Rings epic lords it over Oscars

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King made a clean sweep of the Oscars today with an epic 11 awards out of 11.

It won best picture – the first fantasy film to do so – and best director for New Zealander Peter Jackson.

The awards tally equalled the record held by Ben Hur and Titanic.

A jubilant Jackson said: “This is just unbelievable and I am so honoured and touched and relieved that the Academy has seen past the trolls and the wizards and the hobbits in recognising fantasy this year.”

The Return of the King’s other awards were for art direction, costume design, visual effects, make-up, sound mixing, film editing, adapted screenplay, original score and original song for Into The West, sung by Annie Lennox.

There were no surprises in the other main categories at the 76th Academy Awards in Hollywood.

Charlize Theron won best actress for her role as real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.

Sean Penn won best actor for Mystic River, in which he plays a grieving father out for revenge over the murder of his teenage daughter.

Penn’s co-star Tim Robbins was named best supporting actor for his performance as man whose childhood was blighted by sexual abuse.

Hot favourite Renee Zellweger took home best supporting actress for her role as farm hand Ruby in Cold Mountain.

All four were first-time Oscar winners.

Billy Crystal hosted the awards from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

As the night wore on and The Return of the King scooped everything in sight, he joked: “It’s now official, there’s nobody left in New Zealand to thank.”

Jackson’s first two Lord of the Rings films were largely overlooked by the Academy.

But the record haul this year was widely seen as a cumulative reward for all three movies.

“You’re giving us an incredibly overwhelming night and we just appreciate it so much,” he said as he stepped up to accept yet another award.

He dedicated the film to his late parents, Bill and Joan, who encouraged his love of film as a child but died before the Tolkien trilogy reached the screen.

But it was a bad night for the other big films in contention.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World won only two awards (sound editing and cinematography), Lost In Translation won one (best original screenplay for Sofia Coppola), Cold Mountain won one (best supporting actress for Zellweger) and Seabiscuit won none.

Theron had been a dead cert to win best actress for her remarkable performance in Monster.

In the film the 28-year-old South African is unrecognisable as Wuornos, America’s worst female serial killer.

“This has been an incredible year. I can’t believe this,” Theron said in a breaking voice during her acceptance speech.

She tearfully thanked her mother Gerda, telling her: “You have sacrificed so much for me to be able to live here and make my dreams come true and there are no words to describe how much I love you.”

Theron’s family history reads like something out of a film script.

Gerda shot dead Theron’s drunken father, Charles, when the actress was 15.

The case never came to trial and Theron has always insisted her mother acted in self-defence.

Gerda encouraged her daughter to leave their farm outside Johannesburg and move to the US to pursue her dream of fame.

Theron also thanked her Irish actor boyfriend, Stuart Townsend, calling him “my incredible partner in crime”.

Zellweger made a gushing speech, managing to thank everyone from Nicole Kidman to Tom Cruise.

The 34-year-old star had been nominated twice before – last year for Chicago and the year before for Bridget Jones’s Diary.

Her performance in Anthony Minghella’s American Civil War drama had already earned her a Bafta, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Dressed in an ivory strapless dress, Zellweger told the audience: “I’m overwhelmed.”

She thanked Kidman and Jude Law for the “privilege” of working with them on the film.

And she paid tribute to Cruise, who co-starred with her in Jerry Maguire, the film which shot her to fame.

“Thank you for showing me very early that kindness and success are not mutually exclusive,” she said.

Zellweger reserved her greatest thanks for her manager, John Carrabino, and dedicated the award to him.

Tim Robbins used his speech to urge victims of childhood sexual abuse, like his Mystic River character, to seek help.

Annie Lennox, accepting the award for best original song, said: “I’m stunned, thank you so much. I would like to thank Peter Jackson so much for inviting me to be part of this extraordinary project. It’s amazing.”

The 49-year-old former Eurythmics star dedicated her performance of the song to her mother, Dorothy, and to the British composer Michael Kamen, both of whom died last year.

This was the eighth time Billy Crystal has hosted the Oscars, held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.

The mood of the awards was markedly lighter than last year’s sombre ceremony, which was overshadowed by the Iraq war.

The abiding memory of last year’s event was documentary-maker Michael Moore’s fierce attack on President Bush.

This year there was scant mention of politics – even from Penn, a vocal opponent of the war who has recently returned from a fact-finding mission to Iraq.

The 43-year-old actor couldn’t resist one jibe, however, telling the audience: “If there’s one thing actors know – other than that there aren’t any WMDs - it’s that there no such thing as best in acting.”

Penn, who rarely attends awards ceremony, received a standing ovation when he went up to collect his award.

Only Errol Morris, director of the best documentary feature winner The Fog of War, made Iraq the centrepiece of his speech.

His film is about Robert McNamara, the former defence secretary considered to be the architect of the Vietnam War, and Morris said: “Forty years ago this country went down a rabbit hole in Vietnam and millions died. I fear we are going down a rabbit hole once again.”

His comments drew cheers and applause from the audience.

This year’s honorary Oscar was awarded to Blake Edwards, the 81-year-old writer, director and producer of the Pink Panther movies.

Edwards also directed the likes of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Victor/Victoria and 10.

He thanked “the beautiful English broad” – his actress wife Julie Andrews.

For the first time, the awards were broadcast with a five-second delay. It was prompted by US broadcaster ABC’s fear of a controversial episode like Janet Jackson’s recent breast-baring at the Superbowl.