Oscar nominees drawn from true global village
Associated Press
Published on: 03/01/04
Shohreh Aghdashloo grew up in Iran, infuriating her mother with the outrageous dream of being a Hollywood star. Djimon Hounsou was an African immigrant in Paris, once so destitute that he slept on the streets.
On Sunday, they both walked down the red carpet, soaking in that unique adulation reserved for Oscar nominees on Hollywood's biggest night.
Neither Aghdashloo, who was nominated for best supporting actress for "House of Sand and Fog," nor Hounsou, a supporting actor nominee for "In America," could quite believe what is happening. But both say it's a happy sign that Oscar is going global, recognizing that real talent comes from all corners of the planet.
"It's what this country stands for, which is the diversity, the different cultures of the world that come together and pursue a dream," says Hounsou (pronounced HAHN-soo), who was born in the African nation of Benin.
For Aghdashloo, who fled Iran on the eve of the revolution in 1978, the Oscars' international flavor "is so nice, because this is what the film industry is saying: No matter how you sound or how you look, if you do your work and do it well, we'll have you aboard. This is real freedom."
In this year's best actress category, Charlize Theron grew up on a farm in South Africa; precocious Keisha Castle-Hughes, the 13-year-old star of "Whale Rider," is an Aussie raised in New Zealand; Samantha Morton is from Britain; and Naomi Watts, also born in Britain, was raised in Australia.
Among the best actor nominees, Jude Law and past Oscar winner Ben Kingsley are British (Kingsley, whose birth name was Krishna Bhanji, is partly of Indian descent). Supporting actor nominees included Ken Watanabe of Japan ("The Last Samurai") and Puerto Rican-born Benicio del Toro ("21 Grams") — also a past winner. The directing nominees included a surprise entry, Fernando Meirelles, the Brazilian director of "City of God."
"It looks like the United Nations," says Tom O'Neil, author of "Movie Awards." "The golden boy definitely went global this year."
O'Neil called it "a dramatic acknowledgment . . . that this is now a global medium — it isn't just a hometown game anymore."
This year's variety comes on the heels of another important development: the wins two years ago by Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, the only blacks since Sidney Poitier in 1964 to win Oscars for leading roles.
Associated Press
Published on: 03/01/04
Shohreh Aghdashloo grew up in Iran, infuriating her mother with the outrageous dream of being a Hollywood star. Djimon Hounsou was an African immigrant in Paris, once so destitute that he slept on the streets.
 CHRIS PIZZELLO/Assocaited Press | |||
| Djimon Hounsou, who was born in Benin in Africa, lost in the supporting actor category to Tim Robbins. | |||
 KATHY WILLENS/AP file photo | |||
| Shohreh Aghdashloo. | |||
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MOST POPULARNeither Aghdashloo, who was nominated for best supporting actress for "House of Sand and Fog," nor Hounsou, a supporting actor nominee for "In America," could quite believe what is happening. But both say it's a happy sign that Oscar is going global, recognizing that real talent comes from all corners of the planet.
"It's what this country stands for, which is the diversity, the different cultures of the world that come together and pursue a dream," says Hounsou (pronounced HAHN-soo), who was born in the African nation of Benin.
For Aghdashloo, who fled Iran on the eve of the revolution in 1978, the Oscars' international flavor "is so nice, because this is what the film industry is saying: No matter how you sound or how you look, if you do your work and do it well, we'll have you aboard. This is real freedom."
In this year's best actress category, Charlize Theron grew up on a farm in South Africa; precocious Keisha Castle-Hughes, the 13-year-old star of "Whale Rider," is an Aussie raised in New Zealand; Samantha Morton is from Britain; and Naomi Watts, also born in Britain, was raised in Australia.
Among the best actor nominees, Jude Law and past Oscar winner Ben Kingsley are British (Kingsley, whose birth name was Krishna Bhanji, is partly of Indian descent). Supporting actor nominees included Ken Watanabe of Japan ("The Last Samurai") and Puerto Rican-born Benicio del Toro ("21 Grams") — also a past winner. The directing nominees included a surprise entry, Fernando Meirelles, the Brazilian director of "City of God."
"It looks like the United Nations," says Tom O'Neil, author of "Movie Awards." "The golden boy definitely went global this year."
O'Neil called it "a dramatic acknowledgment . . . that this is now a global medium — it isn't just a hometown game anymore."
This year's variety comes on the heels of another important development: the wins two years ago by Denzel Washington and Halle Berry, the only blacks since Sidney Poitier in 1964 to win Oscars for leading roles.
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