2004 Oscars

76th Academy Awards

The 76th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the best in film for 2003, was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 (01:30 March 1 UTC). The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.

The nominees were announced on January 27 at 5:38 a.m. PST (13:38 UTC) by Academy president Frank Pierson and actress Sigourney Weaver, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in the Academy's Beverly Hills headquarters. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King swept all 11 categories in which it was nominated. It matched the record 11 wins of Titanic and Ben-Hur and beat the previous record of Gigi and The Last Emperor for the largest sweep of every nominated category, both of which had achieved nine-for-nine.

The big contenders for the 76th Academy Awards (for the best achievement in film in 2003) included The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and Lost in Translation, and in the highly competitive Best Actor category, strong work from Johnny Depp, Sean Penn and Jude Law.

News and recap

Billy Crystal returned for the eighth time to host the presentation. His opening monologue poked fun at the change (or lack thereof) between the time he had hosted the ceremony in 1991, and the current one: "Things were so different then. You know how different it was? Bush was president, the economy was tanking and we'd just finished a war with Iraq."

However, the bulk of Crystal's good-natured barbs—and the comments of many of the presenters and award recipients as well—were directed at New Zealand and Return of the King, which dominated an evening lacking in surprises. The front-runner (or near front-runner) in every nominated category turned out to be the actual winner, although The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King was the first ever film of the fantasy genre to win Best Picture. Despite the lack of "drama" due to an "Obvious Winner" ceremony, the show attracted an audience of 43.56 million, breaking a low-ratings streak which had started back in 2001 due to the popularity of the best picture winner.

The television broadcast on ABC was aired live with a five-second tape delay, possibly because of the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction Controversy during Super Bowl XXXVIII. It was shown live in many other countries around the world (satellite delays notwithstanding). Host Billy Crystal joked during the awards ceremony that Robin Williams was the cause of the 5-second delay.

Jack Black and Will Ferrell finally shed light (and lyrics) on the mysterious song that the orchestra would play whenever a winner would make a speech.

Notable quotations

"(Riding Crush, the turtle from Finding Nemo)IIIIIII CANT BELIEVE THE YANKEES GOT A-ROD!" - Billy Crystal during his opening montage celebrating about how his beloved Yankees just got reigning MVP Alex Rodriguez

"(Being kidnapped in Mystic River)"What are you doing? This isn't how you get to the World Series!" - Crystal once again from his opening montage joking that he was being kidnapped in Boston

"Things were so different then. You know how different it was? Bush was president, the economy was tanking and we'd just finished a war with Iraq." - Host Billy Crystal, remembering how things had been different thirteen years before, when he first hosted the Oscars.

"For the very, very first time, we're being simulcast in Aramaic." - Host Billy Crystal said jokingly, referring to the ancient language used in Mel Gibson's new film, The Passion of the Christ.

"Pussy Galore! I just got it! That's vulgar!" - Billy Crystal, "reading" Sean Connery's mind.

"Forty years ago, this country went down a rabbit hole in Vietnam — millions died. I fear we're going down the rabbit hole once again." - Errol Morris upon receiving his Best Documentary Oscar for The Fog of War.

"I can't wait for his tax audit—scary times." - Host Billy Crystal, in response to documentarian Errol Morris's comment that he fears America in Iraq is "going down a rabbit hole once again."

"It's now official — there is nobody left in New Zealand to thank." - Host Billy Crystal, in reference to the numerous awards won by productions from that country.

"We're so thankful that The Lord of the Rings did not qualify for this category." - Denise Robert, wife of director Denys Arcand, in her acceptance speech for the Best foreign language film The Barbarian Invasions.

"That felt good." - Blake Edwards, after rolling across the stage in a wheelchair and crashing into a wall.

"Do you know that people are moving to New Zealand just to be thanked?" - Host Billy Crystal.

"If there's one thing that actors know —other than there weren't any WMDs— it's that there is no such thing as best in acting." - Sean Penn in his Best Actor acceptance speech.

"I'm so honoured and touched and relieved that the Academy and members of the Academy have seen past the trolls and the wizards and the hobbits and are recognising fantasy this year. Fantasy is an 'F' word that hopefully the five second delay won't do anything with." - Peter Jackson, as he received his Oscar for Best Picture.

"...And he's wearing shoes ladies and gentlemen!" - Billy Crystal commenting on Peter Jackson's appearance after the latter's acceptance speech.

"It's a clean sweep." - Steven Spielberg announcing the best picture Oscar for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

Winners & Nominees

Breakdown

(Awards won/nominations)

11/11	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2/10	Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
2/6	Mystic River
1/7	Cold Mountain
1/4	Finding Nemo
1/4	Lost in Translation
1/2	The Barbarian Invasions
1/1	Monster