VOICE ONE:
On March twenty-fourth, actors, directors and other filmmakerswill gather in Los Angeles, California, for the yearly AcademyAwards ceremonies. It is a night of excitement for people who makemovies and for people who watch them. I’m Sarah Long.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember. The Academy Awards is our report today onthe VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
((MUSIC FROM LORD OF THE RINGS))
VOICE ONE:
Sunday will be the most important day of the year for hundreds ofpeople in the movie industry. Filmmakers will receive Academy Awardsfor the best acting, directing, writing, editing, sound, music andother work on movies released last year.
The winners will receive an award called an Oscar. It is shapedlike a man. It is made of several metals covered with gold. Thestatue is only about thirty-four centimeters tall. It weighs lessthan four kilograms. But the award can be priceless to the personwho receives it. Winning an Oscar can mean becoming much morefamous. It can mean getting offers to work in the best movies. Italso can mean earning much more money.
VOICE TWO:
Movies from the United States and several other countries arecompeting in the Academy Awards this year. Five movies werenominated as best foreign language film. They are from France,Norway, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Argentina. The film fromFrance, “Amelie,” was nominated for four other awards. It is about ayoung woman who brings happiness to other people.
For the first time, an Oscar will be given for best animatedfeature film. Three movies are competing. They are “Shrek,””Monsters, Inc.” and “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.”
VOICE ONE:
A movie based on a famous series of books by British writerJ.R.R. Tolkien received the most Academy Award nominations. Themovie, “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” is a storyabout a struggle to save the world from the forces of evil. Goodcreatures called hobbits and elves battle against evil creatures.The movie is competing for thirteen Oscars, including best motionpicture. Peter Jackson was nominated as best director. Ian McKellenwas nominated as best supporting actor. Two more movies in the “Lordof the Rings” series will be released this year and next.
VOICE TWO:
“A Beautiful Mind” received eight nominations, including one forbest motion picture. It is about a famous American mathematician,John Nash. He suffered from severe mental illness. Yet he shared theNobel Prize for Economics in Nineteen-Ninety-Four. Russell Crowe wasnominated for best actor for playing John Nash as he strugglesagainst the disease. Jennifer Connelly received a nomination forbest supporting actress for playing Nash’s wife, Alicia. The movie’sdirector, Ron Howard, also was nominated for an Oscar.
VOICE ONE:
An unusual movie musical called “Moulin Rouge” also was nominatedfor eight awards, including best motion picture. It is about afamous night club in Paris, France around the year Nineteen-Hundred.Yet it uses modern popular music to tell the story. Nicole Kidmanwas nominated for best actress for playing a singer and dancer atthe Moulin Rouge.
((MUSIC FROM MOULIN ROUGE))
VOICE TWO:
Two other movies were nominated for Academy Awards for bestmotion picture of the year. “Gosford Park” is a murder mystery thattakes place in a rich country home in Britain inNineteen-Thirty-Two. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards. Itsdirector, Robert Altman, was nominated as best director. Twoactresses in the movie, Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith, werenominated for best supporting actress.
The movie “In the Bedroom” received five nominations, includingbest motion picture. It is a tragic story about parents who seek topunish the killer of their twenty-one-year-old son. Three of theactors in the movie also were nominated to win Oscars. They are TomWilkinson for best actor, Sissy Spacek for best actress and MarisaTomei (toe-MY) for best supporting actress.
VOICE ONE:
Several other people were nominated for Academy Awards as bestleading actor or actress. Renee Zellweger was nominated for her partin “Bridget Jones’s Diary.” Judi Dench was nominated for playing theBritish writer Iris Murdoch in the movie “Iris.” And Halle Berryreceived a nomination for her performance in “Monster’s Ball.”
The other nominations for best leading actor are Sean Penn for “IAm Sam,” Denzel Washington for “Training Day,” and Will Smith forplaying boxer Muhammad Ali in the movie “Ali.” This is the firsttime in thirty years that three African American actors werenominated for leading acting awards. They are Halle Berry, DenzelWashington and Will Smith.
VOICE TWO:
Three people will be honored at the Academy Awards ceremony.Sidney Poitier will receive a special award for his performances inmore than forty movies and for representing the motion pictureindustry. He is the only African American actor who has received anOscar for best leading actor. Robert Redford will be honored for hiswork as actor, director, producer and supporter of independentmovies by young filmmakers. And director Arthur Hiller will receivean award for his humanitarian efforts.
((MUSIC FROM A BEAUTIFUL MIND))
VOICE ONE:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents theOscars each year. About six-thousand people who work in the movieindustry belong to the organization. It was established inNineteen-Twenty-Seven to support the industry.
The Academy began presenting awards in Nineteen-Twenty-Nine. Atthat time, films were just starting to have sound. The awards werenot called Oscars until much later.
In Nineteen-Fifty-One, the woman who worked in the Academylibrary said the statue looked like a family member — her UncleOscar. A reporter heard this story and wrote about it. Some peoplesaid the reporter and the librarian named the statue.
But actress and former Academy president Bette Davis disputedthis. She claimed she named the Oscars in honor of her firsthusband, Harmon Oscar Nelson.
VOICE TWO:
The process of choosing award winners begins with members of theAcademy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. These people work inthirteen different professions. They nominate candidates for AcademyAwards. The members choose among people doing the same kind of workthey do. For example, actors nominate actors. Directors nominatedirectors. Designers nominate designers. All Academy members voteamong those nominated to choose the final winners.
The awards are presented every spring. This year, the ceremonywill be held in its new home, the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.Important people in the movie industry are invited to theceremonies. The presentation is called Oscar Night.
On Oscar night, crowds of people always line the streets. Theywatch the famous movie stars as they arrive for the ceremony. Cameralights flash. Actors and actresses smile for the photographers andtelevision cameras. Some popular movie stars make statements towaiting reporters. Others hurry inside the theater.
VOICE ONE:
During the Academy Awards ceremony, famous actors and actressesannounce the names of the winners. Then the winners walk up onto thestage to receive their Oscars. Their big moment has arrived. Theycry. They laugh. They act surprised. They thank all the people whohelped them win the award.
Only a few hundred invited guests can attend the awardspresentation. But millions of people in the United States and othercountries watch the Academy Awards show on television. A total ofabout one-thousand-million people watch the show around the world.Thousands of Americans in almost forty cities will attend OscarNight parties to re-create the excitement of the Academy Awards.These parties raise money for local aid organizations.
Sunday will be the seventy-fourth Academy Awards presentation.The American film industry will honor some of the best in theirindustry. These winners will go home with a golden Oscar.
((CUT TWO: MUSIC FROM LORD OF THE RINGS))
VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Shelley Gollust. It was produced byCaty Weaver. I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Sarah Long. Join us again next week for another reportabout life in the United States on the VOA Special English program,THIS IS AMERICA.