Last Sunday, during the 76th Academy Awards, we witnessed a renewing success. The incredible trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" won 11 Oscars on that splendid night and got even with "Titanic" and "Ben Hur". I think, unlike previous years, the Academy committee did not surprise the audience this time. Winners of the most rated categories were obvious. I was pretty sure that LOTR would get all the Oscars it is nominated for because the last 2 years were disappointing for the LOTR team although they won Oscars in some categories like make up, cinematography, visual effects… I believe that in giving the best picture, best directing and the other 9 category Oscar Awards to the final movie was kind of the committee's sign of appreciating the movies as a trilogy rather than separately. Moreover, giving 11 awards to the LOTR team was something the academy committee was supposed to do since LOTR left other nominees far behind through its strong infrastructure. Thanks a lot to everybody in New Zealand haha! When we consider individual victories, Charlize Theron did not cause a surprise via winning the leading actress award since she was clearly ahead of the other nominees with her acting. Besides, I suppose, the Academy committee loves biographical movies and dramas which might also have an effect on Charlize's victory, but still, she really deserved it.
Although Reene Zellweger's performance wasn't her best; she won Best Supporting actress. I think Marcia G. Harden was much better than Reene but Harden won an Oscar before, thus her nomination was not that strong. The leading actor..? Actually this category was the most surprising one for the audience. Bill Murray, Johnny Depp and Sean Penn were strong candidates. Most of the American critics guessed that Bill Murray would get the Oscar with his performance in "Lost in Translation". (It hasn't shown in Turkey yet.) Johnny Depp was also popular with his vagrant pirate performance but the Oscar went to Sean Penn. I think the academy committee did the right thing because Sean Penn provided a fascinating performance in Mystic River.
Besides, he was nominated for the leading actor Oscar, 3 times before and this was his 4th time. Although, last year, Sean Penn and Tim Robbins were both highly criticized because of their anti-Bush statements; they both won the Oscar with their performances in Mystic River. It seems, finally, art is one step ahead. Right?

Atilla Karakurum (IE/III)