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Now It's Time for Oscar Winners to Cash In

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Reuters

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Mar 25, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/25/97

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<A HREF='http://www.clari.net/'>ClariNet</A> <CLARI-ITEM TYPE>story</CLARI-ITEM> <CLARI-ITEM SLUGWORD>NEWS-OSCARS</CLARI-ITEM> from <CLARI-ITEM FROM>Reuters</CLARI-ITEM> 
<H1><CLARI-ITEM HEADLINE>Now It's Time for Oscar Winners to Cash In</CLARI-ITEM></H1>
<CLARI-ITEM COPYRIGHT>Copyright 1997 by Reuters</CLARI-ITEM> / <CLARI-ITEM DATE>Tue, 25 Mar 1997 7:21:42 PST</CLARI-ITEM>
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 LOS ANGELES(Reuter) - Winners of Monday's Oscars were still
partying Tuesday as marketing experts raced to attract more
viewers to the acclaimed films hoping to translate wins into box
office receipts.
 ``The English Patient,'' which swept the competition,
winning nine of the 12 prizes it was nominated for, was the most
likely beneficiary of the financial sweepstakes.
 The results of the Oscars came too late for distributors to
heavily advertise the winners in the movie sections of daily
newspapers, but the race to attact people to the movie theaters
was on. Tuesday's TV talk shows were dominated by who won what,
who wore what or who did what at the Oscars.
 The biggest losers in the Academy Awards were the major
studios who went home virtually empty-handed.
 The independent film ``The English Patient'' took the lion's
share of the Oscars, walking away with nine awards including
best picture and best director. But it fell short of matching
the record 11 wins earned by the 1959 film ``Ben-Hur,'' starring
Charlton Heston, who also won an Oscar for the lead role.
 The place to be in the wee hours of Tuesday morning was the
plush Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood, practically taken over by the
Miramax studio in anticipation of a big night.
 Miramax produced ``The English Patient'' and also had Oscar
winners with ``Sling Blade'' in best adapted screenplay for
Billy Bob Thornton, who also was nominated for best actor, and
with ``Emma,'' which won for best original musical or comedy
score.
 Even the fact that ``The English Patient,'' a romance set in
the Second World War, managed only one of the four acting
category awards -- a best supporting actress Oscar for
French-born Juliette Binoche -- did not stop the champagne from
flowing.
 With its nine Oscars, the film tied in third place on the
all-time Academy Award-winning list with ``Gigi'' and ``The Last
Emperor.''
 In a year when major studios took a back seat to obscure
independents, Oscar host Billy Crystal echoed the question that
every TV viewer asked: ``Who are these people?''
 The most energetic performance at the Oscars was turned in
by Cuba Gooding Jr. who won for best supporting actor for his
role as a professional football player in ``Jerry Maguire,'' a
TriStar production. It was the only top Oscar won by a major
studio.
 Gooding managed to thank just about the whole audience by
shouting repeatedly over the orchestra ``Everybody, I love
you.'' He earned a standing ovation for his energy and
enthusiasm.
 It was a night of double honors for veteran producer Saul
Zaentz. As well as winning best picture for ``The English
Patient,'' the academy presented him with the coveted Irving G.
Thalberg award for his considerable body of work.
 In addition to Anthony Minghella's best director award for
the ``The English Patient,'' the film also garnered Oscars for
art direction, cinematography, costume design, film editing,
original dramatic score and sound.
 Best actor went to Geoffrey Rush for his portrayal of
mentally troubled Australian pianist David Helfgott in
``Shine,'' produced by the independent Fine Line Features, while
Frances McDormand took best actress for her portrayal of a
pregnant police chief in the gritty crime drama ``Fargo,''
another independent production, by Gramercy films.
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