73rd Academy Awards

Infobox Academy Awards | name = 73rd


date = Sunday, March 25, 2001
site = Shrine Auditorium
Los Angeles, California
host = Steve Martin
producer = Gil Cates
director = Louis J. Horvitz
duration = 3 hours, 23 minutes
network = ABC
ratings = 42.93 million
25.93% (Nielsen ratings)
last = 72nd
next = 74thThe 73rd Academy Awards ceremony was the last to take place at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium. It was hosted by first-time host Steve Martin, who was nominated for an Emmy Award for his presentation.

Notable films receiving Academy Awards at the ceremony included "Gladiator", which received 12 nominations and 5 awards, and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", which received 10 nominations and 4 awards.

After a three-year streak of high ratings, the annual ceremony received very low ratings for the first time in four years. This is partially due to the popularity of CBS's Survivor which was number one on the Nielsen Weekly Ratings. The awards show dropped to second place for the first time in broadcasting history (42.93 million viewers; with 21.1% of households watching). The second time the ceremony placed below the top happened in 2003 when it was surpassed by "American Idol".

The Icelandic pop singer Björk arrived in a gown with a fake swan draped across her. It caused an audience reaction that led to several comments by those participating in the Awards Ceremony (see Björk main page). She later used that dress on the cover of her 2001 record album "Vespertine".

Notable Quotations

*"If you can't beat 'me, join 'you" - host Steve Martin commenting on never having received an Academy Award

*"You know, when you grow up in the suburbs of Sydney, or Auckland, or Newcastle, like Ridley or Jamie Bell, or the suburbs of anywhere, you know a dream like this seems kind of vaguely ludicrous and completely unattainable. But this moment is directly connected to those childhood imaginings. And for anybody who's on the downside of advantage and relying purely on courage: It's possible." - Russell Crowe on accepting his Best Actor award.

*"I have seen the film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", but I asked myself: 'Why aren't there any Tigers or Dragons?' And then I realized why: They're crouching and hidden." - host Steve Martin.

*"To me, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" sounds like a game that Siegfried & Roy might play on a dull Saturday night." - host Steve Martin.

*"I wanted to wear "my" swan tonight. But to me, they're so 'last year'." - host Steve Martin on Björk's swan dress.

*"To me, hosting the Academy Awards is like making love to a beautiful woman. I only get to do it when Billy Crystal is out of town." - host Steve Martin.

Winners & Nominees

Best Picture

"Gladiator"
*"Chocolat"
*"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
*"Erin Brokovich"
*"Traffic"

Best Actor in a Leading Role

"Gladiator - Russell Crowe"
*"Before Night Falls - Javier Bardem"
*"Cast Away - Tom Hanks"
*"Pollock - Ed Harris"
*"Quills - Geoffrey Rush"

Best Actress in a Leading Role

"Erin Brokovich - Julia Roberts"
*"Chocolat - Juliette Binoche"
*"The Contender - Joan Allen"
*"Requiem for a Dream - Ellen Burstyn"
*"You Can Count on Me - Laura Linney"

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

"Traffic - Benicio Del Toro"
*"Erin Brokovich - Albert Finney"
*"Gladiator - Joaquin Phoenix"
*"The Contender - Jeff Bridges"
*"Shadow of the Vampire - Willem Dafoe"

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

"Pollock - Marcia Gay Harden"
*"Almost Famous - Frances McDormand"
*"Almost Famous - Kate Hudson"
*"Chocolat - Judi Dench"
*"Billy Elliot - Julie Walters"

Best Director

"Traffic - Steven Soderbergh"
*"Billy Elliot - Stephen Daldry"
*"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Ang Lee"
*"Erin Brokovich - Steven Soderbergh"
*"Gladiator - Ridley Scott"

Best Original Screenplay

"Almost Famous - Cameron Crowe"
*"Billy Elliot - Lee Hall"
*"Erin Brokovich - Susannah Grant"
*"Gladiator - David Franzoni , John Logan and William Nicholson"
*"You Can Count on Me - Kenneth Lonergan"

Best Adapted Screenplay

"Traffic - Stephen Gaghan"
*"Chocolat - Robert Nelson Jacobs"
*"O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen"
*"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - James Schamus , Hui-Ling Wang and Kuo Jung Tsai"
*"Wonder Boys - Steve Kloves"

Best Cinematography

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Peter Pau"

Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Timmy Yip"

Best Costume Design

"Gladiator - Janty Yates"

Best Sound

"Gladiator - Scott Millan , Bob Beemer and Ken Weston"

Best Editing

"Traffic - Stephen Mirrione"

Best Sound Editing

"U-571 - Jon Johnson"

Best Effects, Visual Effects

"Gladiator - John Nelson , Neil Corbould , Tim Burke and Rob Harvey"

Best Makeup

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Rick Baker and Gail Rowell-Ryan"

Best Music, Original Song

"Wonder Boys - Bob Dylan for the song Things Have Changed"

Best Music, Original Score

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Tan Dun"

Best Short Film, Animated

"Father and Daughter"

Best Short Film, Live Action

"Quiero ser (I want to be ...)"

Best Documentary, Short Subjects

"Big Mama"

Best Documentary, Features

' "'

Best Foreign Language Film

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - Taiwan"

In Memoriam

John Travolta presented a list of those involved in films who had passed on in the previous year. Those featured included:
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Marie Windsor, Beah Richards, Edward Anhalt, Billy Barty, Julius Epstein, George Montgomery, Ring Lardner Jr., Steve Reeves, Jean Peters, Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Dale Evans, Gwen Verdon, Stanley Kramer, Jack Nitzsche, Harold Nicholas, Howard Koch, Loretta Young, Richard Farnsworth, John Gielgud, Jason Robards, Claire Trevor, Alec Guinness, and Walter Matthau.

Partial list of Presenters and Performers

Presenters

*Angelina Jolie- Best Supporting Actor
*Nicolas Cage- Best Supporting Actress
*Winona Ryder- Performance of "I've Seen It All"
*Hilary Swank- Best Leading Actor
*Kevin Spacey- Best Leading Actress
*Tom Cruise- Best Director
*Michael Douglas- Best Motion Picture

Performers

*Bjork Performed "I've Seen It All" from Dancer in the Dark.
*Bob Dylan Performed "Things Have Changed" from Wonder Boys.
*Randy Newman Performed "A Fool in Love" from Meet the Parents.