Girls interrupt Oscars

Swank, Jolie go home with Oscar

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By Helyn Trickey

LOS ANGELES -- No longer Mr. Miyagi's "Next Karate Kid," Hilary Swank bested veteran actresses Meryl Streep and Annette Bening and went home with the golden boy affectionately known as Oscar.

She wasn't the only 20-something to nab Hollywood's highest honor. The Academy awarded Angelina Jolie of "Hackers" and "Gia" fame one of the coveted statues for her supporting role as a mental patient in "Girl Interrupted."

Academy voters strayed from the predictable, however, by handing out awards to those neophytes for their edgy performances in movies that are anything but "feel good" films.

"American Beauty," which led all contenders with eight nominations, was the rumored favorite going into the awards ceremony. It snagged best picture, but Swank beat out Beauty's Bening, a traditional favorite, with her gender-bending portrayal of Brandon Teena. In "Boys Don't Cry," Swank plays a young woman, who in real life, was terrorized, assaulted and murdered because she dressed as a man.

Swank, a 25-year-old native of Bellingham, Washington, also won the Golden Globe award for best actress in a drama for that portrayal. She dedicated that award to Teena.

"I think this movie opens the door to letting people know what's going on in society and putting an end to intolerance in the future," the former "Beverly Hills 90210" cast member told a captivated Oscar audience. "It is a very big night in history because of this."

Dressed in all black, her favorite color, 25-year-old Jolie tearfully thanked her brother and father, actor Jon Voigt, when she received her award.

"I really didn't expect it," Jolie said in a backstage interview. "I just hid in my brother's arms....We grew up in this business, and dad has an Oscar, and it's like the big thing you try to attain as an actor, to do a performance that's really acknowledged and means something."

As expected, Oscar smiled on "American Beauty, honoring the highly praised movie with five Academy Awards. The blockbuster film took home best picture, director, screenplay, actor and cinematography accolades.

"I forgot my entire speech," Kevin Spacey said backstage after scooping the best actor award for his part in the film. Spacey thanked Jack Lemmon for being a mentor to him and for inspiring Spacey's characterization of an angst-ridden suburban father. Spacey also promised to always take his mother to award shows even though it isn't "cool," he said.

But one of the biggest surprises this year was the Academy's reaction to a little futuristic, fantasy movie called "The Matrix," which took home four of the little golden guys.

"The Matrix," staring Keanu Reeves as the renegade character,"Neo," took home technical awards, including best film editing and the prize for visual effects. The slow motion battles so characteristic of the movie even bested competitors that included "Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace."

"Wow, so this is where the rabbit hole goes," sound effects editor, Dane A. Davis, said during his acceptance speech. The line is a familiar one to fans of the high-tech movie.