A classy night at the Oscars

By DAVID GERMAIN (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

LOS ANGELES — Jennifer Hudson won the supporting-actress Academy Award last night for Dreamgirls, though her co-star and fellow front-runner Eddie Murphy lost the supporting-actor prize to Alan Arkin of Little Miss Sunshine.

“More than anything, I’m deeply moved by the open-hearted appreciation our small film has received, which in these fragmented times speaks so openly of the possibility of innocence, growth, and connection,” said Arkin, who plays a foul-mouthed grandpa with a taste for heroin in the road comedy.

Hudson won an Oscar for her first movie, playing a powerhouse vocalist who falls on hard times after she is booted from a 1960s girl group. The role came barely two years after she shot to celebrity as an American Idol finalist.

“Oh my God, I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn’t think I was going to win,” Hudson said through tears of joys. “If my grandmother was here to see me now. She was my biggest inspiration.”

The dancing-penguin musical Happy Feet won the Oscar for feature-length animation, denying computer-animation pioneer John Lasseter (Toy Story) the prize for Cars, which had been the big winner of earlier key animation honors.

“I asked my kids, ‘What should I say?’ They said, ‘Thank all the men for wearing penguin suits,’” said Happy Feet director George Miller.

The savage fairy tale Pan’s Labyrinth took the first two Oscars, for art direction and makeup, the wins for the Spanish-language film kicking off an Oscar evening stuffed with contenders from around the globe. Pan’s Labyrinth also took the cinematography Oscar.

“To Guillermo del Toro for guiding us through this labyrinth,” said art director Eugenio Caballero, lauding the writer-director of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” the tale of a girl who concocts an elaborate fantasy world to escape her harsh reality in 1940s Fascist Spain.

Germany’s “The Lives of Others,” about a playwright and his actress-girlfriend who come under police surveillance in 1980s East Berlin, won the foreign-language Oscar, the films it beat including “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

“Letters From Iwo Jima” won the sound-editing Oscar for Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman. Murray’s father was an Iwo Jima survivor.

“Thank you to my father and all the brave and honorable men and women in uniform who in a time of crisis have all made that decision to defend their personal freedom and liberty no matter what the sacrifice,” Murray said.

The record holder for Oscar futility, sound engineer Kevin O’Connell, extended his losing streak to 19 nominations without a win. This time, O’Connell and two colleagues were nominated for sound mixing on “Apocalypto,” Mel Gibson’s portrait of the savage decline of the ancient Mayan empire, but they lost to another trio of sound engineers that worked on “Dreamgirls.”

“Apocalypto” lost in all three categories in which it was nominated, all for technical achievements. Gibson, whose “Braveheart” was the big winner at the 1995 Oscars, had been condemned by many in Hollywood for an anti-Semitic rant he made during his drunken-driving arrest last summer.

Also in the running were Stephen Frears’ classy British saga “The Queen,” a portrait of the royal family in crisis, and Clint Eastwood’s Japanese-language war tale “Letters From Iwo Jima.”

Those films joined two idiosyncratic American stories nominated for best picture, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ road comedy “Little Miss Sunshine” and Martin Scorsese’s crime epic “The Departed.”

Though set among the distinctive cops and mobsters of Boston, “The Departed” had a global connection — it was based on the Hong Kong crime thriller “Infernal Affairs.” The film won the adapted-screenplay Oscar for William Monahan, who thanked Scorsese and “The Departed” star Leonardo DiCaprio, a best-actor nominee.

Once an evening of backslapping and merrymaking within the narrow confines of Hollywood, the Academy Awards this time looked like a United Nations exercise in diversity.

The 79th annual Oscars feature their most ethnically varied lineup ever, with stars and stories that reflect the growing multiculturalism taking root around the globe.

“What a wonderful night. Such diversity in the room,” said Ellen DeGeneres, serving as Oscar host for the first time, “in a year when there’s been so many negative things said about people’s race, religion and sexual orientation.

“And I want to put this out there: If there weren’t blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars,” she said, adding: “Or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that.”

