings" in voters' communities. The studio's candidate for the Academy Award for Best Picture the previous year, Saving Private Ryan, lost to Shakespeare in Love, so the studio took a new approach by hiring outsiders to provide input for the campaign. Nancy Willen encouraged DreamWorks to produce a special about the making of American Beauty, to set up displays of the film in the communities' bookstores, and to arrange a question-and-answer session with Mendes for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Dale Olson, who led the film's campaign, advised the studio to not limit its marketing to major newspapers, but to also advertise in free publications that circulated in Beverly Hills, home to many voters. Olson arranged to screen American Beauty to about 1,000 members of the Actors Fund of America, as many participating actors were also voters.
American Beauty's closest contender for Best Picture was seen as The Cider House Rules from Miramax. Both studios mounted aggressive campaigns; in the weeks leading up the ceremony, DreamWorks bought 38% more advertising space in Variety than Miramax. In 2000, the Publicists Guild of America recognized DreamWorks for the best film publicity campaign. In September 2008, Empire named American Beauty the 96th "Greatest Movie of All Time" after a poll of 10,000 readers, 150 filmmakers and 50 film critics. The film's award success was seen as vindication for DreamWorks, a studio which had only formed six years previously—to industry skepticism.

## Selected awards and nominations

| Award | Category | Name | Outcome |
| 72nd Academy Awards | Best Picture | Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks | Won |
| 72nd Academy Awards | Best Director | Sam Mendes | Won |
| 72nd Academy Awards | Best Actor | Kevin Spacey | Won |
| 72nd Academy Awards | Best Actress | Annette Bening | Nominated |
| 72nd Academy Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Alan Ball | Won |
| 72nd Academy Awards | Best Cinematography | Conrad Hall | Won |
| 72nd Academy Awards | Best Film Editing | Tariq Anwar and Christopher Greenbury | Nominated |
| 72nd Academy Awards | Best Original Score | Thomas Newman | Nominated |
| American Cinema Editors | Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic | Tariq Anwar, Christopher Greenbury | Nominated |
| American Comedy Awards | Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) | Annette Bening | Won |
| American Comedy Awards | Funniest Motion Picture | | Nominated |
| American Comedy Awards | Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) | Kevin Spacey | Nominated |
| American Society of Cinematographers | Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases | Conrad Hall | Won |
| Art Directors Guild | Excellence in Production Design Award for Feature Film | Naomi Shohan, David Lazan, Catherine Smith | Nominated |
| Australian Film Institute | Best Foreign Film | Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks | Won |
| Awards of the Japanese Academy | Best Foreign Film | | Nominated |
| Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics | Grand Prix | | Nominated |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Film | Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks | Won |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Actor in a Leading Role | Kevin Spacey | Won |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Annette Bening | Won |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Editing | Tariq Anwar, Christopher Greenbury | Won |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Conrad Hall | Won |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Anthony Asquith Award (Best Film Music) | Thomas Newman | Won |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | David Lean Award | Sam Mendes | Nominated |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Screenplay – Original | Alan Ball | Nominated |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role | Wes Bentley | Nominated |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role | Thora Birch | Nominated |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role | Mena Suvari | Nominated |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Sound | Scott Martin Gershin, Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, Richard Van Dyke | Nominated |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Production Design | Naomi Shohan | Nominated |
| 53rd British Academy Film Awards | Best Make Up/Hair | Tania McComas, Carol A. O'Connell | Nominated |
| BMI Film & TV Awards | BMI Film Music | Thomas Newman | Won |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Actress – Drama | Annette Bening | Nominated |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Supporting Actor – Drama | Wes Bentley | Nominated |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama | Thora Birch | Nominated |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Actor – Drama | Kevin Spacey | Nominated |
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Actress – Newcomer (Internet Only) | Mena Suvari | Nominated |
| Brit Awards | Soundtrack/Cast Recording | | Won |
| Bodil Awards | Best American Film | Sam Mendes | Won |
| British Society of Cinematographers | Best Cinematography | Conrad Hall | Won |
| Directors Guild of America | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Sam Mendes | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actor | Kevin Spacey | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | Sam Mendes | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Picture | Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Most Promising Actor | Wes Bentley | Won |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actress | Annette Bening | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Cinematography | Conrad L. Hall | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | Best Screenplay | Alan Ball | Nominated |
| Cinema Audio Society | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Feature Film | Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, Richard Van Dyke | Nominated |
| 57th Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks | Won |
| 57th Golden Globe Awards | Best Director | Sam Mendes | Won |
| 57th Golden Globe Awards | Best Screenplay | Alan Ball | Won |
| 57th Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress – Drama | Annette Bening | Nominated |
| 57th Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Drama | Kevin Spacey | Nominated |
| 57th Golden Globe Awards | Best Original Score | Thomas Newman | Nominated |
| National Board of Review | Best Picture | | Won |
| National Board of Review | Breakthrough Performance – Male | Wes Bentley | Won |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Best Actor | Kevin Spacey | Won |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Best Actress | Annette Bening | Won |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Best Supporting Actor | Chris Cooper | Nominated |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | Best Ensemble | Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Mena Suvari, Wes Bentley, Chris Cooper, Allison Janney, Peter Gallagher | Won |
* AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes
** "Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in." – Nominated.