Africans to shine at Oscars
Jan 29, 2004
It is the first time ever in the history of the prestigious American Oscars that an African has been nominated in a leading and supporting role
It is the first time ever in the history of the prestigious American Oscars that an African has been nominated in a leading and supporting role
HIS is a typical rags to riches story. Djimon Hounsou, a school drop-out went to Paris, France from Benin at the age of 13, could not find a job and ended as a vagrant, sleeping under bridges and rummaging in trash cans for food.
He became homeless and spent a couple of years wandering the streets of Paris before being discovered by fashion designer Thierry Mugler.
After he resettled himself, Hounsou moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting. While on the way to stardom, he appeared in music videos, including those of Madonna and Steve Winwood.
Hounsou first gained acting attention in director Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997) for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.
Hounsou found increasingly steady employment on both the big and small screens, becoming a semi-regular on the hospital drama ER and appearing in such films as the historical epic Gladiator (2000). Working on such high profile projects, Hounsou’s success in the following two years would prove no surprise to anyone who glanced at his filmography.
Aside from prominent roles in such high profile French films as 2002's Le Boulet Dead Weight and the following year's Muraya - l'experience secrete de Mike Blueberry The Adventures of Mike S. Blueberry, Hounsou's bid for screen stardom was simultaneously on display in such stateside features as The Four Feathers (2002), Biker Boyz and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (both 2003).
Hounsou’s personal comment: “School bored me. Being educated and being intelligent are two different things. I thought I was smart enough. And I wanted to be an entertainer.
I stopped going to school as a way of saying I was mature, a way of saying I was going to choose who I was going to become,†as quoted by Daily News, December 3, 1997. And now he has been nominated for an Oscar in the category of best supporting actor for the film In America
The fantasy epic “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King†emerged on Tuesday as the hot Oscar favourite as it earned 11 nominations for the coveted Academy Awards.
The film is the final part of a $300m trilogy-based on the classic adventure books by J.R. Tolkien.
Return of the King led last weekend’s Golden Globes with four wins, including best dramatic picture and director.
The trilogy, which runs more than nine hours, has earned over $2.6b at the box office worldwide, with Return of the King well on its way to the $1b mark.
Other films which earned multiple nominations were Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which got 10 nods and Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation and Clint Eastwood’s gritty drama Mystic River which both got seven nominations. They were named as best picture nominees together with LOTR and Seabiscuit.
The directing nominations went to LOTR, Mystic River, Master and Commander, Lost in Translation and to Fernando Meirelles for the Brazilian film City of God.
In the best acting category were Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), against Ben Kingsley (House Of Sand And Fog), Jude Law (Cold Mountain), Bill Murray (Lost In Translation) and the favourite Sean Penn (Mystic Riverâ€).
The award for best actress is between Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), Diane Keaton (Something’s Gotta Give), Samantha Morton (In America), Charlize Theron (Monster) and Naomi Watts (21 Grams).
Nominations for adapted screenplay went to American Splendor, City Of God, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, Mystic River and Seabiscuit.
The foreign language nominations are The Barbarian Invasions, Evil, The Twilight Samurai, Twin Sisters†and “elary.
The awards will be presented in the usual star studded ceremony in Hollywood on February 29th. The much anticipated nominees announcement was made recently by actress Sigourney Weaver and Frank Pierson, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
dpa
HIS is a typical rags to riches story. Djimon Hounsou, a school drop-out went to Paris, France from Benin at the age of 13, could not find a job and ended as a vagrant, sleeping under bridges and rummaging in trash cans for food.
He became homeless and spent a couple of years wandering the streets of Paris before being discovered by fashion designer Thierry Mugler.
After he resettled himself, Hounsou moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting. While on the way to stardom, he appeared in music videos, including those of Madonna and Steve Winwood.
Hounsou first gained acting attention in director Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997) for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.
Hounsou found increasingly steady employment on both the big and small screens, becoming a semi-regular on the hospital drama ER and appearing in such films as the historical epic Gladiator (2000). Working on such high profile projects, Hounsou’s success in the following two years would prove no surprise to anyone who glanced at his filmography.
Aside from prominent roles in such high profile French films as 2002's Le Boulet Dead Weight and the following year's Muraya - l'experience secrete de Mike Blueberry The Adventures of Mike S. Blueberry, Hounsou's bid for screen stardom was simultaneously on display in such stateside features as The Four Feathers (2002), Biker Boyz and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (both 2003).
Hounsou’s personal comment: “School bored me. Being educated and being intelligent are two different things. I thought I was smart enough. And I wanted to be an entertainer.
I stopped going to school as a way of saying I was mature, a way of saying I was going to choose who I was going to become,†as quoted by Daily News, December 3, 1997. And now he has been nominated for an Oscar in the category of best supporting actor for the film In America
The fantasy epic “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King†emerged on Tuesday as the hot Oscar favourite as it earned 11 nominations for the coveted Academy Awards.
The film is the final part of a $300m trilogy-based on the classic adventure books by J.R. Tolkien.
Return of the King led last weekend’s Golden Globes with four wins, including best dramatic picture and director.
The trilogy, which runs more than nine hours, has earned over $2.6b at the box office worldwide, with Return of the King well on its way to the $1b mark.
Other films which earned multiple nominations were Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which got 10 nods and Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation and Clint Eastwood’s gritty drama Mystic River which both got seven nominations. They were named as best picture nominees together with LOTR and Seabiscuit.
The directing nominations went to LOTR, Mystic River, Master and Commander, Lost in Translation and to Fernando Meirelles for the Brazilian film City of God.
In the best acting category were Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean), against Ben Kingsley (House Of Sand And Fog), Jude Law (Cold Mountain), Bill Murray (Lost In Translation) and the favourite Sean Penn (Mystic Riverâ€).
The award for best actress is between Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), Diane Keaton (Something’s Gotta Give), Samantha Morton (In America), Charlize Theron (Monster) and Naomi Watts (21 Grams).
Nominations for adapted screenplay went to American Splendor, City Of God, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, Mystic River and Seabiscuit.
The foreign language nominations are The Barbarian Invasions, Evil, The Twilight Samurai, Twin Sisters†and “elary.
The awards will be presented in the usual star studded ceremony in Hollywood on February 29th. The much anticipated nominees announcement was made recently by actress Sigourney Weaver and Frank Pierson, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
dpa