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Adrien
Brody won the Best Actor Award and called for a resolution in Iraq in
his acceptance speech. |
The
pomp and circumstance was present as usual; but in light of the current state of
world affairs, the 75th annual Academy Awards Sunday night was a much
less extravagant affair than in years gone by.
The
most noticeable difference in the evening’s proceedings was the lack of a red
carpet procession. The traditional affair finds Hollywood’s brightest stars
prancing, preening and hamming for the cameras while critics make comment on
people’s fashion choices. In the past, this has been a somewhat tacky affair
for those more interested in gossip. But due to concerns over security and in a
spirit of greater solemnity over the state of war, the event’s organizers
chose to forgo the red carpet.
Otherwise
the night was what most would expect from the Oscars. Steve Martin provided the
right combination of wit and professionalism that people expect from the
show’s host and most award recipients kept their comments short, to the point
and apolitical.
The
war in Iraq was, however, a major undercurrent of the evening and several stars
voiced their opinions, although muted, about the state of world affairs.
Chris
Cooper, who won the award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film
Adaptation said, “In light of all the troubles in this world, I wish us all
peace.”
When
Susan Sarandon, a well-known Hollywood peace activist, took to the stage as a
presenter, she flashed a peace sign to the crowd as her subtle comment on the
war.
There
were, however, also some who chose to be more vocal. None were more direct in
their criticisms than Michael Moore, whose film Bowling for Columbine won
the award for Best Documentary.
In
his acceptance speech, Moore drew boos from the audience when he launched into a
scathing indictment of U.S. President George W. Bush and his foreign policy.
“We
live in a time with fictitious election results that elect fictitious
presidents. We live in a time when we have a man sending us to war for
fictitious reasons,” said Moore. “We are against this war Mr. Bush. Shame on
you. Shame on you!”
Less
emotional, but no less pointed in his commentary was Adrien Brody who won the
award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Jewish musician Wladyslaw Szpilman,
who was one of only 20 Jews to survive the Nazi onslaught in Poland’s Warsaw
ghetto.
“It
(the award) fills me with great joy, but I'm also filled with a lot of sadness
tonight because I'm accepting an award at such a strange time,” said Brody.
“You know my experiences in making this film made me very aware of the sadness
and the dehumanization of people at times of war and the repercussions of war.
Whether you believe in God or Allah, may He watch over you and let's pray for a
peaceful and swift resolution [to the war].”
Organizers
concerns over potential demonstrations outside the event did not materialize.
Reuters did report that a group of some 50 individuals protested the war in
Iraq; however there were no incidents of disturbance.
