RyanBounce04
03-01-2004, 07:16 AM
LOS ANGELES - Best-picture favorite “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” built an early lead at Sunday’s Academy Awards, winning all 11 of the awards for which it was nominated, including best picture and best director for Peter Jackson.
Jackson, said he was “honored, touched and relieved” that the Academy finally honored a fantasy film.
“Return of the King” also won for visual effects, makeup, art direction, costume design, sound, original score, film editing, adapted screenplay and best original song for "Into the West."
“It’s been a long journey for us all, and it’s just an incredible high note to finish it on,” said Grant Major, an art-direction Oscar winner for “Return of the King.” “It’s been an amazing ride.”
Charlize Theron won for best actress for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster."
Many regarded Theron, a former model and ballerina, as the front-runner for the award after she gained 30 pounds and wore prosthetic teeth and splotchy makeup to play real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Critics hailed both her emotional and physical transformation.
During her acceptance speech, Theron tearfully thanked makeup artist “Toni G, for transforming me so incredibly.”
Sean Penn won the best-actor honor for his perfomance as an ex-hoodlum who falls back on his criminal ways to exact revenge for his daughter’s murder in “Mystic River.”
Tim Robbins took home the night's first Academy Award, for his supporting actor role in "Mystic River," directed by Clint Eastwood, whom Robbins thanked for "making my mantel very crowded."
Robbins won with his first-ever acting nomination, though he had been nominated as best director for 1995’s “Dead Man Walking.”
“In this movie, I play a victim of abuse and violence,” Robbins said. “If you are a person who has had that tragedy befall you, there is no shame in seeking help and counseling.
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Renee Zellweger won for best supporting actress for her scene-stealing role as the scrappy, plain-spoken farmhand Ruby Thewes in the epic Civil War romance “Cold Mountain.”
The 34-year-old Texas-born actress made her big-screen breakthrough as the object of Tom Cruise’s affections in the 1996 hit comedy “Jerry Maguire.”
In her acceptance speech, she praised Cruise “for showing very early on that kindness and success are not mutually exclusive.” The camera simultaneously zeroed in on Nicole Kidman, Cruise’s ex-wife and Zellweger’s “Cold Mountain” star.
Zellweger won for playing a character in frumpy clothes and a layer of dirt from working the fields, a year after “Cold Mountain” co-star Nicole Kidman received the lead-actress Oscar after wearing a fake nose to simulate Virginia Woolf’s plain-Jane features in “The Hours.” This year’s lead-actress front-runner, Charlize Theron of “Monster,” gained 30 pounds and was disguised behind dark contact lenses, false teeth and splotchy makeup.
“I hope it’s a trend, meaning interesting parts playing women who are multifaceted and really rich in their journeys. It’s what interests me most,” Zellweger said backstage. “The more you can change yourself, the more removed the character is from your own experiences, the more rewarding it is.”
War warning
"Fog of War" won for best documentary. Declaring it was about time, filmmaker Errol Morris won the Best Documentary Oscar Sunday for “The Fog of War,” a life and times of Vietnam-era Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, and pointedly warned the United States was going down the same “rabbit hole” in Iraq.
“I’d like to thank the Academy for finally recognizing my films,” said Morris, who has never before won an Oscar despite making such acclaimed works as “The Thin Blue Line.” “I thought it would never happen,” he said.
McNamara served Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson during some of the U.S. buildup in Vietnam, and Morris cautioned that the United States was headed down a path as brutal as Vietnam with the ongoing war in Iraq.
“Forty years ago this country went down a rabbit hole in Vietnam and millions died,” Morris said. “I fear we’re going down a rabbit hole once again -- and if people can stop and think and reflect on some of the ideas and issues in this movie, perhaps I’ve done some damn good here!” Morris said to thunderous applause from the audience.
After Morris finished, Oscars host Billy Crystal joked “I can’t wait for his tax audit.”
"Chernobyl Heart" won for best documentary short subject.
French-Canadian director Denys Arcand’s “The Barbarian Invasions” won the Oscar for best foreign language film, the first time a Canadian film has won the award.
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" won for sound editing and again for cinematography.
"Finding Nemo," the film about a clown fish searching for his lost son, won for best animated feature film.
"Two Soldiers," based on a 1942 William Faulkner story, won for best live-action short.
"Harvie Krumpet" won for best animated short film.
Sofia Coppola won for best original screenplay for "Lost in Translation."
