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Awards & Festivals:Academy Awards:73rd (2001)

73rd Annual Academy Awards® Coverage

Check out our red carpet photos or backstage interview quotes.

73rd Oscar® News

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©A.M.P.A.S.®

Welcome to Digital Hit Entertainment's coverage of the 73rd Annual Academy Awards®.

It's 4:15pm Pacific and like a lot of people around the world, those of us in the press room are watching the local broadcast of the red carpet arrivals. I'll know more when we see the photos, but so far I haven't seen any extremely outrageous dresses. Style and grace so far seems to be the order of the day.

5:30pm Pacific and the show's about to start. The big question is: how will Steve Martin open the show? We'll find out in a few seconds.

With a 2001 space motif, the show was opened by clips from shows past. The astronauts aboard the International Space Station then introduced Steve Martin. Returning to his absurdist stand up roots, Martin's opening discussed the foibles of celebrity.

Catherine Zeta-Jones was the first presenter of the evening. She was there to hand out the Oscar® for Art Direction. And the Oscar® goes to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Moving right along, Nicolas Cage was the next presenter. We're ready to hand out the Oscar® for Best Supporting Actress. And the Oscar® goes to Marcia Gay Harden for Pollock. With Kate Hudson being the front-runner, there was a whoop of surprise from the press in the press room.

Steve Martin introduced the next presenter, Russell Crowe by saying "I like to call him a close personal friend, but he's asked me not to." He was there to hand out the award for Best Film Editing. And the Oscar® goes to Traffic.

Ben Stiller was the next presenter, handing out the award for Best Live Action Short. And the Oscar® goes to Quiero Ser (I Want To Be...). He then announced the nominees for Best Animated Short. And the Oscar® goes to Father and Daughter.

Halle Berry then introduced the first musical performance of the evening, Sting performing My Funny Friend and Me from The Emperor's New Groove.

Annette Bening introduced the first clip of the evening: Erin Brockovich.

Penelope Cruz was up next to present the award for Best Costume Design. And the Oscar® goes to Gladiator.

Martin then introduced Robert Rehme, who is serving his fifth and final year as the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Bob made his speech about the excellence the awards recognize, and promised presidential pardons for those who didn't live up to those standards.

Angelina Jolie was the next presenter, handing out the Best Supporting Actor Oscar®. And the Oscar® goes to Benicio Del Toro for Traffic.

Mike Myers was the next presenter of the evening. The first award he handed out was for Sound. And the Oscar® goes to Gladiator. Next was the award for Sound Editing. And the Oscar® goes to U-571.

Julia Stiles introduced the next musical performance: Coco Lee performing "A Love Before Time" from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Julia Roberts was the next presenter. She was there to recognize Best Cinematography. And the Oscar® goes to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Three time nominee Morgan Freeman introduced the next clip for Best Picture: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Kate Hudson was the next presenter, handling the duty of handing out Best Makeup. And the Oscar® goes to Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

Dustin Hoffman was on hand to present the first special Oscar® of the evening. An honorary award was given to Jack Cardiff to recognize his mastery of cinematography.

Steve Martin introduced Samuel L. Jackson next, saying he was still bitter that Jackson had beat him out for the role of Shaft. "Apparently he had this whole black take on the role that I didn't have." The first award that Sam handed out was Documentary Short Subject. And the Oscar® goes to Big Mama. The second statue he handed out was for Documentary Feature. And the Oscar® goes to Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport.

Sarah Jessica Parker introduced Randy Newman and his performance of "A Fool in Love" from Meet the Parents, which he performed with the Bangles' Susannah Hoffs.

When Steve Martin next came out, he made reference to the plot to kidnap Russell Crowe, adding "Tom Hanks, you should be ashamed of yourself."

Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh were up next to present the Oscar® for Visual Effects. And the Oscar® goes to Gladiator.

Renee Zellwegger was there recount her experiences hosting the awards for Scientific and Technical Achievement.

Sigourney Weaver was out next to introduce the clip for Best Picture nominee Gladiator.

Steve Martin then introduced his friend, Goldie Hawn. She was there to present a performance of the nominees for Original Score performed by Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman. And the Oscar® goes to Tan Dun for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Time for another special Oscar®, the Thalberg Memorial Award. Sir Anthony Hopkins came out to present the honor to producer Dino De Laurentiis.

Winona Ryder was up next to introduce Björk, who was there to perform "I've Seen It All" from Dancer in the Dark.

John Travolta then introduced the yearly In Memoriam segment, which honors those in the industry that have died in the last year.

Juliette Binoche and MPAA President Jack Valenti came out to present the Academy Award® for Best Foreign Language Film. And the Oscar® goes to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Ben Affleck then introduced the clip for Best Picture nominee Traffic.

Jennifer Lopez introduced the performance of the night's final nominated song Bob Dylan's "Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys.She then reviewed the nominees for Best Original Song. And the Oscar® goes to Bob Dylan for "Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys. Bob was actually on stage in Australia but was able to make his speech via satellite.

Last year's Best Actress, Hilary Swank, came out to hand out the Oscar® in the wide open category Best Actor. And the Oscar® goes to Russell Crowe, who looked genuinely surprised that he had won. Among the people he thanked were his parents "who I never really thank enough."

Ashley Judd introduced the last clip of the night for the Best Picture nominee Chocolat.

Julie Andrews came out to present an honorary Oscar® to screenwriter Ernest Lehman who is responsible for scripting such classics as West Side Story, The King And I and The Sound of Music. He asked that writers should not toil in anonymity and asked that people remember that all films start with a screenplay.

Steve Martin then introduced Kevin Spacey, saying "Most people think of him as an actor's actor. I think of him as an opthamologist." Kevin was there to present the award for Best Actress. He had special thanks for Judi Dench who brought his forgotten tuxedo from their filming location in Nova Scotia. He called Dame Judi the classiest delivery service. And the Oscar® goes to Julia Roberts.

Referring to the offer of a free TV for a short speech, Julia said she already had a TV so she was going to take her time. She said she truly was honored to have been listed among the other women nominated for the category. She thanked Steven Soderbergh for making her want to be the best actress she never thought she could be.

Steve Martin then introduced Tom Hanks who he said became a star by taking the easy route: "He only made hits." Keeping with a 2001 theme, he introduced Sir Arthur C. Clarke by satellite from Sri Lanka. Arthur was there to hand out the Oscar® for Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. And the Oscar® goes to Stephen Gaghan for Traffic. Hanks then presented the award for Best Original Screnplay. And the Oscar® goes to Cameron Crowe for Almost Famous. Besides his cast and family, Crowe thanked his mentor and idol Billy Wilder.

Tom Cruise was the next presenter, and he quickly launched into the nominees for Best Directing. And the Oscar® goes to Steven Soderbergh for Traffic. He said he wanted to thank anyone who spent any part of their day creating art.

Michael Douglas was the final presenter of the evening. He had the big job of handing out the Oscar® for Best Picture. And the Oscar® goes to Gladiator.

Wow! Less than 3 1/2 hours! That's it for us right now. Check out our red carpet photos.

The nominations for the awards were announced on February 13th, 2001.

Below is the list of winners:

Best Picture

Best Director

Best Actor

Best Actress

Best Supporting Actor

Best Supporting Actress

Best Adapted Screenplay

Best Original Screenplay

Best Foreign Film

Best Art Direction

Best Cinematography

Best Sound

Best Sound Effects Editing

Best Original Score

Best Original Song

Best Costume

Best Documentary Feature

Best Documentary Short

Best Film Editing

Best Makeup

Best Animated Short Film

Best Live-Action Short Film

Best Visual Effects

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