Berry, Washington get top actor awards; 'Beautiful Mind' wins
( 2002-03-25 14:20 ) (7 )

Denzel Washington accepts the Oscar for Best Actor during the 74th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood March 24, 2002. Washington won the Academy Award for his role in the film "Training Day". [Reuters] Actress Halle Berry poses with her Oscar after winning Best Actress at the 74th annual Academy Awards March 24, 2002 in Hollywood. Berry won for her work in the film "Monster's Ball." [Reuters] Jim Broadbent (left)and Jennifer Connelly accept the their Oscar awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role during the 74th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood on March 24 , 2002. Broadbent won for his role in the movie "Iris" and Connelly won for role "A Beautiful Mind". [Reuters]

Hollywood witnessed remarkable Oscar history Sunday night as two black actors, Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, won the Oscars for top acting categories.

Berry, 33, who won for her role in "Monster's Ball," emerged as a late favorite two weeks ago when she won the Screen Actors Guild award for her performance. Washington won for his role in "Training Day." The top award for best picture went to "A Beautiful Mind," which also scored best director for Ron Howard.

Both Berry and Denzel accepted their awards with spontaneous, heartfelt remarks. "Oh my God," Berry said. "Oh my God." Overwhelmed by emotion, she broke down in tears. "I'm sorry," she said between sobs. "This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. ... It's for every nameless, faceless woman of color who now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened."

"Two birds in one night," said Washington. "God is good. God is great. from the bottom of my heart. . . . I'll always be chasing you Sidney [Poitier]. I'll always be following in your footsteps. There is nothing I would rather do."

But the supporting-actor Oscars at Sunday night's 74th Annual Academy Awards may be emblematic of this year's unpredictable race.

The first, for supporting actress, went to a favored candidate - Jennifer Connelly, for her role in "A Beautiful Mind." In a huge upset, Jim Broadbent won the Oscar for supporting actor, for his role as the befuddled but doting husband of Alzheimer's-afflicted writer Iris Murdoch in "Iris." The overwhelming favorite in the category had been Ian McKellen, who played Gandolf in "The Lord of the Rings."

Connelly won for playing Alicia Nash, the long suffering wife of Nobel prize-winning mathematician and schizophrenic John Nash, played by Russell Crowe.

In accepting her award, Connelly read a note of gratitude with so little inspiration that it betrayed her words. "By some beautiful twist of fate I've landed in this vocation that demands that I feel and helps me to learn," Connelly said, reciting dully from a prepared speech, as her fellow cast members and the film's director Ron Howard sat in the audience and beamed. "I believe in love, that there is nothing more important. Alicia Nash is a true champion of love,"

Later in the evening, the Oscar for best adapted screenplay went to Akiva Goldsman, for "A Beautiful Mind." It was the second Oscar for the film, which is up for eight Oscars including best film, best director and best actor.

Oscar host Whoopi Goldberg got the show on the road after a preamble by Tom Cruise, who took a moment to mention the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, saying he talked with a friend about whether his work as an actor was important in light of the tragedy.

"What about a night like tonight? Should we celebrate the joy and magic movies bring? Dare I say it? More than ever," Cruise said, drawing enthusiastic applause. "A small scene, a gesture, even a glance between characters can cross lines, break through barriers, melt prejudice or just plain make us laugh."

Cruise went on to introduce a film featuring talking heads naming their favorite movies.

WHOOPI AS SHOWGIRL

Goldberg, dressed in a 19th-century French showgirl's outfit that made her look like a gold-lam peacock, descended from the ceiling on a trapeze-like swing, much like Nicole Kidman did in "Moulin Rouge." "Good evening, darlings," Goldberg greeted the crowd. "I am the original sexy beast."

The Oscar for foreign-language film went to "No Man's Land" (Bosnia and Herzegovina), an upset win over the favored "Amelie," (France).