Security high
With helicopters hovering overhead and Hollywood streets cordoned off, security was as tight as technologically and humanly possible at the Kodak Theatre, where the 76th annual Oscars are being held. Security cameras, metal detectors and a police officer in every corner seemed to be the order of the day.
Even the 500 fans sitting in the bleachers to view the red-carpet arrival of the stars were carefully screened, selected and searched. Security will be tight on stage, as well, as for the first time.
The stars showed up early in their glittering best for the awards, and among the first on the red carpet was 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes, the youngest best actress nominee ever, who said she had three candy bars to see her through the long night.
Hughes, in a pink dress, was nominated for her role as the Maori schoolgirl in “Whale Rider,” a role that she won when spotted in a classroom.
The usually live show, produced for the first time by former Disney studio head Joe Roth, will be broadcast around the world with a five-second tape delay, just in case some star decides to bare a breast or make some other untoward gesture a la Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl half-time show.
The producers have promised the delay will not be used to censor political statements by Academy Award winners or presenters, and that most likely will be put to the test.
But Roth told reporters as he arrived that he was not happy with the five-second delay.
“I’m sad over the five-second delay. Once you get into the habit of having a button, it is bad news. One year it is a button for obscenity, another year it will be for politics,” he said.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is expected to claim the best-picture crown, ending filmmaker Peter Jackson’s seven-year march toward serious critical acceptance of the fantasy genre.
The story of the night, though, is “The Lord of the Rings.” The three films came out just a year apart, building into a nearly 10-hour saga that has grossed $2.8 billion at theaters worldwide. A best-picture win Sunday would make “Return of the King” the first fantasy film ever to win the top Oscar.
The first two parts — “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers” — both were nominated but lost.
This awards season, the cast and crew of “Lord of the Rings” have resembled a real-life fellowship on an emotional farewell tour, traveling from awards show to awards show.
“We’ve all had a long time to anticipate the coming of the end,” Sean Astin, who played sturdy hobbit Samwise Gamgee, said backstage at the SAG awards, where he and his cast mates were honored with the best-ensemble performance prize. “So we’ve all experienced moments of sadness and pain and relief and glee that it’s over.”
Liv Tyler, who played the elf princess Arwen, said “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy was a life-changing experience.
“I’ve learned a lot about patience and endurance and, I guess, what it really is to make a movie. And I’ll be different forever,” said Tyler.
Ryan
Jackson, said he was “honored, touched and relieved” that the Academy finally honored a fantasy film.
“Return of the King” also won for visual effects, makeup, art direction, costume design, sound, original score, film editing, adapted screenplay and best original song for "Into the West."
“It’s been a long journey for us all, and it’s just an incredible high note to finish it on,” said Grant Major, an art-direction Oscar winner for “Return of the King.” “It’s been an amazing ride.”
Charlize Theron won for best actress for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster."
Many regarded Theron, a former model and ballerina, as the front-runner for the award after she gained 30 pounds and wore prosthetic teeth and splotchy makeup to play real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Critics hailed both her emotional and physical transformation.
During her acceptance speech, Theron tearfully thanked makeup artist “Toni G, for transforming me so incredibly.”
Sean Penn won the best-actor honor for his perfomance as an ex-hoodlum who falls back on his criminal ways to exact revenge for his daughter’s murder in “Mystic River.”
Tim Robbins took home the night's first Academy Award, for his supporting actor role in "Mystic River," directed by Clint Eastwood, whom Robbins thanked for "making my mantel very crowded."
Robbins won with his first-ever acting nomination, though he had been nominated as best director for 1995’s “Dead Man Walking.”
“In this movie, I play a victim of abuse and violence,” Robbins said. “If you are a person who has had that tragedy befall you, there is no shame in seeking help and counseling.
RELATED STORY
Crystal stays abreast of controversy
Renee Zellweger won for best supporting actress for her scene-stealing role as the scrappy, plain-spoken farmhand Ruby Thewes in the epic Civil War romance “Cold Mountain.”
The 34-year-old Texas-born actress made her big-screen breakthrough as the object of Tom Cruise’s affections in the 1996 hit comedy “Jerry Maguire.”
In her acceptance speech, she praised Cruise “for showing very early on that kindness and success are not mutually exclusive.” The camera simultaneously zeroed in on Nicole Kidman, Cruise’s ex-wife and Zellweger’s “Cold Mountain” star.
