'I'm king of the world!'
'Titanic' ties with 'Ben-Hur' for 11 Oscars
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Director James Cameron was delighted with his haul
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March 23, 1998
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- "Titanic," once believed as doomed as the
ship it was named for, won 11 Academy Awards on Monday night, including best picture, director and song, tying the record for most Oscars set by 1959's "Ben-Hur."
However, the $200 million disaster epic and all-time box-office champion lost a chance to win a record 12 Oscars when it fell short in three categories: Helen Hunt beat Kate Winslet for Best Actress, Kim Basinger took supporting actress for "L.A. Confidential" over sentimental favorite Gloria Stuart, and "Men in Black" claimed the makeup prize.
"As Good As It Gets" lead Jack Nicholson also took home an award, joining an elite group of only four performers with three or more Oscars. His others are as best actor for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in 1975 and supporting actor in "Terms of Endearment" in 1983. Katharine Hepburn has four Academy Awards, and Ingrid Bergman and Walter Brennan each won three.
Despite the upsets, however, analysts said the 70th Annual Academy Awards was like the film that dominated it ... long, very long, and with a predictable ending, as the box-office blockbuster "Titanic" took home the top prize. "Titanic" references were sprinkled throughout the show: As host Billy Crystal said at the beginning of the evening, "We're like the Titanic: We are huge, we are expensive and everyone wants us to go faster."
But, honoring the Academy Awards 70th anniversary, the ceremony also turned into a crash course in history, bringing past film stars to the stage and in some cases recognizing accomplishments made more than 50 years ago.
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Damon and Affleck
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Highlights from the show:
Director James Cameron was delighted with his haul. He balanced his immodest speech for winning Best Director, "I'm king of the world!" with a request for silence for the victims of the Titanic disaster upon receiving the Best Picture Oscar.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck injected youth and vigor into the lumbering ceremony with an excited duet of an acceptance speech for Best Original Screenplay, "Good Will Hunting."
Best Supporting Actress winner Kim Basinger appeared to be surprised and overwhelmed at her win for "L.A. Confidential." She dedicated her award to her father.
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Nicholson
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Best Actor Jack Nicholson danced up to the podium to receive his award while Robin Williams Groucho-Marxed his way off the stage with his Best Supporting Actor statue.
Helen Hunt was grateful in the press tent shortly after receiving the Best Actress award, telling reporters, "I feel very lucky that I haven't had to choose between what you can do in TV and what you can do in film."
Perhaps one of the most memorable speeches of the night came from Lifetime Achievement recipient Stanley Donen. Donen, 73, has directed some of the most legendary musical comedies, including "Singing in the Rain" and "Royal Wedding." "Tonight, words seem inadequate. In musicals, that's when we do a song," and then he launched into "Cheek to Cheek" while dancing with his Oscar.
Crystal performance
The show's host, comedian Billy Crystal, had the duty of keeping the show on course, kicking things off with a filmed sketch that put him in scenes of
the best-picture nominees, much as he did last year. In the skit, Crystal gets spit on from the deck of the "Titanic," his head dunked in a toilet in "L.A. Confidential," and drops his pants for the kosher version of "The Full Monty."
Also back was Crystal's singing the synopsis of each film. Crystal zipped through the plot of "Titanic" to the theme of the old TV show "Gilligan's Island."
He even went into the audience and jumped into Best Actor nominee Jack Nicholson's lap. "Sit back and relax, forget about 'Mars Attacks'," Crystal crooned to Nicholson.
The worldwide TV audience was projected at 1 billion. Ratings
were expected to be up over last year's disappointing numbers,
largely because of the monster draw of "Titanic," which has made
nearly $500 million in North America.
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