Title: James Cameron,
Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Robin Williams, Kim Basinger bask with Oscar
Date: 3/24/1998; Publication: AP Online; Author: LYNN
ELBER Associated Press Writer
AP Online
03-24-1998
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Oscar night clearly belonged to ``Titanic'' director James
Cameron, whose $200 million epic swept the Academy Awards with a record-tying
11 trophies.
``I'm the king of the world!'' Cameron shouted at one point Monday night,
borrowing the words he wrote for ``Titanic'' hero Jack. The director paused in
his jubilance to remind everyone of the tragedy at sea that killed 1,500
people.
``And the message of 'Titanic,' of course, is that if the great ship can sink,
the unthinkable can happen, the future's unknowable. The only
thing that we truly own is today. Life is precious. So during these few
seconds, I'd like you to also listen to the beating of your own heart, which is the most precious things in the world. Join me for a few
seconds of silence,'' Cameron said.
During production of the movie, Cameron took repeated shots as a maniacal
perfectionist who was putting at risk two studios, the welfare of his cast and
crew and, certainly, his professional reputation.
His box-office hits, including the ``Terminator'' films and ``True Lies,'' were
not held as proof Cameron could pull this one off.
Cameron's original choice for director of photography refused to do the film,
suspecting what was ahead. It was a rough voyage from the start.
As the budget swelled, Cameron forfeited his $8 million director's salary and
percentage of the gross (although he's certain to share the box-office wealth).
Cameron met fierce resistance from Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox on
every front from budget to casting, but held his ground. Teen-age girls got the
chance to swoon over Leonardo DiCaprio instead of the studio's choice of the
much-older Matthew McConaughey.
The director insisted that even the smallest details be authentic, including
reproductions of the ship's original dinner china. And the biggest prop, the
ship itself, was a nine-tenths scale model of the original liner.
The costume budget was $8.4 million, triple the budget for all of fellow
picture nominee ``The Full Monty.'' And Cameron was so hands-on,
he did the sketches of Rose in Jack's sketchbook.
Filming was an ordeal, with its complex combination of models and technology
and physically demanding water scenes.
``We are here tonight to celebrate the magic of movies,'' Cameron said in
accepting the best picture prize, ``and I'm grateful every day to be a part of
that magic.''
---
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jack Nicholson clutched his third lifetime Oscar and
confessed he had started to worry.
``I've had a sinking feeling all night right up to here,'' Nicholson said
Monday after winning best actor for his role as an obsessive-compulsive bigot
in ``As Good As It Gets.''
Nicholson doffed his ever-present sunglasses when he got up from a seat beside
Miss Hunt to accept his Oscar and he thanked ``everybody here tonight who's
lookin' so good.''
It was his 11th Academy Award nomination and third win:
He won a supporting actor for 1983's ``Terms of Endearment,'' and as best actor
for playing another character of dubious sanity, in 1975's ``One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest.''
Nicholson, 60, beat out popular underdog Matt Damon of ``Good Will Hunting,''
and three fellow
The ceremony was a reunion of sorts for Nicholson and Fonda. In 1969, Nicholson
earned his first Oscar nomination as supporting actor in the landmark biker
movie, ``Easy Rider.'' Fonda produced the film and was nominated as co-writer.
He recognized the other nominees - ``Some of them are
very good friends of mine and I'm honored to be on my list with you: Bobby,
Dusty, and you and your father, Mr. Damon, and my old bike pal, Fonda.''
Nicholson's other nominations were for leading roles in ``Five Easy Pieces,''
``The Last Detail,'' ``
Nicholson dedicated his Oscar to ``Miles Davis, Robert Mitchum, Shorty Smith,
Joe Vitrano, Ray Kramer, Rupert Cross, J.T. Walsh and Luane Anders. They're not
here anymore, but they're in my heart.''
---
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Helen Hunt, best known as the ``Mad About
You'' TV wife, shook her head in disbelief after her name was called as winner
of best actress for her role in ``As Good As It Gets,'' opposite Oscar-winner
Jack Nicholson.
``Jack, I worship you, you know it,'' Miss Hunt said when she walked up to grab
her Oscar on Monday night.
In ``As Good As It Gets,'' Miss Hunt plays a hardworking single mom who
tolerates, then finally comes to love a bigoted, obsessive-compulsive writer
portrayed by Nicholson.
``This is a magnificent honor,'' she said after beating out four English actresses.
Miss Hunt, 34, is an Emmy Award-winner for her role as Jamie Buchman on the
NBC-TV series ``Mad About You.'' Her other big screen
credits include ``Twister,'' ``Kiss of Death,'' ``Mr. Saturday Night,'' ``Bob
Roberts,'' ``The Waterdance,'' ``Peggy Sue Got Married,'' ``Next of Kin'' and
``Project X.''
She got her first TV role in 1973 and appeared in more than 15 TV movies before
scoring a hit with ``Mad About You.''
Also nominated were Helena Bonham Carter for ``The Wings of the Dove,'' Julie
Christie for ``Afterglow,'' Judi Dench for ``Mrs. Brown'' and Kate Winslet for
``Titanic.''
``The first time I saw ``Mrs. Brown'' - saw it three times - first time I
leaned over to my beloved and said, 'She's going to win an Academy Award.' And
(in) my mind tonight, she has,'' Miss Hunt said.
``And so has Julie Christie and
---
LOS ANGELES (AP) - When Robin Williams won for his role as a therapist
counseling a troubled genius played by Matt Damon in ``Good Will Hunting,'' the
stand-up comic-turned-actor seemed stunned.
``Oh man! This might be the one time I'm speechless,'' Williams said Monday
night.
It was his first Oscar; he was nominated previously for leading performances in
``Good Morning Vietnam,'' ``Dead Poets Society'' and ``The Fisher King.''
Williams beat out Burt Reynolds in his comeback role as a porn movie director
in ``Boogie Nights,'' as well as Robert Forster, Anthony Hopkins and Greg
Kinnear.
He hugged his wife, Marsha, and got hugs and pats on the back from Matt Damon
and Ben Affleck, co-stars and screenwriters of ``Good Will Hunting.''
``Thank you for putting me in a category with these four extraordinary men,''
Williams said. ``Thank you, Ben and Matt. I still want to see some I.D.''
He saved his final thanks for his wife, ``the woman who lights my soul on fire
every morning,'' and his late father, who told him to ``have a backup
profession like welding'' when he learned Williams wanted to be an actor.
He finally stutter-stepped off the stage, smiling from
ear-to-ear.
---
LOS ANGELES (AP) - On a night in which ``Titanic'' star Gloria Stuart was
favored to take the supporting actress award, Kim Basinger gasped when she was
called to the stage to accept her first Academy Award.
``Oh my God!'' she said.
Miss Basinger, 44, won for her role as the enigmatic call girl made up to
resemble Veronica Lake in ``L.A. Confidential.'' She originally declined the
role, but her agent convinced her it would be a career plus.
Even Miss Basinger's husband, actor Alec Baldwin, seemed surprised, whooping
and cupping his hand over his mouth as his wife took the stage.
``I just want to thank everybody I've ever met in my entire life,'' Miss
Basinger said before kissing her golden Oscar statue. ``If anyone has a dream
out there, just know that I'm living proof that they do come true.''
Originally from
She continued in that guise as a James Bond girl in ``Never Say Never Again''
(with Sean Connery), ``The Natural'' (Robert Redford) and ``Batman.'' But she
also has had mishaps: ``My Stepmother Is an Alien,'' ``The Marrying Man,''
``The Getaway'' (the latter two with husband Alec Baldwin).
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press All Rights Reserved.
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