Best-picture nominee "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," shot in lush New Zealand, has already picked up four awards - the cinematography Oscar and the makeup prize for its painstaking recreation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth locations and creatures, as well as Oscars for visual effects and original score. The original score award went to Howard Shore.

"I got an opportunity to go to the most beautiful country on Earth, in my opinion, work with a genuine fellowship of people, and torture a lot of actors," said Richard Taylor, who shared the makeup honor with collaborator Peter Owen. "I can't thank the academy enough for this. It's delirium." Andrew Lesnie won the cinematography honor.

"Shrek," the hip twist on cartoon fairy tales that featured the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, won the Oscar for best animated feature film, a newly created Oscar category this year. The film, which took five years to produce, was one of last year's highest-grossing movies.

"Thank you, members of the Academy, for inviting us to the party by creating this category to begin with," Warner said. "I want to thank my fellow producer Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has a love for animation bordering on obsession and is the real reason we're here tonight."

Other early awards went to "Black Hawk Down" for film editing and "Moulin Rouge" for costume design, an Oscar shared by Angus Strathie and Catherine Martin, wife of "Moulin Rouge" director Baz Luhrmann.

"It was your vision. This is your Oscar, Baz," Martin said to her husband, who was snubbed for a best-director nomination.

The Oscar for sound also went to "Black Hawk Down." The Oscar for sound editing went to "Pearl Harbor."

After 16 nominations, Randy Newman won his first Oscar for best song, for "If I Didn't Have You" from "Monsters, Inc." "I don't want your pity," Newman cracked. "I want to thank first of all the music branch for giving me so many chances to be humiliated over the years."

Julian Fellowes won the Oscar for best original screenplay, for "Gosford Park."

Woody Allen, a New Yorker famous for shunning the Hollywood establishment, made a surprise appearance at the Academy Awards Sunday to pay tribute to his native city and its resilient spirit.

Allen, who is also a jazz musician and usually spends Oscar night playing the saxophone at Elaine's restaurant in New York, received a standing ovation from Hollywood's finest inside the Kodak Theatre and said, "Thank you very much ... that makes up for the strip search" - a reference to the strict security surrounding the Oscar presentations.

When the academy called to invite him, Allen joked he thought officials wanted his Oscars back. "I panicked because the pawnshop has been out of business for ages. I had no way of retrieving anything," Allen said.

The tribute was made by filmmaker Nora Ephron. It began with the opening of Allen's "Manhattan" and included clips from "Taxi Driver," "Working Girl," "Tootsie," "The French Connection," "The Apartment," "On the Waterfront" and other films.

Meanwhile, the stars came out in Hollywood - literally. For the first time in 42 years, the swanky Oscars ceremony actually made it to Tinseltown, at the new Kodak Theatre along Hollywood Boulevard. It's just a block from where the first Oscars were handed out in 1929. The champagne was on ice, and a small army of security men were at work.

With its red carpet parade of stars, Sunday's Oscars ceremony marked a full return to the kind of pomp and circumstance normal for Hollywood after an awards season in which the flash and dash was toned down out of respect for the victims of the Sept. 11 hijacking attacks.

Air traffic was banned over Hollywood and concrete barriers lined the entryway to the theater, visible signs of heightened security measures.

Hundreds of private security guards and police patrolled the area as Hollywood Boulevard - home to the Walk of Fame - and surrounding streets were closed to traffic. Police bomb squads and hazardous materials teams were also on hand to respond to any threats, officials said.

"Security here tonight is tighter than some of the faces," Goldberg quipped.

First impressions of the crowd of stars packing into the spanking new Kodak Theatre was a group dressed predominantly in black but with splashes of color and lots and lots of diamonds which are proving to be not just a girl's best friend but everyone else's as well.

Amid that sea of diamonds sparkling on the red carpet, "Mulholland Drive" actress Laura Elena Harring outshone the pack sporting a $27 million dollar diamond necklace and a pair of Stuart Weitzman strappy platinum and diamond studded high heels valued at $1 million.

Harring said she had three bodyguards escorting her to the show.

