|
  |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Polanski and Kidman win British film awards
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Roman Polanski has emerged as the surprise front-runner for Oscar glory, scooping up awards for best picture and best director at Britain's BAFTAs, seen as a preview for next month's Academy Awards. Nicole Kidman was named best actress for her role as tormented author Virginia Woolf in "The Hours." Daniel Day-Lewis was named best actor for his chilling portrayal of a 19th century gangster in Martin Scorsese's "Gangs of New York." Stars strutted, fans shrieked and the red carpet was rolled out for Hollywood's finest as they arrived at London's West End for the awards. Since last year the BAFTAs have been held just before the Oscars, giving movie fans an Academy Award preview. The more so this year: the nominees put up by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for best film and best actor were identical to those battling for the Oscars. All the main winners are also nominated for Oscars. But one person who will be absent from the Oscars is Polanski, who lives in France after fleeing the United States as he was about to be sentenced for having sex with a minor, and would face immediate arrest if he returned. His portrayal of the story of a Polish Jewish pianist who escapes the Warsaw ghetto has echoes of his own story as a holocaust survivor, and has been seen as his magnum opus. Welsh-born Catherine Zeta-Jones won the award for best supporting actress for playing a nightclub singer in "Chicago." She turned up very pregnant and very glamorous in a black dress with a plunging neckline and ruby-studded necklace -- and husband Michael Douglas on her arm. Would the awards excitement send her into early labor? "Well you never know, will they have to wheel me on a gurney tonight, or at the Oscars? This guy has to do some breathing lessons, I tell you," she said, tugging on Douglas's sleeve as she entered the theater. PavementChristopher Walken won the best supporting actor award for his role as the down-on-his-luck father of Leonardo DiCaprio's character in "Catch Me If You Can." The Hollywood-style glamor and razzmatazz of Sunday night's show is still something new to London. "When I first came to the BAFTAs we were in a little cinema in Piccadilly. There were 12 people, maybe someone from the BBC and that was it. That was the lot," said Michael Caine, nominated on both sides of the Atlantic for his role as a cynical, lovesick journalist in Vietnam in "The Quiet American." "Look at it now. This is like the walk-up to the Oscars now -- the red carpet! Of course the red carpet's over there and we're here on grey pavement... very British," he said as he prepared to enter the awards ceremony on Sunday. Hollywood still reigns supreme even for the British film industry. The only British picture nominated for best film was "The Hours" -- two thirds of which is set in New York and Los Angeles. Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
