Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Tji I Movies Jji There's no business like it 'American Beauty' might set new trend. by David Germain AP Entertainment Writer Los Angeles -When “American Beauty” hit theaters last fall, many were surprised when it became a box-office hit and an Oscar front-runner. By Sunday night, though, it came as no surprise that the sober ing satire of suburbia dominated the Academy Awards. In an indus try whose recent top honors have mostly gone to splashy epics, “American Beauty” had simply built up too much critical and pop ular esteem to be denied. The film won five awards: best picture, best actor for Kevin Spacey, best director for Sam Mendes, best original screenplay for Alan Ml and best cinematography for Conrad L. Hall. The ceremony, which at four hours plus was the longest on record, was seen in whole or in part by an estimated 78 million Amer icans, with overnight ratings down slightly from last year, according to Nielsen figures released Monday. Might the success of the dark yet wildly absurd “American Beau ty” herald Hollywood’s return to such thoughtful, character-driven films as “Midnight Cowboy” and “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” both best-picture winners? First-time director Mendes, steeped in such films growing up, hopes so. “The more of these sorts of movies that get made and the more they get acknowledged by the mainstream, the better,” said Mendes, an acclaimed theater director. Spacey, whose character undeigoes a transformation after almost consummating an affair with his daughter’s high-school friend, said the movie hit home with audiences because “we got to see all of his worst qualities, and we still grew to love him.” “We get a chance to see characters have experiences that make us feel that we’re not the only ones who have those feelings,” Spacey said. “We sort of have a collective admission when we see charac ters do those things that we do.” The best-picture win was sweet revenge for “American Beau ty” distributor DreamWorks, the studio co-founded by Steven Spiel berg, whose “Saving Private Ryan” lost best-picture honors last year to Disney-owned Miramax’s “Shakespeare in Love.” Spielbeig, who won for best director last year for “Saving Pri vate Ryan,” presented the director’s award to Mendes. It was the first best-picture win for DreamWorks, founded five years ago. The evening was not a sweep for “Ameri can Beauty.” Hilary Swank, a virtual unknown, won the best actress award for another dark film, “Boys Don’t Cry,” based on the true story of Brandon Teena, a woman who lived as a man and was killed when her true gender was un covered. “I consider myself someone who cares a huge amount about humanity, and I think that this movie opens the door to letting people know what goes on in society and hopefully putting an end to intolerance in the future,” Swank said. Other top winners included Angelina Johe for best supporting actress for her turn as a hos pitalized sociopath in “Girl, Interrupted.” Michael Caine won his second best supporting actor award for his role as an ether-sniffing abor tionist who runs an orphanage in “The Cider House Rules.” John Irving won for best adapted screen play for the script of his novel “The Cider House Rules.” Phil Collins took the Oscar for original song for “You’ll Be in My Heart” front “Tarzan.” Pe dro Almodovar’s “All About My Mother” won for foreign-language film. The glitzy sci-fi thriller “The Matrix” won in all four categories for which it was nom inated — visual effects, film editing, sound and sound-effects editing. Caustic and kooky, “American Beauty” was a seriocomic tale of suburban lunacy that ran counter to big-picture epics such as “Titanic,” Schindler s List, ‘Braveheart and The Eng lish Patient” that have dominated the Oscars. The Oscars have occasionally gone dark and disturbing in recent years. In 1991, the serial killer flick “The Silence of the Lambs” was an atypical winner, while Clint Eastwood’s anti hero western “Unfoigiven” took top honors the next year. Shot for $15 million, “American Beauty” has gone on to top $108 million at the box office while playing in barely half as many theaters as many top Hollywood movies. The movie, however, had all the quirks, tics and warts that should have relegated it to the list of critics’ darlings and modest box-office successes. Consider its characters: a middle-aged chump who lusts after his daughter’s friend; a shrill wife empowered by her pistol and her farcical fling with the local real-es tate king; a homophobic Marine colonel who tests his son’s urine for drugs; and a teen-age video voyeur who peddles pot and philosophizes about a plastic bag danc ing in the wind. Screenwriter Ball said “American Beauty’s” triumph taught him to “write what moves you.” “The lesson I’ve learned out of this is really follow your heart and follow your passion, and follow your guts and just sit down and write it,” Ball said. Photos Special To The Gamecock “American Beauty” takes top honors in the best picture category. In all, the film took home five Academy Awards. Kevin Spacey (below) beat out Denzel Washington in the best actor category. This is Space/s second Oscar. He won his first as a supporting actor in “The Usual Suspects.” Other awards for the film came in best director, cinematography and original screenplay. First-time nominee and recipient Sam Mendes (left) received best director honors.