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American Morning

74th Academy Awards Ceremony Had Some Memorable Moments

Aired March 25, 2002 - 08:40   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Time now to go back out to Los Angeles for more of Oscar's morning after. The 74th Academy Awards ceremony had some memorable moments, and yet some forgettable ones, too. Hollywood's biggest night was also one of its longest. It went on and on and on. And Sam Rubin was there for all of it. He, of course, joins us now with more. And no worse for the wear.

You look very wide awake for a man that's been up all night.

SAM RUBIN, KTLA ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Thank you very much, Paula. I understand the show is still going on in some time zones. Four hours and 15 minutes, the longest Oscars ever.

ZAHN: I got to say, it was a pretty good night for you, because on Friday, you made some predictions. And you were three for three on these. Best movie, you picked "A Beautiful Mind," best actor, you picked Denzel Washington. And best actress, Halle Berry. You nailed it, Sam.

RUBIN: Well, thank you, Paula, for that.

I'll tell you what, the whispering campaign against a "Beautiful Mind" did not work. It was between Denzel and Russell Crowe. Denzel prevailed.

And as I talked with Anderson Cooper on Friday, the emotional highlight of the evening was sure to be Halle Berry. And I believe as you take a look, it's an indelible image really for me now at her face -- look, oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God. She saved the night, in every respect. Everybody who knows her and knows what she's been going through the last several weeks knew this would be the thing to really look forward to. And Halle Berry did not disappoint. Of course, it look almost three hours or more to get to this point in the show.

And so I don't know how many people on the east coast even had a chance to see it.

ZAHN: It must have taken her an hour to get out of that chair there, as she was trying to come to terms with her win.

What impact do you think this win ultimately has in the kind of material that studios will get with black actors? RUBIN: For the longest time, I think -- and it's a cliche out here, Paula, the only color line does not involve black or write or brown, but rather green. Who puts people in the seats. Who makes the studios most money? And for a long time it was thought people of color could not do that. On the male side, that has been broken along time ago with some leading box office stars, who also happen to be African-American.

Halle Berry, probably the premier female African-American star. And if her movies make money, she'll get first choice of several roles, where I think people like Halle had often felt for a long time, they were getting the roles offered to them after other actresses, Caucasian actresses, had passed. Maybe that will change to some degree.

I thought among the things about her remarks that I thought were good, is that she cited some of her contemporaries, Jada Pinkett Smith, and others, and she said, you know, we're all in this together, and now I'm pleased that I've broken through; others will break through, go on to win Oscars, or get at least roles that can be nominated for an Oscar.

ZAHN: Before we move on to the other highlights, quick thought on how the losers reacted to this? I understand you felt that perhaps Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman were upset.

RUBIN: You know what it is, it's a quick shot that they take, and I wish they would linger on it longer, and maybe that sounded a little mean spirited, but when they have the box of all five stars, when you saw that Denzel name was mentioned. Russell, just that initial reaction, looked very disappointed and maybe even a touched surprise.

Of course you saw Nicole Kidman giving the standing ovation very gracious. But "Moulin Rouge" was having a pretty good night, and so maybe in the back of her mind, named entertainer of the year by "Entertainment Weekly," maybe Nicole Kidman thought it might be a good night for her, so I thought you detected some disappointment, and then they turn around and put on the smile and the applause.

ZAHN: Yes, they have to. One of my favorite moments of the evening was Woody Allen coming out. I guess he has never in the past come to claim any of the Oscars he has won. Did that go over well with the audience there?

RUBIN: That went over extraordinarily well. What a warm reception. Woody Allen received a standing ovation, which I suspect will be fodder for talk radio and the like for the next couple of days, and then Woody Allen back to what was essentially a stand-up routine, and he was hilarious, and very, very funny in the press room.

The other person who was really funny, the fellow who almost became the Susan Lucci of the Oscars, Randy Newman, his 16th nomination on the red carpet. He told me and several others, oh gee, it's going to be another night of humiliation. Look at him beam, as after 16 tries, he finally gets one. He was really, really elated. ZAHN: Any feedback last night on how Russell Crowe's behavior at the BAFTA Awards in London might have affected his future last night?

RUBIN: Well, I think it was problematic in terms of his immediate awards future. What a lot of people are saying, is yes, this is a prickly man, yes, this is a difficult guy, but when the light comes on, when the films roll, he's an extraordinary actor, and there's no question about that. He'll be back at the Oscars, absolutely.

ZAHN: Well, I am impressed with you. Three for three, you got them all right. You could have saved us all four hours and 15 minute last night, Sam.

RUBIN: You could have won the office pool.

ZAHN: Yes, exactly. We're not allowed to do that, are we, Sam?

OK, see you later. Look forward to hearing from you later on in the week.

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