Oscar Night 2004 - The Awards

We cheer with movie fans around the world as an upbeat and upset-free Oscar Night dishes out awards in all the right places - including eleven in Middle Earth...

The Lord of the Rings cleaned up at the 76th Academy Awards ceremony, taking home a phenomenal 11 golden statuettes - a feat only matched by William Wyler's classic Ben Hur and James Cameron's epic Titanic.

It felt like old glamorous Hollywood the first time in ages, as the industry's A-listers came to town in full force for this year's highly anticipated Academy Awards. A stark contrast to last year's politically charged and somewhat sombre event, the night's atmosphere was set alight as the world's leading ladies and gentlemen graced the red carpet to make their way into L.A.'s Kodak Theatre. With a unique 5-second broadcast delay in place (there were worries of a Jackson-esque Super Bowl incident); host favorite, Billy Crystal, took the duties of presenting again in what felt like an event with absolutely no upsets!

It was a blazing glory all the way as Peter Jackson led his team to clean up ALL 11 categories they were nominated in - creating a fairytale end to the seven-year project they had been working intensely on. Having only snatched a measly 6 out of the 19 previous nominations for The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, film fans worldwide pinned their hopes on the Oscar committee to reward the deserved efforts of this popular masterpiece. The much-loved trilogy, which will go down in film history for its ambition and $1bn box office success, made success on the night too, by winning - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Song, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Make-Up, Best Art Direction, Best Music, Best Visual Effects and Best Costume. Phew!

Aside from hobbits from the Shire, there were great expectations from the main actor categories who went to the much-speculated quartet in run up to this week (3 of 4 winners also took the Screen Actor Guild Awards just a couple of weeks ago). Paying tribute to fellow nominees - Johnny Depp, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley and Jude Law - Sean Penn graciously accepted the award for his role of Jimmy Marcus in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, and shared his glory by commenting they were all winners as there isn't a "best" amongst his peers.

Third time nominee Renee Zellwegger took the Best Supporting Actress for her part in Cold Mountain (the only award for that film). And accompanying her in the praise was Mystic River's Tim Robbins for Best Supporting Actor, who starred opposite Penn in the mystery drama. Both were odds on favourite.

The controversial part of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, portrayed by Charlize Theron, also paid off as the South African was finally recognized having started her career in films like Tom Hanks's That Thing You Do back in 1996. Having tearfully received the Best Actress accolade (and cheekily snogged category presenter, Adrien Brody), Charlize now looks set to be catapulted to even greater heights. Theron famously transformed herself from her usual blonde beauty with hours in make-up to play the gruesome role.

Other worthy mentions are Best Original Screenplay by Sofia Coppola for the wonderful Lost in Translation; Finding Nemo as, rather predictably, Best Animated Feature; Master and Commander for Best Cinematography and the Lifetime Achievement Award for Blake Edwards.

And there was no shortage of glamour either, as Hollywood's most beautiful showcased some gorgeous pieces of both modern and vintage couture. We were particularly impressed with the stunning designer golden/beige frocks displayed by Scarlett Johansson, Renee Zellwegger, Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie, with Kikizo's boys helplessly drooling at the usual female picks, how predictable!

Transistor Sister
The Film Chick, Kikizo Movies

Full list of nominees and winners:




Best picture
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
Lost in Translation
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit




Best director
Peter Jackson - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
Sofia Coppola - Lost in Translation
Fernando Meirelles - City of God
Peter Weir - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Clint Eastwood - Mystic River




Best actor
Sean Penn - Mystic River
Also nominated:
Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Sir Ben Kingsley - House of Sand and Fog
Jude Law - Cold Mountain
Bill Murray - Lost in Translation




Best actress
Charlize Theron - Monster
Also nominated:
Keisha Castle-Hughes - Whale Rider
Diane Keaton - Something's Gotta Give
Samantha Morton - In America
Naomi Watts - 21 Grams




Best supporting actor
Tim Robbins - Mystic River
Also nominated:
Alec Baldwin - The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro - 21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou - In America
Ken Watanabe - The Last Samurai




Best supporting actress
Renee Zellweger - Cold Mountain
Also nominated:
Shohreh Aghdashloo - House of Sand and Fog
Patricia Clarkson - Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Harden - Mystic River
Holly Hunter - Thirteen




Best foreign language film
The Barbarian Invasions (Canada)
Also nominated:
Evil (Sweden)
The Twilight Samurai (Japan)
Twin Sisters (Netherlands)
Zelary (Czech Republic)




Best animated feature film
Finding Nemo
Also nominated:
Brother Bear
The Triplets of Belleville




Best adapted screenplay
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
American Splendor
City of God
Mystic River
Seabiscuit




Best original screenplay
Lost in Translation
Also nominated:
The Barbarian Invasions
Dirty Pretty Things
Finding Nemo
In America




Best cinematography
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Also nominated:
City of God
Cold Mountain
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Seabiscuit




Best art direction
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Last Samurai
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Seabiscuit




Best music (score)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
Big Fish
Cold Mountain
Finding Nemo
House of Sand and Fog




Best music (song)
Into the West - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow - A Mighty Wind
Scarlet Tide - Cold Mountain
The Triplets of Belleville - The Triplets of Belleville
You Will Be My Ain True Love - Cold Mountain




Best documentary feature
The Fog of War
Also nominated:
Balseros
Capturing the Friedmans
My Architect
The Weather Underground




Best documentary short subject
Chernobyl Heart
Also nominated:
Asylum
Ferry Tales




Best visual effects
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl




Best animated short film
Harvie Krumpet
Also nominated:
Boundin'
Destino
Gone Nutty
Nibbles




Best short film
Two Soldiers
Also nominated:
Die Rote Jacke (The Red Jacket)
Most (The Bridge)
Squash
Torrzija




Best costume design
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Last Samurai
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Seabiscuit




Best make-up
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl




Best sound
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
The Last Samurai
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Seabiscuit




Sound editing
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Also nominated:
Finding Nemo
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl




Film Editing
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Also nominated:
City of God
Cold Mountain
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Seabiscuit




Lifetime Achievement Award
Blake Edwards