Oscars foreign invasion

01 March 2008

1Comments | Comment on this Article

US TV show 'Entertainment Weekly' also cancelled their post-Oscar bash.

Despite the most anticipated night in the showbiz calendar getting off to a subdued start, once stars got inside the Kodak Theatre they were eagerly anticipating who would be the night's big winners.

They witnessed Daniel Day-Lewis making history by becoming the first ever British star to win the Best Actor Oscar twice.

The 50-year-old actor - who had previously won the accolade for his role in 'My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown' - was 'knighted' by Dame Helen Mirren as he collected his award for 'There Will Be Blood'.

Day-Lewis knelt before Mirren - who was named last year's Best Actress for her portrayal of Britain's Queen Elizabeth in 'The Queen' - as she used the golden statue to tap him on each shoulder, mimicking how the monarch uses a sword to award a knighthood.

The British actor joked: "This is the closest I'll ever come to getting a knighthood, so thank you."

He then added: "I hope that all those to whom I owe and feel the deepest gratitude will forgive me if I say just simply, thank you all."

Before he went up to the stage to collect his award he amazed onlookers by excitedly kissed fellow nominee George Clooney.

When asked why he felt the need to express his Oscar joy in such a manner, he explained: "George Henry Clooney. George has been there for me. Because George was the nearest fellow nominee and, I have to say, and I didn't say it at the time, that I was very proud to be included in that group of actors on this occasion.

"But also, George is just so incredibly generous. He's just a great guy. I had to kiss someone. I kissed my wife, and in the interest of parity, I kissed George."

While Day-Lewis was the big male winner of the night, French star Marion Cotillard won the Best Actress award, beating off stiff competition from favourite Julie Christie.

Upon collecting her award for her portrayal of singer Edith Piaf in 'La Vie En Rose', Cotillard thanked the film's director Olivier Dahan.

Looking stunning in a cream gown, she said: "Maestro Olivier, you rocked my life. You have truly rocked my life.

"Thank you life, thank you love. And it is true that there are some angels in this city."

Afterwards she admitted she was "totally overwhelmed" by her win.

She gushed: "It feels good to win. I'm totally overwhelmed with joy and sparkles and fireworks and everything which goes like 'BAM! BAM! BAM!'.

"It's so unexpected, it's surreal but I love it."

Tilda Swinton won Best Supporting Actress for 'Michael Clayton', and dedicated her award to her co-star George Clooney.

She joked: "Clooney, you know, the seriousness and the dedication to your art, seeing you climb into that rubber batsuit from 'Batman and Robin', the one with the nipples, every morning under your costume, on the set, off the set, hanging upside-down at lunch, you rock, man."

Swinton - who arrived at the ceremony with her lover, 29-year-old artist Sandro Kopp - admitted she had an out of body experience when her name was called.

The 47-year-old redhead - who also lives with John Byrne, the father of her 10-year-old twin boys, Xavier and Honor - said: "I thought I heard someone else's name and suddenly, slowly heard my own. I'm still recovering from that moment, and I have absolutely no idea what happened after that.

"So, you know, you can tell me my dress fell off and I'd believe you, so don't be cruel."

Spanish star Javier Bardem completed the acting accolades when he was named as Best Supporting Actor for his role as hitman Anton Chigurh in 'No Country for Old Men'.

But one person in the audience who was shocked with his win was his actress mother, Pilar, who had warned him beforehand not to expect to triumph.

He said: "My mother sat down with me before the ceremony and I said, 'I'm nervous' and she said, 'Why? They're not going to give it to you.'

"She knows everything about all this, the ups and the downs. She's a great companion through everything and she knows the real success is to get a job.

"This is a lottery. The fact that I won doesn't mean I'm better than all the rest."

The Spaniard's win made it a clean sweep of non-US stars to take the four main acting awards - the first time that has happened since 1964.

While Americans have always dominated the acting awards, Day-Lewis, Cotillard, Swinton and Bardem have now proved Europe can compete amongst the vast wealth of US talent.

But one film that saved America's blushes was 'No Country for Old Men'.

The movie was named Best Film while brothers Joel and Ethan Coen were jointly awarded the Best Director accolade.

As well as having Bardem win the Best Supporting Actor, it also won Best Adapted Screenplay.

Upon accepting one of their awards, older brother Joel recalled that the duo had been making films since childhood.

He said: "What we do now doesn't feel that much different from what we were doing then. We're very thankful to all of you out there for continuing to let us play in our corner of the sandbox."

Although no one can complain about the winners - the performances and the films have been critically-acclaimed - this year's ceremony seemed to be lacking the glitz and glamour of previous ones.

As it marked the 80th anniversary of the awards, organisers celebrated 'Oscar's birthday' with film montages honouring past winners and memorable Oscar moments.

But this year's understated show was unlikely to provide many clips for future compilations.

Because of the strike there were no large-scale song-and-dance numbers, which have also pleased the audience and the TV viewers, while host Jon Stewart refrained from doing any movie spoofs.

So with the writers' strike seemingly resolved, Hollywood can now concentrate on making sure next year's show lives up to its reputation as the biggest and best night in the showbiz calendar.

By Kate Randall