Gay
was
more
than
Oscar
nominee
Marcia
Harden’s
middle
name
last
weekend.
Charlize
Theron’s
“incredible”
(her
favorite
adjective)
performance
as
lesbian
serial
killer
Aileen
Wuornos
in
“Monster”
was
one
of
the
few
overlaps
between
the
two
Hollywoods.
Theron
was
honored
by
both
the
“haves”
at
the
76th
Academy
Awards,
aired
Feb.
29
on
ABC,
and
the
“have-nots”
at
the
19th
Independent
Spirit
Awards,
aired
the
night
before
on
the
Independent
Film
Channel
and
Bravo.
The
other
dual
winners
were
Sofia
Coppola
for
her
“Lost
in
Translation”
screenplay
and
Errol
Morris
for
his
documentary,
“The
Fog
of
War.”
Theron
had
been
considered
unbeatable
for
her
physical
and
emotional
transformation
into
Wuornos,
a
prostitute
who
was
executed
in
Florida
for
killing
six
men,
although
some
relatives
of
Wuornos’
victims
complained
the
film
made
the
character
too
sympathetic.
She
took
home
the
Best
Actress
statue
at
the
Academy
Awards
and
Best
Female
Lead
at
the
Spirit
Awards.
The
Academy
also
honored
Tim
Robbins
as
Best
Supporting
Actor
for
his
role
in
“Mystic
River”
as
a
troubled
man
who
had
been
raped
by
a
pedophile
when
he
was
11.
Instead
of
making
an
overt
political
speech,
Robbins
urged
victims
of
abuse
and
violence
like
his
character
endured
to
seek
counseling
and
find
solace
in
the
fact
that
they
had
nothing
to
be
ashamed
of
and
were
not
responsible
for
what
happened.
While
Indie
Spirit
host
John
Waters
made
a
bad
joke
about
angry
lesbians
rioting
backstage
(“We’re
here!
We’re
queer!
We
want
an
agent!”),
Oscar
host
Billy
Crystal
joined
in
no
less
than
three
gags
about
same-sex
marriages.
In
one
scene
during
the
opening
montage
that
inserted
Crystal
into
nominated
films,
he
woke
up
in
bed
with
Bill
Murray
exclaiming,
“We’re
legal
in
Massachusetts!”
Later,
Robin
Williams
posed
with
Crystal,
quipping,
“Look
at
us
—
a
San
Francisco
wedding
cake.”
Finally,
the
punch
line
of
a
bit
about
beautiful
women
dreaming
of
being
“Mrs.
Billy
Crystal”
was
a
shot
of
Sir
Ben
Kingsley
imagining
himself
as
“Sir
Mrs.
Billy
Crystal.”
In
other
gay
Oscar
moments,
Australia’s
Adam
Elliot,
winner
for
his
animated
short
“Harvie
Krumpet,”
included
“my
beautiful
boyfriend,
Dan”
among
the
people
he
thanked.
The
tribute
to
those
who
died
in
the
last
year
included
director
John
Schlesinger
and
actor
Michael
Jeter,
both
gay.
And
Marc
Shaiman,
music
director
for
the
Oscars,
is
openly
gay.
ABC
also
took
advantage
of
its
huge
Oscar
night
audience
to
plug
an
upcoming
“20/20”
episode
in
which
Barbara
Walters
interviews
Kelli
Carpenter
O’Donnell
about
life
with
Rosie.
The
show
airs
March
12.
Created
to
honor
filmmakers
“who
embody
independence
and
who
dare
to
challenge
the
status
quo,”
the
Independent
Spirit
Awards
were
handed
out
Feb.
28.
The
Spirit
Awards
recognized,
at
least
with
nominations,
several
of
2003’s
best
films,
all
of
which
flew
totally
or
mostly
under
Oscar’s
radar:
“American
Splendor,”
“The
Station
Agent,”
“Pieces
of
April,”
“Thirteen,”
“Raising
Victor
Vargas,”
“Better
Luck
Tomorrow”
and
Gus
Van
Sant’s
“Elephant.”
Coppola’s
“Lost
in
Translation”
won
Best
Original
Screenplay
at
the
Oscars,
but
fared
better
at
the
Indie
Spirit
Awards,
taking
home
prizes
for
Best
Picture,
Best
Director
and
Best
Actor
(Bill
Murray).
In
the
first
award
at
the
Spirits,
Judah
Friedlander,
playing
gay
Toby
Radloff
in
“American
Splendor,”
lost
for
Best
Supporting
Actor
to
Djimon
Hounsou,
who
played
a
man
dying
of
AIDS
in
“In
America.”
The
comedy
highlight
of
the
Spirit
Awards
was
the
banter
between
Jennifer
Aniston
and
Mike
White,
the
son
of
gay
Soulforce
founder
Mel
White.
The
younger
White
wrote
himself
a
memorable
queer
role
in
“Chuck
&
Buck”
and
also
wrote
“The
Good
Girl,”
for
which
Aniston
was
nominated
last
year.
