Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 27, 1990 TAG: 9003272198
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Long
"My son said he was going to make one of these out of clay for me, now I've got a model for him," an exultant Washington said as he held up his gold statuette, first award of the evening at the 62nd annual Academy Awards.
Washington becomes the fourth black performer to win an Oscar. Previous black winners were Hattie McDaniel for "Gone With the Wind," in 1939 and Louis Gossett Jr. for "An Officer and a Gentleman" in 1982, in supporting categories, and Sidney Poitier for "Lilies of the Field" in 1963 as lead actor.
"I don't believe this!" exclaimed the Dublin-born Miss Fricker as she stood on the stage of the Los Angeles Music Center to receive her award.
She added her thanks to artist-writer "Christy Brown, just for being alive, and to his mother, Mrs. Brown. Anybody who gives birth 22 times deserves one," she said, referring to the Oscar.
The award for art direction went to "Batman," the top moneymaker of 1989 at $251 million that failed to win a nomination in any other category.
Alan Menken's music for the smash Disney cartoon "The Little Mermaid" won the Oscar for best original score.
"Driving Miss Daisy," one of the favorites for best picture of 1989, took an early award for best makeup. Italy's "Cinema Paradiso," a reminiscence of growing up in a Sicilian village, was named best foreign film.
Host Billy Crystal drew laughs taking a dig at last year's widely panned opening dance sequence between actor Rob Lowe and a life-size fairy tale heroine. Coming onto the Los Angeles Music Center stage to hearty applause, he asked: "Is that for me or are you just glad I'm not Snow White?"
He also commented on "Driving Miss Daisy," as "A movie that apparently directed itself," referring to the fact that the film earned nine nominations, but none for its director, Bruce Beresford.
Another dig at the nominating judgment of academy members came from "Batman" co-star Kim Basinger. Introducing clips from one of the year's best picture nominees, she criticized the omission of Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" from that list.
"There is one film missing from this list that deserves to be on it because it might tell the biggest truth of all," Miss Basinger said of Lee's hard-hitting story of racial intolerance.
As the show got under way before a television audience estimated at 1 billion worldwide, Oscar watchers were still at odds over the favorite for best picture.
Some observers gave the inside track to "Miss Daisy," the gentle story of a Jewish widow and her black chauffeur, which showed continuing box-office strength and appealed to older Academy voters.
"Born on the Fourth of July," an explosive view of the Vietnam War and its aftermath, was an early favorite, but it has been fading at the box-office and drew negative afterthoughts by some film critics.
A split between the two leaders could result in a victory for one of the underdog contenders: "My Left Foot," "Dead Poets Society" or "Field of Dreams." That seems to have happened in 1981, when heavy voting for "On Golden Pond" and "Reds" made room for the longshot "Chariots of Fire."
Opinions were mixed among fans at the Music Center, where scores with sleeping bags began the long wait on Sunday night and traffic was already congested by midday. A banner proclaimed: "Best actress - Jessica Lange, Best actor - Morgan Freeman." Lange was nominated for her performance as a lawyer defending her father against Nazi war crime charges in "The Music Box"; Freeman as the patient chauffeur in "Daisy."
Most of the younger crowd favored Tom Cruise, who played paraplegic vet Ron Kovic in "Fourth of July."
"I came to see Tom Cruise. I'm sure he'll win," announced Alana Webber, 24, of San Diego. She and a friend, Cathy Willhite, 26, had taken their places at 11 Sunday night.
Monday night's show marked the first time the Oscars have gone truly international. Besides the announcements at the Music Center, envelopes were sent to entertainers for unsealing in four other cities:
Art direction by Glenn Close and Mel Gibson in London; foreign language film by Jack Lemmon and Russian actress Netalya Negoda in Moscow; sound and sound effects editing by Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward in Sydney; documentaries and shorts by Charlton Heston and Norma Aleandro in Buenos Aires.
"I looked at every awards show since 1955, and one thing stands out: how much the Oscars reflect the times," said the show's producer, Gilbert Cates. "If you wanted to know the history of 1955, you could get a good impression from the show, including what people wore, what their entertainment was, what was on their minds.
"When you consider all the changes that happened last year in Europe and other parts of the world, it made sense to have a show that reflected those changes."
A win for best picture brings not only glory to the filmmakers but millions in revenue for the releasing company. Last year's triumph, "Rain Man," provides an example. Reports Barry Lorie, MGM-UA marketing chief:
"On the week before the Oscars, `Rain Man' was playing in 1,542 theaters and grossed $3,003,521. On the week following the Oscars, `Rain Man' played in 1,581 theaters and grossed $5,537,165. So it earned $2.5 million more as a result of the Oscars.
"A best-picture Oscar is important in this country, but the biggest effect can be felt overseas. It is vitally important in selling a film in foreign countries."
Richard Zanuck, co-producer of "Driving Miss Daisy," agrees: "Being able to advertise `winner of the Academy Award for best picture' is a tremendous boost overseas, also in the videocassette and other markets.
"Even the nominations gave `Miss Daisy' a tremendous boost. And we were ready if our picture won the award; 300 more theaters were added this week."
by CNB