Competing for best picture was Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Babel,” a sweeping ensemble drama. The film’s cast ranges from A-listers such as Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett to comparative unknowns Adriana Barraza from Mexico and Rinko Kikuchi from Japan, who both earned supporting-actress nominations for “Babel.”

“Thanks to Marty and Leo for reading the script and calling each other and saying let’s make it,” Monahan said.

Former Vice President Al Gore — the central figure in the global-warming film “An Inconvenient Truth,” a documentary nominee — appeared with DiCaprio to praise organizers for implementing environmentally friendly practices in the show’s production.

DiCaprio set up a gag with Gore, asking the 2000 presidential candidate if there was anything he wanted to announce.

“I guess with a billion people watching, it’s as good a time as any. So my fellow Americans, I’m going to take this opportunity here and now to formally announce my intentions ...,” Gore said, his voice trailing away as the orchestra cut him off.

Of the 20 acting nominees, five were black, two were Hispanic and one was Asian, while only two Americans — Eastwood and Scorsese — were among the five best-director contenders.

With a Directors Guild of America award and other top film honors behind him, Scorsese was considered a shoo-in to earn the directing Oscar, a prize that has eluded him throughout his illustrious career.

The best-picture race was up for grabs, with all five films in the running but many Oscar watchers generally figuring it was a three-way race among “Babel,” “The Departed” and “Little Miss Sunshine.”

Organizers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hoped the suspense of the wide-open best-picture category would help offset moviegoers’ relative lack of interest in the competing films.

TV ratings for the Oscars tend to be lower when fewer people have seen the top nominees. Collectively, the five best-picture nominees had drawn a total domestic theatrical audience of about 38.5 million people, about a third the number of fans who have gone to see the contenders in recent peak years when such blockbusters as “Gladiator” or “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” have won.

Dixie Chicks Make Nice With Five GRAMMYs

Red Hot Chili Peppers secure four GRAMMYs, while Mary J. Blige takes home three.

GRAMMY.com

Sounds from legendary artists as well as new faces made the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards an event that was full of surprises. Former "American Idol" winner Carrie Underwood took home the Best New Artist GRAMMY while the Dixie Chicks received the Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal GRAMMY Awards.

The show began with one of the most famous rock bands, the Police. The trio of Stewart Copeland, Sting and Andy Summers quelled early reunion rumors with a tremendous, uplifting rendition of their classic hit song, "Roxanne," proving that the passage of time has not dimmed their awesome talents. Accompanied by a massive groove, Sting's voice hit all the mighty high notes, Summers' familiar reggae guitar lines soared through the auditorium, and Copeland blasted the song's Afro-Cuban influenced beat with typical rhythmic glee. Updating the arrangement with a dubbed out space jam mid-song, the Police couldn't stop the entire auditorium from joining them in the song's driving chorus.

Introduced by the legendary Joan Baez, who referred to them as "three brave women," the Dixie Chicks performed their charged "Not Ready To Make Nice." Led by Natalie Maines, fellow Chicks Emily Robison and Martie Maguire pulled off an almost defiant performance that climaxed in the song's powerful, impassioned chorus, a statement of intent that pulled the heartstrings of the worldwide GRAMMY audience.

Proving that she is everything — superstar, soul/hip-hop queen, and dream girl of hearts — Beyoncé performed "Listen," from the Dreamgirls soundtrack. Accompanied by a full string section, Beyoncé soared through the song's lyrical imagery and emotional lyrics, capturing the crowd with a one-of-a-kind performance.

Prefacing his "What Goes Around Comes Around" with a prerecorded video statement, Justin Timberlake called the track "the best song I have written so far," saying that "it just flowed out." Timberlake proved that he didn't need to work the stage either, initially performing the song on upright piano before finally taking center stage with a mini-cam, which he used to shoot his own performance, up close and personal.

Introduced by an "overjoyed" Stevie Wonder, who described them as "three overwhelmingly incredible artists," the GRAMMYs presented the first medley of the night with Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend and John Mayer (who only moments later, won the GRAMMY for Best Pop Vocal Album). Rae began the medley with her lovely "Like A Star," plucking her acoustic guitar as her large smile showered the crowd with radiance. Joined by Mayer's stinging guitar licks, the song rose dramatically to include Legend on piano, stage left. He sang his powerful ballad, "Coming Home." Rae and Mayer joined in on harmony vocals, before the duo helped Mayer with his incendiary "Gravity." Midway through the song Mayer delivered a ripping Stevie Ray Vaughan inspired solo, which closed the set and brought down the house.

