1997 Academy Awards® Winners and History The Full Monty (1997, UK) Actor: JACK NICHOLSON in "As Good As It Gets", Matt Damon in "Good Will Hunting", Dustin Hoffman in "Wag the Dog", Robert Duvall in "The Apostle", Peter Fonda in "Ulee's Gold" Actress: HELEN HUNT in "As Good As It Gets", Judi Dench in "(Her Majesty) Mrs Brown", Helena Bonham Carter in "The Wings of the Dove", Kate Winslet in "Titanic", Julie Christie in "Afterglow" Supporting Actor: ROBIN WILLIAMS in "Good Will Hunting", Robert Forster in "Jackie Brown", Anthony Hopkins in "Amistad", Greg Kinnear in "As Good As It Gets", Burt Reynolds in "Boogie Nights" Supporting Actress: KIM BASINGER in "L.A.

Confidential", Joan Cusack in "In & Out", Minnie Driver in "Good Will Hunting", Julianne Moore in "Boogie Nights", Gloria Stuart in "Titanic" Director: JAMES CAMERON for "Titanic", Peter Cattaneo for "The Full Monty", Atom Egoyan for "The Sweet Hereafter", Curtis Hanson for "L.A. Confidential", Gus Van Sant for "Good Will Hunting" Director-producer-screenwriter James Cameron's three-hour mega-hit, Titanic - both the most expensive film ever made AND the number one, most successful box-office film of all-time (shared by 20th Century Fox and Paramount Studios), was the fictionalized account of the 1912 White Star Line cruise-ship disaster. It was the first Best Picture winner to gross over $1 billion (worldwide), and $600 million (domestic). Cameron's film was both a love story surrounded with the special-effects sinking of the 'unsinkable' Titanic on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York. The reconstructed ship in the film was three-quarters actual size.

Titanic had a record number of nominations and wins - fourteen, tying the all-time record set by All About Eve (1950) . That made it the second of only two films to receive 14 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It was also the second film to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture - it tied Ben-Hur (1959) with eleven Oscar wins - the most Oscar wins of any film in Academy Awards history. [ The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) would equal the feat in six years with 11 wins.] Both Titanic and Ben-Hur (1959) failed to win Best Original Screenplay (Titanic wasn't even nominated in the category), although both films won Best Picture and Best Director honors. To date, it was the last film to win Best Picture without a Screenplay nomination (Adapted or Original); the last Best Picture to not have its screenplay nominated was The Sound of Music (1965) .

[The earlier version, Titanic (1953), lacked nominations for Best Picture and Best Director, but had two nominations, including Best Art Direction and it won an Oscar for Best Story and Screenplay - by Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch, and Richard Breen.] Its fourteen nominations included: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Make-up, Best Score, Best Song ("My Heart Will Go On"), Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects. Titanic lost only three awards for which it was nominated - its two acting nominations, and the Best Make-up nomination. The film wasn't even nominated for its screenplay, and it lost its two actress nominations, making it less of an acting film and more of a technical, craft-related masterpiece. Leonardo DiCaprio in a lead role opposite nominated Kate Winslet was denied a nomination. And 87 year-old veteran actress Gloria Stuart was denied an Oscar - the award would have made her the oldest recipient of an Oscar. Titanic was the first Best Picture winner to be produced, directed, written and edited by the same individual - James Cameron.

Cameron's win put him fifth in a long line of directors who have triple wins for director, writer, and producer for the same film: Leo McCarey for Going My Way (1944), Billy Wilder for The Apartment (1960) , Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather, Part II (1974) , and James L. Brooks for Terms of Endearment (1983) . Ontario-born James Cameron became the first Canadian to win the Best Director award. Its competition for Best Picture honors included other big-studio films (unlike the previous year's nominations): co-writer/director Curtis Hanson's hard-boiled, film-noirish crime drama based on James Ellroy's novel, L.A.