Zellweger won for playing a character in frumpy clothes and a layer of dirt from working the fields, a year after “Cold Mountain” co-star Nicole Kidman received the lead-actress Oscar after wearing a fake nose to simulate Virginia Woolf’s plain-Jane features in “The Hours.” This year’s lead-actress front-runner, Charlize Theron of “Monster,” gained 30 pounds and was disguised behind dark contact lenses, false teeth and splotchy makeup.
“I hope it’s a trend, meaning interesting parts playing women who are multifaceted and really rich in their journeys. It’s what interests me most,” Zellweger said backstage. “The more you can change yourself, the more removed the character is from your own experiences, the more rewarding it is.”
War warning
"Fog of War" won for best documentary. Declaring it was about time, filmmaker Errol Morris won the Best Documentary Oscar Sunday for “The Fog of War,” a life and times of Vietnam-era Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, and pointedly warned the United States was going down the same “rabbit hole” in Iraq.
“I’d like to thank the Academy for finally recognizing my films,” said Morris, who has never before won an Oscar despite making such acclaimed works as “The Thin Blue Line.” “I thought it would never happen,” he said.
McNamara served Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson during some of the U.S. buildup in Vietnam, and Morris cautioned that the United States was headed down a path as brutal as Vietnam with the ongoing war in Iraq.
“Forty years ago this country went down a rabbit hole in Vietnam and millions died,” Morris said. “I fear we’re going down a rabbit hole once again -- and if people can stop and think and reflect on some of the ideas and issues in this movie, perhaps I’ve done some damn good here!” Morris said to thunderous applause from the audience.
After Morris finished, Oscars host Billy Crystal joked “I can’t wait for his tax audit.”
"Chernobyl Heart" won for best documentary short subject.
French-Canadian director Denys Arcand’s “The Barbarian Invasions” won the Oscar for best foreign language film, the first time a Canadian film has won the award.
"Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" won for sound editing and again for cinematography.
"Finding Nemo," the film about a clown fish searching for his lost son, won for best animated feature film.
"Two Soldiers," based on a 1942 William Faulkner story, won for best live-action short.
"Harvie Krumpet" won for best animated short film.
Sofia Coppola won for best original screenplay for "Lost in Translation."
Security high
With helicopters hovering overhead and Hollywood streets cordoned off, security was as tight as technologically and humanly possible at the Kodak Theatre, where the 76th annual Oscars are being held. Security cameras, metal detectors and a police officer in every corner seemed to be the order of the day.
Even the 500 fans sitting in the bleachers to view the red-carpet arrival of the stars were carefully screened, selected and searched. Security will be tight on stage, as well, as for the first time.
The stars showed up early in their glittering best for the awards, and among the first on the red carpet was 13-year-old Keisha Castle-Hughes, the youngest best actress nominee ever, who said she had three candy bars to see her through the long night.
Hughes, in a pink dress, was nominated for her role as the Maori schoolgirl in “Whale Rider,” a role that she won when spotted in a classroom.
The usually live show, produced for the first time by former Disney studio head Joe Roth, will be broadcast around the world with a five-second tape delay, just in case some star decides to bare a breast or make some other untoward gesture a la Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl half-time show.
The producers have promised the delay will not be used to censor political statements by Academy Award winners or presenters, and that most likely will be put to the test.
But Roth told reporters as he arrived that he was not happy with the five-second delay.
“I’m sad over the five-second delay. Once you get into the habit of having a button, it is bad news. One year it is a button for obscenity, another year it will be for politics,” he said.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” is expected to claim the best-picture crown, ending filmmaker Peter Jackson’s seven-year march toward serious critical acceptance of the fantasy genre.
The story of the night, though, is “The Lord of the Rings.” The three films came out just a year apart, building into a nearly 10-hour saga that has grossed $2.8 billion at theaters worldwide. A best-picture win Sunday would make “Return of the King” the first fantasy film ever to win the top Oscar.
The first two parts — “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers” — both were nominated but lost.
This awards season, the cast and crew of “Lord of the Rings” have resembled a real-life fellowship on an emotional farewell tour, traveling from awards show to awards show.
“We’ve all had a long time to anticipate the coming of the end,” Sean Astin, who played sturdy hobbit Samwise Gamgee, said backstage at the SAG awards, where he and his cast mates were honored with the best-ensemble performance prize. “So we’ve all experienced moments of sadness and pain and relief and glee that it’s over.”
Liv Tyler, who played the elf princess Arwen, said “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy was a life-changing experience.
“I’ve learned a lot about patience and endurance and, I guess, what it really is to make a movie. And I’ll be different forever,” said Tyler.
Ryan