Adorning the stage with her magnificent presence, Shakira arrived at the GRAMMYs in full regalia, including a dozen gold-clad dancers and one of the song's co-songwriters, Wyclef Jean. Performing "Hips Don't Lie," Shakira danced, pranced and shook her wild thing. Not to be outdone by his belly dancing compatriot, Wyclef back-flipped and tumbled, singing all the while.

Who else but Gnarls Barkley would have the genius to take the GRAMMY stage as two escapees from "Fantasy Island"? Dressed as airline pilots, circa 1978, Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse began "Crazy" solo and in the round, performing on a small stage in the middle of the GRAMMY audience. Cee-Lo then walked down the aisle to the main stage, where he was joined by Danger Mouse (on piano), a 16-piece orchestra, an orange-jumpsuit clad female choir and a kicking rock quartet.

Queen of soul Mary J. Blige was ready to work the crowd performing both "Be Without You" and "Stay With Me" accompanied by a full orchestra adorned in classic nightclub production values. Explaining that she is "in love," Blige, dressed in immaculate white, delivered a typically stirring performance filled with sincerity, honesty and her trademark soul-stirring, floor-pounding gospel infused shouts before closing the song with a powerful high note that showered the attendees like sweet rain.

Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts joined for an amazing country tribute, covering the songs of Bob Wills and the Eagles. Underwood, whose mighty pipes recalled a cross between Reba and Tammy Wynette, paid her respects to the great Wills by performing his "San Antonio Rose" as an overhead video screen showed clips of the country innovator. Rascal Flatts followed with a blazing version of "Hotel California," adding serious country twang to the Eagles' well-worn tale of L.A. cynicism. Then, Underwood performed "Desperado," turning its gentle imagery into a power rock showcase, before Rascal Flatts returned to belt out an amazing "Life In The Fast Lane."

Performances by Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie and Christina Aguilera proved that old-school soul still lives, with upstart Chris Brown doing his best Olympic calisthenics for the younger crowd. His voice sweet and soulful, Smokey sang his classic "Tracks Of My Tears," followed by Lionel's '80s hit "Hello." Chris Brown arrived in a hail of smoke, flames and dancers wearing Slipknot worthy masks. Singing "Run It," Brown dueled with dancers, performed handstands and bounced off a trampoline in the GRAMMYs prime-time example of sports as music. The mighty Aguilera delivered a memorable, perhaps legendary, performance of James Brown's "It's A Man's World."

Mary J. Blige returned to the stage for a performance of "Runaway Love" with Best Rap Album GRAMMY winner Ludacris featuring R&B greats Earth, Wind & Fire. Pounding the crowd as Blige offered emotional diversion, Ludacris was soon joined by a group holding candles and singing the song's refrain.

Everyone's favorite returning soldier, James Blunt, gave a note-perfect rendition of "You're Beautiful," accompanied by only an acoustic grand piano and his lone guitar. Showered in white light, the bearded Blunt sang with purpose and clarity, a folk poet bathed in a shimmering glow.

The "My GRAMMY Moment" talent find of the year, Robyn Troup, joined Justin Timberlake for "Ain't No Sunshine" and "My Love" with T.I. Troup matched Timberlake move for move, and the pair excited the audience with their simpatico electricity. Troup was the ultimate scene stealer, belting out a scorching high note to close the two-song medley.

Dressing down from the popular glam rock video of their album Stadium Arcadium, the Red Hot Chili Peppers closed the 49th GRAMMY Awards performances with "Snow (Hey Oh)." Decked out in a yellow basketball suit (Flea), street tuxedos (Anthony Keidis and John Frusciante) and a hat (Chad Smith), the originators of The Uplift Mojo Party Plan bulleted the audience with high-quality funk rock as a snow of confetti showered the event like cosmic rain. Moments later the Chili Peppers went on to win Best Rock Album, with Smith calling on the youth of America: "We need more rock bands!"