Confidential (with nine nominations and two wins - Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay) about many levels of corruption (journalistic, political, police, etc.) in a racially-tense 50s Hollywood; it was overwhelmed by the big-budget production and star power of the ultimate winner co-writer/director James Brooks' entertaining romantic comedy As Good As It Gets (with seven nominations and two wins - Best Actor and Best Actress) - a successful follow-up vehicle to Brooks' own Best Picture-winning film Terms of Endearment (1983) and the Oscar-less Broadcast News (1987) independent director Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting (with nine nominations and two wins - Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay) from the debut screenplay of actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck about a troubled young genius Will Hunting from Boston's working class who must work out his anger British director Peter Cattaneo's amusing British comedy The Full Monty (with four nominations and one win - Best Musical Score) about a group of unemployed Yorkshire mill workers who striptease to make ends meet Every director with a Best Picture nomination was a first-time Best Director nominee. The winner of the Best Director award was James Cameron for Titanic.

The only director with a Best Picture nomination who wasn't included (and was snubbed) in the group of Best Director nominees was James Brooks. His spot in the Best Director line-up was taken by Canadian director/writer Atom Egoyan for his adaptation of Russell Banks' novel The Sweet Hereafter (with two nominations and no wins) about the aftermath of a tragic schoolbus accident in a small British Columbia town. Amazingly, both top acting awards were won by the main lead performers in the same film, a comedy - As Good As It Gets. This marked the seventh time in 70 years that the two best acting Oscars were awarded to the same film. The wins made it, to date, the last Best Picture nominee to receive Best Actor and Best Actress wins.

Jack Nicholson won the Best Actor Oscar (his second) for his role as the rich, bigoted, obsessive-compulsive romance novelist in New York named Melvin Udall, who frequents the same restaurant every day and successfuly romances waitress Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets [It was Nicholson's third Oscar win - he had won earlier as Best Actor for One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and as Best Supporting Actor for Terms of Endearment (1983) . Nicholson's co-star in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest also won the Best Actress Oscar, so he became a two-time recipient (the only one in Oscar history) of a top award with his co-star. This nomination was his eleventh career nomination. His surpassed his two nearest competitors for the most nominations - Laurence Olivier with ten nominations and Spencer Tracy with nine nominations. Walter Brennan had won three Best Supporting Actor nominations in 1936, 1938, and 1940. And Ingrid Bergman had also won three Oscars - in 1944, in 1956, and in 1974.

Only one person had more Oscars - Katharine Hepburn (with four).] Helen Hunt (with her first nomination and Oscar win), the only American actress among the Best Actress nominees, won the Best Actress Oscar as struggling, working-class single-mother/waitress Carol Connelly in As Good As It Gets. [With her win, she became the first actress to win an Oscar while simultaneously starring in a TV-sitcom (Mad About You). The same feat had been duplicated in the Best Supporting Actress category, by winners Goldie Hawn (in 1969 while on Laugh-In), and Cloris Leachman (in 1971 while on The Mary Tyler Moore Show).

Hunt also was the first (and only) actress to win an Academy Award - and a Golden Globe (both for As Good As It Gets), and an Emmy (for Mad About You) in the same year.] The remaining Best Actor nominees were: Matt Damon (with his first nomination) - the only Best Actor nominee newcomer - for his title role as a brilliant physics genius and janitor at MIT who must work on his anger, the result of childhood abuse in Good Will Hunting (instead of winning the acting award, Damon and co-writer Ben Affleck won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar) Dustin Hoffman (with his seventh nomination) as Hollywood producer Stanley Motss hired by White House officials to divert attention in director Barry Levinson's film based on David Mamet's adapted screenplay Wag the Dog (with two nominations and no wins) actor/writer/director Robert Duvall (with his fifth nomination) as Texas Pentecostal preacher Eulis ("Sonny") Dewey who becomes 'The Apostle' of God in Louisiana to escape his past in The Apostle (the film's sole nomination) veteran actor Peter Fonda (with his first acting nomination) as Ulysses ("Ulee") Jackson, a widowed, ex-Vietnam vet and

 beekeeper in director Victor Nunez' Ulee's Gold (the film's sole nomination) The other nominees in the Best Actress category, all British competitors, included: Judi Dench (with her first nomination) as the withdrawn, grieving Queen Victoria in director John Madden's (Her Majesty) Mrs.

