MOVIES Oscar-nominated films hit the shelves as DVDs

Huge sales created new buzz for 'Seabiscuit.'
NEWSDAY
Now that the Oscar nominations are out, the waiting can begin.
No, not for the actual Academy Awards ceremony (which happens a month earlier this year, on Feb. 29). We're talking about the DVD release date.
After all, last year was the second straight year DVDs were the most purchased entertainment medium -- more than music CDs, movie tickets, video games and books -- according to Digital Entertainment Group. Some are saying huge DVD sales (more than 6.5 millions copies) may have helped generate new buzz for "Seabiscuit," which received seven Academy nods. Though most of the films honored still are in theaters, several Oscar-nominated flicks are available on DVD:
U"Whale Rider" -- This film delivered perhaps the biggest surprise nominee in Keisha Castle-Hughes, who, at 13, became the youngest person nominated for best actress. Castle-Hughes, who was 11 during the making of the movie, had no previous acting experience before taking on the role of Pai, a Maori girl attempting to defy the traditions of her tribe.
U"Pirates of the Caribbean" -- Oscar tradition normally shuns comedic turns in movies, but Johnny Depp's slightly over-the-top performance as pirate Jack Sparrow was too good to be denied.
U"Thirteen" -- Holly Hunter gets a best supporting actress nod as a single mom trying to raise her teenage daughter (the equally brilliant Evan Rachel Wood) as she navigates the mean streets of adolescence.
U"Capturing the Friedmans" -- Each time you watch this documentary, which traces the child-molestation case against a father and son in Great Neck, N.Y., you could easily come to a different conclusion as to their guilt or innocence. Bonus material added to the DVD, which arrived in stores this week, only fuels the debate.
U"Finding Nemo" -- The No. 1 movie for 2003, it seems as though everyone saw this movie in the theaters. But that hasn't seemed to hinder DVD sales; it became the best-selling DVD of all time two weeks after its November release.