A perfect, golden 'Rings'

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Penn, Theron win best actor, actress

By Todd Leopold
CNN
Tuesday, March 2, 2004 Posted: 1:00 PM EST (1800 GMT)

[B](CNN) -- In an unprecedented sweep, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" set an Oscar record by winning all 11 awards for which it had been nominated, including best picture of the year. [/B]

"Wow," Peter Jackson told the audience after he won best director. "You're giving us an incredibly overwhelming night."

"The Return of the King" marked the finish of what was at least a seven-year journey for Jackson and a $300 million gamble for studio New Line Cinema (a division of Time Warner Inc., as is CNN). Jackson was a virtual unknown with a handful of films to his credit -- none of them blockbusters -- when he proposed filming J.R.R. Tolkien's work as a trilogy, complete with expensive computer-generated effects and the proverbial cast and crew of thousands.

The trilogy has earned critical and popular acclaim, with "Return of the King" the most successful of the lot financially -- one of only two films to earn $1 billion at the box office worldwide (the other is 1997's best picture, "Titanic").

"I'm so honored and relieved that the academy and the members of the academy that have supported us have seen past the trolls and the wizards and the hobbits in recognizing fantasy this year," Jackson said in accepting the best picture Oscar.

Before "Rings," the record for a film winning all its nominations was nine, set by "Gigi" (1958) and "The Last Emperor" (1988). "Rings" tied both "Ben-Hur" (1959) and "Titanic" (1997) with its 11 awards, the record for most Oscars in a single year. "Rings" is also the first fantasy film to win the top award.

Aside from best picture and director, the awards "Return of the King" won were: adapted screenplay (Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens), song ("Into the West"), score (Howard Shore), visual effects, art direction, costume design, makeup, sound mixing and film editing.

Jackson also paid tribute to the film's cast for getting "their tongues around this rather awkward text and [making] it come to life," and the government and people of his native New Zealand, a country that had been the subject of ribbing from host Billy Crystal as a "Rings" sweep became possible.

[B]A subdued Penn, emotional Theron[/B]
Charlize Theron, who gave a career-making performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster," won best actress.

"This has been such an incredible year," she said. Her voice broke as she thanked her mother, a woman who had sacrificed much to help her daughter launch her career, first as a model and later as an actress. "There are no words to describe how much I love you," Theron said.

Sean Penn won best actor for his performance in "Mystic River." The actor, known for skipping awards shows, gave a subdued, heartfelt speech, singling out his fellow nominees and director Clint Eastwood in particular.

"If there's one thing that actors know, other than there weren't any WMDs" -- he added impishly --"it's that there is no such thing as best in acting. And that's proven by these great actors that I was nominated with," Penn said. The actor received a standing ovation.

For Renee Zellweger, the third nomination was the charm. The star won best supporting actress for her performance in "Cold Mountain." She had been nominated for best actress the previous two years, for "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Chicago."

"I am overwhelmed," she said emotionally. Paying tribute to her fellow nominees, she said, "I am honored to be here with you."

And thanking her agent, she said, "Thank you for dreaming bigger than I ever dared to dream."

Tim Robbins won the first Oscar of the night, an award for best supporting actor for his performance in "Mystic River." He made a plea for victims of abuse -- people like his character in the film -- to seek help.

Among other Oscar winners, Sofia Coppola, the daughter of multiple Oscar-winner Francis Ford Coppola and granddaughter of Oscar-winner Carmine Coppola, won the Oscar for original screenplay for "Lost in Translation." The Coppolas now join the Hustons -- Walter, John and Anjelica -- as the only three-generation Oscar-winning families.

"The Barbarian Invasions" won best foreign-language film, and "Finding Nemo" won best animated feature.

There were a handful of jibes at President Bush and the war in Iraq, which some stars -- notably Penn and Robbins -- were outspoken in opposing. But it was Errol Morris, who won best documentary feature for "The Fog of War" -- about former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and lessons learned from the Vietnam War -- who took the most direct aim.

After a jubilant opening -- "I'd like to thank the Academy -- for finally recognizing my films! I thought it would never happen!" said Morris, considered one of the masters of the documentary -- he turned to the subject of his film and the current political situation.

