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CNN Live At Daybreak

First Time in Oscars That Top Acting Honors Were Won by Black Performers

Aired March 25, 2002 - 05:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And, of course, the Oscars. What a night. Oh, what a long night. The Oscars for best actor and best actress were won respectively by Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, both, of course, African-Americans. It was the first time in the 74 year history of the Oscars that the top acting honors were won by black performers.

And CNN's Anne McDermott runs down the list of winners from Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNE MCDERMOTT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Halle Berry made history Oscar night as the first African-American to win the best actress award. And the star of "Monster's Ball" could not control her tears.

HALLY BERRY, BEST ACTRESS: Oh, my god.

MCDERMOTT: Earlier in the evening, Sidney Poitier, who won best actor for 1963's "Lilies of the Field," received an honorary Oscar and he was asked about progress for other actors of color.

SYDNEY POITIER, OSCAR HONOREE: And I think to speak of Hollywood as if there has not been change is unfair. You can question the pace of it.

MCDERMOTT: Well, the pace picked up as Denzel Washington was named best actor for "Training Day," the only other African-American actor besides Poitier to be so honored.

DENZEL WASHINGTON, BEST ACTOR: For 40 years I've been chasing Sidney. They finally give it to me and what did they do? They give it to him the same night.

MCDERMOTT: "A Beautiful Mind" won best picture honors and best director for Ron Howard.

RON HOWARD, BEST DIRECTOR: It feels like I'm going to get a workout tonight.

MCDERMOTT: "A Beautiful Mind" won four Oscars, including best supporting actress for Jennifer Connelly and best adapted screenplay. "Lord of the Rings" also won four Oscars, including best cinematography and best visual effects, but no best supporting Oscar for Ian McKellen, who was something of a favorite. The surprise winner was Jim Broadbent for his performance in "Iris." "Moulin Rouge" fans had to be disappointed. The visual stunner won just two Oscars for costumes and art direction.

The box office smash "Shrek," meanwhile, won in a new category, best animated feature film. Also honored, the city of New York for its courage in the wake of September 11. Kevin Spacey asked for a moment of silence for the victims of the attacks, and Woody Allen, a perennial Oscar no show, turned up to introduce film clips celebrating his city and to remind everyone that New Yorkers haven't lost their sense of humor.

WOODY ALLEN: Thank you very much. That makes up for the strip search.

MCDERMOTT: And finally, host Whoopi Goldberg added her own tribute as she closed the longest Oscar show ever.

Anne McDermott, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I know, you probably fell asleep right in the middle of it, didn't you? For a complete list of the Oscar winners, what they had to say, a look at the stars on the red carpet, all you have to do is log onto our Web site at cnn.com. For AOL users the keyword is CNN.

And we want to know what you thought of the Oscars, the dresses, the speeches. Did you think Whoopi Goldberg was funny? We want to know. So e-mail us this morning, daybreak@cnn.com and we'll be checking out your e-mails all morning long.

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