'Chicago' dominates, Brody surprises

Veteran character actor Chris Cooper won as best supporting actor for his role as scraggly- haired, toothless horticultural poacher in "Adaptation."

Brody's victory was something of a surprise, as was the awarding of the best-director Oscar went to Roman Polanski, also for "The Pianist." Polanski has been an exile from the United States since fleeing 25 years ago to avoid sentencing for having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

"The Pianist" also won the adapted-screenplay award for Ronald Harwood," giving it a total of three, while Pedro Almodovar earned the original-screenplay prize for "Talk to Her."

World events sparked several emotional highlights, including Brody's tearful speech and an attack on President Bush by filmmaker Michael Moore, winner of the best-documentary Oscar for "Bowling for Columbine."

"Chicago" came in with a leading 13 nominations, followed by the crime epic "Gangs of New York" with 10, but "Gangs" was shut out in every category.

"Chicago" was adapted from the Bob Fosse stage hit about two Jazz Age murderesses using their jailhouse celebrity to further their singing careers.

Once a Hollywood staple, musicals hit a critical peak 40 years ago with best-picture Oscar winners that included "West Side Story," "My Fair Lady" and "The Sound of Music." Musicals gradually fell out of favor since the late 1960s as moviegoers grew more sophisticated and studios became convinced that audiences would no longer abide characters who burst into song.

"Moulin Rouge," a best-picture nominee a year ago, whetted the public's appetite for musicals, and "Chicago" has packed theaters, with its domestic haul at $134 million and climbing.

Zeta-Jones was the first performer to win an acting Oscar for a musical since Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey for 1972's "Cabaret." In "Chicago," Zeta-Jones played a jailed vaudeville scamp scheming for celebrity after slaying her husband and sister.

Due to deliver her second child with husband and Oscar winner Michael Douglas in a few weeks, Zeta-Jones joined co-star and fellow supporting-actress nominee Queen Latifah in the Oscar performance of "I Move On," the best-song nominee from "Chicago."

"My hormones are too way out of control to be dealing with this," Zeta-Jones said.

Brody played the title character in "The Pianist," based on the real-life story of musician Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew who lived through World War II by hiding from the Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto.

"This film would not be possible without the blueprint provided by Wladyslaw Szpilman," Brody said. "This film is a tribute to his survival."

"My experience making this film made me very aware of the sadness and the dehumanization of people in times of war, and the repercussions of war. And whether you believe in God or Allah, may he watch over you, and let's pray for a peaceful and swift resolution," Brody said, fighting back tears and drawing a standing ovation.

Her Oscar win was a Hollywood ending for Kidman after a turbulent couple of years. She had a miscarriage in 2001 and broke up with husband Tom Cruise, in whose shadow she had lingered throughout their 11-year relationship.

Kidman emerged as a big star in her own right later that year with "Moulin Rouge," which earned her a best-actress Oscar nomination, and the horror hit "The Others." In "The Hours," Kidman played suicidal author Virginia Woolf, wearing a fake nose to capture the writer's plain features.<