"I fear we're going down a rabbit hole once again," he said. "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."

Crystal, playing host to the Oscars for the eighth time, was in fine form.

"I can't wait for his tax audit," he said after Morris' speech.

[B]Crystal-clear laughs[/B]
Crystal kept the laughs coming from the beginning. In a hilarious opening sequence, "The Return of the Host," he made fun of piracy, trailers and several nominees, with his image placed -- courtesy of computers and clever editing -- in a number of nominated films.

The controversial five-second delay imposed on the Oscars by ABC didn't intrude on the opening, which featured at least two shots of Crystal in the buff (not to mention doing his Sammy Davis Jr. impression). Even Jack Nicholson lent a hand, giving a "worried" Crystal confidence -- and his sunglasses -- in the final shot.

"Gentlemen, start your egos!" Crystal exclaimed as he started his now-traditional opening monologue and musical number, in which he runs through the plots of the five films nominated for best picture.

The plot of "Mystic River" was recited to the tune of "Ol' Man River," and Crystal even managed to work in a reference to director Eastwood's singing in the 1969 musical "Paint Your Wagon." There were also jokes about Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, Pete Rose, Michael Eisner and Miramax's Weinstein brothers.

And while chatting with 13-year-old best actress nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes, he made a crack about his own first Oscar show 13 years ago -- and politics.

"Things were different. Bush was president, the economy was tanking and we'd just finished a war in Iraq," he said.

[B]Tributes and class[/B]

The show's tributes were handled with class and economy.

Blake Edwards was given an honorary Oscar, which he accepted wearing a dust-covered jacket after staging a wheelchair mishap much like the pratfalls in his slapstick-laden films, which include "The Pink Panther," "The Great Race," "10" and "Victor/Victoria." His speech highlighted various influences on his life, "from the little guy with the shovel, to the discerning folks in the Academy ... I sure as hell thank you."

Julia Roberts introduced a tribute to Katharine Hepburn, which included clips from "Bringing Up Baby," "Woman of the Year," "The African Queen," "Long Day's Journey Into Night," "The Lion in Winter" and "On Golden Pond."

Class was also reflected on the red carpet, which was colorfully glamorous after two years of relatively toned-down awards -- 2003's ceremony came weeks after the invasion of Iraq, and 2002's reflected the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A pregnant Marcia Gay Harden wore a royal-blue Badgley Mischka gown and complimented the designers for working with her expanding figure. (The actress is in her eighth month.) Best supporting actress nominee Patricia Clarkson ("Pieces of April") arrived in an elegant Bill Blass gown and gave interviews beside a stunning red-gowned Shohreh Aghdashloo, looking very different from her severe form as a beleaguered wife in "House of Sand and Fog."

Even non-nominees got into the act: Maria Menounos, host of the Oscar pre-show, wore a gem-studded Randi Rahm dress allegedly valued at $2.5 million.

Diane Keaton went against the grain, wearing a Charlie Chaplin-esque suit complete with homburg hat.

Male stars wore conservative tuxedos with either white or black shirts -- sometimes accessorized with a tie of the same color, as with Robbins' black-on-black outfit. One exception: Jackson, who, with his tie undone, his shirt open at the neck and an unidentified button on his lapel, looked distinctly loose and casual.

Bill Murray may have put the fashion focus in perspective. When asked what he was wearing -- as in, what designer -- Murray responded, "What am I wearing? Boxers."


The late Bob Hope, who was host of the Oscars numerous times, was honored with a tribute featuring clips from his appearances on Oscar shows over the years. The tribute was introduced by Tom Hanks.

GGumpUID: 119501

The return of the king took 11 Oscar men away....During that show...I even hated to hear the words of "The lord of the ring ---the return of the king" at the end. Too american to be accepted....and the New Zealand was thanked and appreciated for thousands of times. And the audience maybe were tired of applauding for the Ring3 at last... sigh... thank goodness that the Ring3 was only nominated by Academy for 11 awards...if it was nominated for every award...I guess all of other movies will get zero opportunity to win Oscar man.....................Nevertheless,they don't even care...why should I ??

hehe

GGumpUID: 119501

HOw wuliao I am......a.......hehe