RACE FOR BEST PICTURE

In the best-picture category, "A Beautiful Mind" was up against "Gosford Park," "In the Bedroom," "The Lord of the Rings" and "Moulin Rouge."

And for the first time in 29 years, three black actors were nominated in lead-acting categories: Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball," Will Smith in "Ali," and Denzel Washington in "Training Day."

Sidney Poitier, the only black to win a lead-acting Academy Award, received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement.

Unlike many years, when a clear favorite such as "Titanic" or last year's "Gladiator" emerged as likely best-picture winner, two main films dueled for the top Oscar. "A Beautiful Mind," starring Russell Crowe as schizophrenic math scholar John Nash, and the fantasy epic "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" split many film honors leading up to the Academy Awards.

Some Oscar analysts gave "A Beautiful Mind" the edge because it is a more down-to-earth drama that voters in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences often favor.

"Moulin Rouge," a comic tragedy set in 1899 Paris that became the first musical to compete for best picture in 22 years, is regarded as a longshot spoiler. The ensemble satire "Gosford Park" and the dark family drama "In the Bedroom," though widely acclaimed, generally are thought to have little chance of winning.

"Fellowship of the Ring" has a leading 13 nominations, with "A Beautiful Mind" and "Moulin Rouge" next with eight apiece.

BOOKIES' ODDS

Professional oddsmakers put their money on "A Beautiful Mind" to win best-picture and best-actor Oscars.

Bookmakers at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and British bookmaker William Hill both liked "Mind" to win the awards for best film and best actor for Crowe.

Hill was the most bullish on "Mind" for best film, giving the picture 4-7 odds to take home the Oscar. Caesars was more conservative, pegging the film at 5-2.

Hill gave the actor the most bullish odds of 2-5. Caesars pegged Crowe's chances of winning at a more conservative 7-2.

Caesars said "Gosford Park" was the dark horse in the category at 12-1. Hill put the film at an even more distant 14-1, but made "In the Bedroom" its longshot at 33-1.

The two sides also agreed that Sissy Spacek was the favorite to win best-actress honors for "In the Bedroom," with Hill again giving the most confident odds of 5-6 versus 5-2 for Caesars.

Caesars also gave 5-2 odds in the category to Nicole Kidman for her performance in the musical "Moulin Rouge, while Hill made Kidman its No. 3 favorite at 5-2. Hill said Halle Berry had a 2-1 chance of winning best actress for "Monster's Ball" while Caesar's said she was a 6-1 shot.

Both sides agreed that Ren Zellweger has only a tiny chance in the category, with Caesars offering a relatively generous 12-1 while Hill pegged her at 50-1.

OSCAR'S NEW DIGS

The Oscars' new home is smaller than last year's digs, leaving more people who wanted to attend the Academy Awards ceremony without seats this year.

"The theater is designed to look good from 365 degrees, because many of the shots are reaction shots from the audience," said architect David Rockwell. "And we wanted it to be intimate enough so that there is a real connection between the audience and performers."

Hundreds of seating requests - including about 300 from academy members - were refused for Sunday's show, said Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The 3,100-seat theater has about 900 fewer seats than last year's Shrine Auditorium.

"In general, people have been understanding about the crush of requests, but there are always a few who can't understand why you can't produce six extra tickets just for them," Davis said.

TICKET LOTTERY

Tickets were guaranteed for nominees, studios, and honored guests such as the governor and mayor. Also guaranteed seats were academy officers, and sponsors who purchased 30-second commercials on the ABC telecast.

After that, a lottery was held for interested academy members.

"Those who fail at the lottery get a priority for the following year," Davis said. "It's as fair as we can make it."

The Kodak is actually larger than the 2,700-seat Dorothy Chandler Pavilion downtown, which was the show's site 25 times.

The theatre is next to Grauman's Chinese Theatre, where the awards were held three times during the 1940s, and less than a block from the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where the first Oscars were presented in 1929.