Scott Hicks made a splashy impression at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival with the Australian art house hit, “Shine,” which stirred a major bidding war; Fine Line got the US release rights.
The well-acted melodrama recounted how the piano prodigy, David Helfgott (Oscar-winning Geoffrey Rush) was pushed to the breaking point by his domineering father (Oscar-nominated Armin Mueller-Stahl) and went on to become a major artistdespite all odds.
Oscar Alert
Oscar Nominations: 7
Picture, produced by Jane Scott
Director: Scott Hicks
Screenplay (Original): Jan Sardi, based on the story by Scott Hicks
Actor: Geoffrey Rush
Supporting Actor: Armin Mueller-Stahl
Score (Original): David Hirschfelder
Editing: Pip Karmel
Oscar Awards: 1
Actor
Oscar Context
In 1996, “Shine” competed for the Best Picture Oscar with the literary adaptation “The English Patient,” which swept most of the Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, the Coens' violent comedy “Fargo,” the Tom Cruise starring vehicle “Jerry Maguire,” for which Cuba Gooding Jr. won Supporting Actor, and Mike Leigh's British drama, “Secrets & Lies.”
The Original Screenplay Oscar went to Joel and Ethan Coen for “Fargo,” and “English Patient” also won Dramatic Score and Sound.
