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Academy Votes For Unity At Patriotic
Oscars. By Rebort |
FULL
LIST OF WINNERS & NOMINATIONS
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Halle Berry gives her emotional acceptance speech
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The abiding memory from 74th Academy Awards will be a highly emotional
Halle Berry receiving the Best Actress award for her role in Monster's
Ball, as a death row convict's widow who becomes involved
with a racist prison guard. It is the first time a black actress
has won an Oscar in the category. "Oh, my God," sobbed Berry,
gasping to get her words out. "I'm sorry. This moment is so much
bigger than me..."
Certainly, for those three long minutes while she tried to gather
herself it seemed like she carried the world on her shoulders.
The audience and the reported billion or so viewers, watching
with some discomfort, wondered, "Will she ever get through
this?"
Thankfully, she did, and reminded us that the award was also "for
every nameless, faceless woman of colour who now has a chance
because this door tonight has been opened."
As well as the drama of Halle Berry's Academy Award acceptance
speech, the Academy shot back at critics that have accused it
of racism by awarding Denzel Washington the Best Actor Award for
his bad boy role in Training
Day. Washington becomes the second black actor to win the
award, the first being Sidney Poitier, in 1963. To a tremendous
reception, Poitier also received a lifetime achievement award.
Washington quipped coolly in his acceptance speech, about his
and Berry's awards:
"Two birds in one night!" adding, "Forty years
I've been chasing Sidney, they finally give it to me, what do
they do? They give it to him the same night."
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Brit actor Jim Broadbent (Actor in a Supporting Role,
Iris) joins Jennifer Connolly (Actress in a Supporting Role,
A Beautiful Mind) |
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The hand of history weighed heavily on what was a more patriotic,
reflective although nonetheless glitzy night. Some will say that
it took a catastrophe on the scale of September 11 to snap the
Academy out of its collective myopia towards black filmmaking.
Certainly, last year's terrorist attacks impacted the night's
events. Tom Cruise set a defiant tone at the beginning of the
four-hour-long ceremony. "Should we celebrate the joy and magic
movies bring?" he asked. "Dare I say it? More than ever."
Later, one of the world's most famous New Yorkers, Woody Allen,
received a rousing ovation when he made his first Oscar appearance
appealing to filmmakers to come back to New York and make films.
Refering to the tight security, he joked that his warm reception
was more welcoming than the strip search before coming on.
After the award for Best Foreign film had been awarded to Bosnian
filmmaker Danis Tanovic for his "war comedy" No
Man's Land, Kevin Spacey came on and, with unabashed patriotism,
asked everyone to stand for "one minute of silence for every
single American hero who gave his or her life on September Eleven".
Host of the ceremony, Whoopi Goldberg, joined at one point by
a shadowy FBI operative (a la the biopic of schizophrenic maths
genius, John Nash, A
Beautiful Mind) ended the proceedings saying, "We've
got your back!" and turned to reveal acronyms for the New
York emergency services written on her back.
Not surprisingly in this climate, Robert Altman, who was making
headlines with his criticism of the Bush administration and past
Academy Award winners before the vote, saw yet another two bids
for Oscar recognition fall by the wayside as A Beautiful Mind
picked up the awards for Best Picture and Best Director (for Ron
Howard). With its individualist, all-American, love-conquers-all
message, A Beautiful Mind seemed to perfectly fit the bill of
Academy favourite this year.
There was some consolation for the Brits involved with Altman's
Thirties class satire Gosford
Park when the film's scribe Julian Fellowes picked up the
Award for Original Screenplay. "My thanks start with the
great Robert Altman who has given me the biggest break in the
movies since Lana Turner walked into Schwab's," he said,
adding "I think you must be the most generous nation on Earth!"
Altman may not agree.
Fortunately for Fellowes, A Beautiful Mind was in another category
- Best Screenplay (Adapted for the Screen) - which, of course,
it went on to win. Jennifer Connelly also picked up the Best Supporting
Actress award for her role as the wife of Russell Crowe's schizophrenic
genius.
The Best Actor Award went to Jim Broadbent for his part of husband
to Judi Dench, in Iris
"I'd like to thank John Bayley who allowed us to plunder,
and I'm sure misrepresent, his life with Iris," he said,
adding vainly at the end, "Good luck, Moulin
Rouge!"
To help dispel suspicions that President George Bush and vice-President
Dick Cheney were actually chosing the winners, champion of indie
filmmaking Robert Redford, was invited on to receive a lifetime
achievement award. In what was a rare eloquent speech, Bob reminded
everyone to "make sure we embrace the risks as well as the
sure-things."
But Moulin Rouge, like other fantastical favourites The
Lord of the Rings and Amelie,
was notably absent from the top awards. The hobbits converted
4 of their 13 nominations - winning awards for Best Score, Makeup,
Visual Effects and Cinematography. Moulin Rouge won awards for
Costume Design and Art Direction. Amelie received null points.
In the Bedroom
also failed to convert any of its four nominations.
Dreamworks had the final say in their rivalry
with Disney when Shrek
beat Monsters Inc.
for the brand new Animated Feature Award
Consolation for Monsters Inc came in the form of an Oscar for
Randy Newman for Best Song. It was the first time he won an award
after getting 16 Oscar nominations.
Finally, there was plenty of passion from shorts makers, in particular
Ray McKinnon, director The Accountant: "We'd like to thank
the Academy for this wonderful honour in a category that still
allows for a person who is just burning to make a movie, to load
the camera in the back of his daddy's old truck and gather up
some talented dreamers and do it. And if the stars align, and
the fates conspire, that person might find themselves standing
right here at the Good God Almighty Academy Awards. Woo! Woo!"
FULL LIST OF OSCAR WINNERS
& NOMINATIONS
Warriors on top at 2001 Oscars
Golden Globe Awards
2002 go down under
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