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Focus
OSCAR MOMENTS
Minority
Presence
Low at
Oscars
Actress Queen Latifah celebrates her win as part of
the ensemble cast o f “Chicago" at the Screen Actors
Guild awards in Los Angeles on March 9. (AP photo)
Actor Adrien Brody
surprises presenter
Halle Berry with a
kiss after he won the
Oscar for best actor
for his work In The
Pianist at the 75th
annual Academy
Awards Sunday
in Los Angeles.
(AP photo)
(AP) — A year after two black nominees won
the lead-acting prizes for the first time, white per­
formers swept in the best actor categories at
Sunday’s Academy Awards.
Just two minority nominees - Mexico native
Salma Hayek for best actress in "Frida" and black
performer Queen Latifah for supporting actress in
“Chicago” - were considered serious contenders
against the white front-runners (Nicole Kidman o f
“The Hours” and Renee Zellweger o f “Chicago”
for lead actress, and Catherine Zeta-Jones o f“Chi-
cago” for supporting actress).
Yet some find it encouraging that at least a
couple nonwhite actors managed to score nomina­
tions from an academy whose early years were
virtually devoid ofminority membershipand which
even in the past decade has had years without a
single nonwhite acting nominee.
“I try to look at it as, last year was a big year and
that meant a lot, and it may take a few years before
we real ly see the fruits o f what happened last year.
It doesn’t happen overnight,” said Halle Berry,
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who won the best-actress Oscar last year for
“M onster’s Ball.”
Last year, Denzel Washington won the best-
actor prize for “Training Day,” and Will Smith o f
“Ali” was also nominated in that category.
The only other time three blacks were nominated
in the lead categories was 1972. Paul Winfield was
up for best actor for “Sounder,” and Cicely Tyson
It You can (count) minority
actors on your fingers without
taking your shoes off.
-three-tlme Oscar nominee Morgan Freeman
Jk
o f “Sounder” and Diana Ross o f “Lady Sings the
Blues” competed for best actress. All three lost.
Advocates ofgreater diversity in film were thrilled
over Berry and Washington’s wins, considering
only six black actors - or 2.2 percent o f the 278
winners - had received acting Oscars at the previ-
ous 73 O scar shows.
Critics complain that the 5,800-member acad­
emy remains disproportionately white. Others say
the real problem is Hollywood at large, which offers
too few Oscar-caliber films and roles for minorities.
“You can (count) minority actors on your fin­
gers without taking your shoes off,” said three­
time O scar nominee Morgan Freeman. "So how
can you expect to have one or two (minority
nominees) in every mix? You ju st can’t.”
Advocates say more minorities must follow the
lead o f Washington, whose star power helped
smooth the way for his directing debut, last year’s
“Antwone Fisher,” based on the true story o f a
troubled black sailor.
“Until we get our own people writing screen­
plays for ourselves and getting money to produce
our own films, it’ll just be, 'I f there happens to be
a part they want to give us, fine,” ’ said Mayme
Agnew Clayton, founder o f the African-American
Cinema Society. “ Until then, w e’re just kind o f at
the mercy o f Hollywood."
Bosko VIP Lounge Party
Bosko, one of the Northwest's most talented musicians, will
showcase his skills on Thursday, March 27 with Cool Nutz,
Maniac Lok, Brotha Luv, The
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Sea, 318 S. IV. 3rd Ave. Bosko has
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admission for those 21 and older.
Will Smith
decided not to
make his
fourth appear­
ance as an
Oscar pre­
senter.
R E N N IE
H A R R IS *
F A C IN G M E K K A
War Keeps Smith From Oscars
(A P) — Will Sm ith skipped
the A cadem y A w ards in light o f
the U .S.-led assault on Iraq.
The “Men in Black” star, was
scheduled to be a presen ter at
S unday’s O scars. His publicist,
Stan R osenfield, said he d id n ’t
intend the w ithdraw al as a pro­
test o ver the m ilitary action.
“N ot in any w ay, shape or
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form ,” R osenfield said. “T h ere’s
no agenda, th e re’s no speeches.
He ju st did not feel personally
com fortable in going because o f
the w orld situation.”
A best-actor nom inee a year
ago for “A li,” Sm ith, 34, would
have been making his fourth ap ­
pearance as a presenter at the
O scars.
Contact:
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503-245-5156
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