The Academy Award ceremony was dominated by the movie American Beauty, which was nominated in 8 categories, and won 5 awards (including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Picture).

This was the first to receive a noteworthy certification TV-14 partially due to the showing of many American Beauty clips featuring scenes of sex, innuendo, and violence. Also the Oscar nominated song "Blame Canada" (from South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut) was performed though it had offensive material (performer Robin Williams cleverly "hid" the single word). The first Oscar show to have a TV rating was 1997 but was rated TV-PG.

Trivia

• This was by far one of the most technically ambitious and expensive Oscar productions ever staged. Conceived by late Production Designer Bob Keene, the stage featured five forty foot tall video towers each capable of producing imagery independently or one large image when grouped together. This scenic element was used to display images of previous Oscar appearances as presenters took the stage, nomination packages, and even the famous five-box when winners were announced. This show set a precedent for the convergence of video and staging technologies that have become nearly ubiquitous in modern concerts and events. This was the first time the ceremony used High Definition clip masters for nomination packages , though the show was not broadcast to the domestic ABC audience in High Definition. The first true HD telecast was in 2002.
• This was also one of the longest Oscar productions on record clocking in at just over four hours. Twenty-two cameras covered the event for ABC Television, including six jib arms, two steadicams, one akela crane, and for the first time a rail-cam. There were nearly 200 microphones and over 600 moving light fixtures. The show had nine days of rehearsals.
• Billy Crystal's opening film featured him being transported through the history of motion pictures; sitting at a table with Charlie Chaplin, being in the shower during Psycho, claiming to not be Spartacus, being seduced by Mrs. Robinson, riding in the backseat of a taxi with Gene Hackman (and nearly running over Stephen King), being told to 'act like a man' by The Godfather, and finally singing "Tonight" from West Side Story.
• His traditional best picture medley featured samples of popular songs such as:
• Green Acres theme song for The Green Mile.
• Barbra Streisand's "People" for The Sixth Sense (In a pun on "I see dead people", Crystal sang, "People / Kids who see dead people / Are the spookiest people in the world.")
• 60 Minutes and Chopin's "Valse" for The Insider
• Theme from Mame for The Cider House Rules (a pun on Caine as in Michael Caine)
• The Lady is a Tramp for American Beauty

• Music Directors Don Was and Burt Bacharach employed extensive use of sequenced and recorded music to give the show a hip flavor, though a full orchestra was also on hand to perform "Blame Canada" and Billy Crystal's opening nominee medley. Musical performers included Phil Collins, Randy Newman, Sarah MacLachlan, Aimee Mann, Gloria Estefan, *NSYNC, Garth Brooks, Queen Latifah, Ray Charles, Isaac Hayes, Dionne Warwick, and the University of Southern California drumline and cheerleaders.
• Kenny Ortega (director of the popular High School Musical) choreographed "Blame Canada", though the show was billed to be the first without a traditional dance number.
• The omission of DeForest Kelley from the "In Memoriam" list (see below) led to protests from Star Trek fans.
• In recent years the Academy Award for Best Original Score was divided into two for Comedy and Dramatic Scores. They were combined again this ceremony.
• It was during rehearsals for this show that the famous Whitney Houston meltdown occurred, leading show producers to replace her at the last minute with her aunt, Dionne Warwick.
• Producer Joel Gallen of MTV was tapped to produce a hipper preshow that was helmed by Chris Connelly, Tyra Banks and Meredith Vieira and transitioned directly to the show proper without a commercial break in between.
• This was also the first occurrence of using famous faces to serve as the announcer for the telecast. Actor Peter Coyote handled the duties. Glenn Close and Donald Sutherland would announce the 74th show in 2002.
• This was the first time a woman held the title of producer on a Oscar telecast. Producer Laura Ziskin would helm the show in 2002 and 2007.
• Had the Award for Best Lead Actress gone to Annette Bening instead of Hilary Swank, then American Beauty would have been the fourth film to win all five major oscars.
• South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone attended the ceremony wearing pink and green dresses popularized by Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow. In a 2005 interview, they claimed to have taken acid on the day of the show.

Notable Quotes

• "Who's in charge of security? Probably the same guys who protected Sonny Corleone at the tollbooth." - host Billy Crystal, making a reference to The Godfather commenting on Oscar statuettes being stolen before the ceremony.
• "I am so in love with my brother right now. He just held me and told me that he loved me." - Angelina Jolie, upon winning Best Supporting Actress. The statement sparked rumors that she was involved in an incestuous relationship with her brother.

Michael Caine, upon winning Best Supporting Actor, paid tribute to all his fellow nominees individually, saying:

• "You have Michael, whom I'd never heard of before, who is astonishing" - on Michael Clarke Duncan, nominated for The Green Mile.
• "You have Jude, who's going to be a big star no matter what happens - on Jude Law, nominated for The Talented Mr. Ripley.
• "You have Tom, who, if you'd won this, your part price would've gone down so much. Do you have any idea what supporting actors make?" - on Tom Cruise, nominated for Magnolia.
• "And Haley, what a performance! When I saw it, I said 'well, that's me out of it'" - on Haley Joel Osment, nominated for The Sixth Sense.

The Awards

Feature Films

Direction

Acting

Writing

In Memoriam