[8] Other winners included Saving Private Ryan with 5 awards, Life Is Beautiful with 3, and Affliction, Bunny, Election Night, Elizabeth, Gods and Monsters, The Last Days, The Personals: Improvisations on Romance in the Golden Years, The Prince of Egypt, and What Dreams May Come with 1.

[24] AMPAS and network ABC hoped to capitalize on the high television ratings and viewership that benefit programs airing on that particular day of the week.

[25] The Academy also stated that the move to Sunday would ease concerns about traffic gridlock and transportation that are significantly lower on weekends.

"[29] In a statement, Goldberg expressed that she was honored and excited to be selected to emcee the telecast commenting, "I am thrilled to escort Oscar into the new millennium.

Produced by Dennis Doty, the half-hour program was hosted by actress Geena Davis and CNN reporter Jim Moret.

[32] Similar to coverage of red carpet arrivals on networks such as E!, the pre-show featured interviews with nominees and other guests, recaps of nominations and segments highlighting behind-the-scenes preparations for the telecast.

Only Saving Private Ryan (2nd), The Truman Show (11th), A Civil Action (40th) and Primary Colors (50th) were nominated for Best Picture, directing, acting or screenwriting.

[35] The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Armageddon (1st), A Bug's Life (5th), Patch Adams (12th), Mulan (13th), The Mask of Zorro (17th), The Prince of Egypt (18th), The Horse Whisperer (24th), What Dreams May Come (37th) and Pleasantville (49th).

Columnist Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly quipped that "Whoopi bombed last night, she knew it—and yet, crassly, she took it as a sign of her own outrageousness.

[37] Film critic John Hartl of The Seattle Times lamented that the telecast "was the longest and possibly the dullest Oscar show of the century, clocking in at four hours.

"[39] The Boston Globe television critic Matthew Gilbert commented, "It was the perfect year with more than enough Hollywood intrigue and a battle for her to play off.

"[40] The American telecast on ABC drew an average of 45.51 million viewers over its length, which was an 18% decrease from the previous year's ceremony.

[45] Two months later, the ceremony won two of those nominations for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program (Roy Christopher and Stephen Olson) and Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Drama Series, Variety Series, Miniseries, Movie, or Special (Robert Dickinson, Robert T. Barnhart, Andy O'Reilly, Matt Ford).