Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 24, 2003
'Chicago', Big Winner of This Year's Oscar
Movie musical "Chicago" took this year's Academy Award for best picture on Sunday night at the annual Hollywood show overshadowed by the US-led war on Iraq.
Movie musical "Chicago" took this year's Academy Award for best picture on Sunday night at the annual Hollywood show overshadowed by the US-led war on Iraq.
Along with best picture, "Chicago" made Catherine Zeta-Jones the winner for best supporting actress, and it also earned four technical awards including art direction, sound, costume design and film editing.
``Chicago'' became the first musical since 1968's ``Oliver!'' to win the top Oscar.
Nicole Kidman won best actress for her performance as novelist Virginia Woolf in the somber drama "The Hours".
Among the evening's biggest surprises, Adrien Brody, the only best actor nominee who had never won an Oscar, won for "The Pianist," a drama about a Holocaust survivor.
"This has been an amazing, amazing journey," said the somewhat stunned Brody.
"It fills me with great joy, but also great sadness, because I'm accepting this award at such a strange time," he continued, referring to the war in Iraq. "Let's pray for a peaceful and swift resolution."
Chris Cooper won best supporting actor for his role as a horticultural poacher in "Adaptation", and the Oscar for foreign-language film went to the German drama "Nowhere in Africa".
During the first two hours of the Hollywood pageantry, the Oscars had managed to avoid any mention of politics. But as the show went on, there were more references to the war on Iraq.
"We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you, " Michael Moore, who won best documentary for "Bowling for Columbine," shouted at acceptance speech.
Security at Sunday's Oscar show is the tightest and most intensive in its 75-year history. More than 1,000 local, federal and private security personnel were involved in this year's ceremony.