THE stars and creators of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King were in triumphant mood after a clean sweep at the Oscars.
 British hopefuls Jude Law, Samantha Morton and Sir Ben Kingsley were licking their wounds after leaving the 76th Academy Awards empty-handed. Lord of the Rings finally took its place among the all-time greats, picking up all 11 Academy Awards for which it was nominated. It won best picture - the first fantasy film to do so - and best director for New Zealander Peter Jackson. Only Ben Hur and Titanic have achieved such success. But Lord of the Rings was the first fantasy movie ever to take best film. A jubilant Jackson said he was "honoured and touched and relieved that the Academy has seen past the trolls and the wizards and the hobbits in recognising fantasy this year". The Return of the King's other awards were for art direction, costume design, visual effects, make-up, sound mixing, film editing, adapted screenplay, original score and original song for Into The West, sung by Annie Lennox. There were no surprises in the other main categories at the ceremony, hosted by Billy Crystal at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Charlize Theron won best actress for her role as real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster. Sean Penn won best actor for Mystic River, in which he plays a grieving father out for revenge over the murder of his teenage daughter. Penn's co-star Tim Robbins was named best supporting actor for his performance as man whose childhood was blighted by sexual abuse. Hot favourite Renee Zellweger took home best supporting actress for her role as farm hand Ruby in Cold Mountain. All four were first-time Oscar winners. Britain did have some success though, thanks to Lord of the Rings. Besides Annie Lennox, set designer Alan Lee and make-up artist Peter King are both home-grown talents. Jackson's first two Lord of the Rings films were largely overlooked by the Academy. But the record haul this year was widely seen as a cumulative reward for all three. The Return of the King alone has taken almost £1bn at the box office. Films which lost out were Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, which won only two awards (sound editing and cinematography). Lost In Translation won one (best original screenplay for Sofia Coppola), Cold Mountain won one (best supporting actress for Zellweger) and Seabiscuit did not win any. And the winners are... BEST PICTURE: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. ACTOR: Sean Penn, Mystic River. ACTRESS: Charlize Theron, Monster. SUPPORTING ACTOR: Tim Robbins, Mystic River. SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain. DIRECTOR: Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. FOREIGN FILM: The Barbarian Invasions, Canada. ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens & Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation. ANIMATED FEATURE: Finding Nemo. ART DIRECTION: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. ORIGINAL SCORE: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Howard Shore. ORIGINAL SONG: Into the West from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox. COSTUME: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: The Fog of War. FILM EDITING: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King. MAKEUP: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. VISUAL EFFECTS: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Check out our fantastic glam, glitz and glory gallery for Oscar 2004 >>> | 