Brown (with two nominations and no wins) Helena Bonham Carter (with her first nomination) as well-bred, penniless Kate Croy in director Iain Softley's beautiful romance inspired by Henry James' 1902 novel The Wings of the Dove (with four nominations and no wins) Kate Winslet (with her second nomination) as upper-class debutante Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic Julie Christie (with her third nomination - coming 32 years after her Oscar win in 1965 and 26 years after her previous Oscar nomination in 1971) as ex-B-movie actress Phyllis Mann in director Alan Rudolph's Afterglow (the film's sole nomination), about two couples with marital difficulties who mix and match In the Best Supporting Actor category, Robin Williams (with his fourth nomination and first win) won his first Oscar for his performance as psychotherapist Sean McGuire, who assists the young working-class genius Will in Good Will Hunting.

The other four Best Supporting Actor competitors were: Robert Forster (with his first nomination) as bail bondsman Max Cherry in writer/director Quentin Tarantino's crime film, an adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch, Jackie Brown (the film's sole nomination) Anthony Hopkins (with his fourth nomination) as ex-President and slave defender John Quincy Adams in director Steven Spielberg's Amistad (with four nominations and no wins) Greg Kinnear (with his first nomination) as Simon Bishop - co-star Jack Nicholson's gay next-door neighbor with a dog who often asks his disapproving parents for money in As Good As It Gets Burt Reynolds (with his first nomination) as adult film director Jack Horner in writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (with three nominations and no wins), a look at the decadent porn industry in the 70s and 80s In the Best Supporting Actress category, Kim Basinger (with her first nomination) won her first Oscar for her role as glamorous, sultry movie-star look-a-like (a la Veronica Lake) - a high-priced prostitute Lynn Bracken in the noirish L.A. Confidential.

The other Best Supporting Actress nominees were: Joan Cusack (with her second nomination) as fiancee Emily Montgomery, engaged to high school English teacher (co-star Kevin Kline) who is outed as gay - in director Frank Oz' In and Out (the film's sole nomination) Minnie Driver (with her first nomination) as Will's (Matt Damon) affluent British girlfriend Skylar, a Harvard College student on her way to medical school at Stanford in California, in Good Will Hunting Julianne Moore (with her first nomination) as cocaine-addicted porn star Amber Waves in Boogie Nights favored 87 year-old Gloria Stuart as Old Rose - the 101 year-old survivor of the disastrous ship accident in Titanic [It was the first time in Oscar history that two performers - Kate Winslet as young Rose, and Gloria as Old Rose - were nominated for playing the same character in the same film. (This would also occur in 2001, when Judi Dench and Kate Winslet were both nominated for playing Iris in Iris (2001).) Gloria Stuart's nomination made her the oldest performer ever nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Her closest elderly performer was 82 year-old Jessica Tandy nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Fried Green Tomatoes (1991). Tandy, who won the Oscar two years earlier for Driving Miss Daisy (1989), was the oldest performer ever to win a Best Actress Oscar.] This year's Honorary Oscar was awarded to 73 year-old Stanley Donen, a legendary choreographer/director who helped to revolutionize the musical, "in appreciation of a body of work marked by grace, elegance, wit, and visual innovation. He had never been nominated in his entire career - for such films as Cover Girl (1944), Anchors Aweigh (1945), On the Town (1949), Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), Royal Wedding (1951), Singin' in the Rain (1952) , Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), It's Always Fair Weather (1955), The Pajama Game (1957), Funny Face (1957) and Damn Yankees (1958).

He was also responsible for Indiscreet (1958), The Grass is Greener (1961), Charade (1963) , and Two for the Road (1967). Woody Allen's Best Original Screenplay Oscar win for Deconstructing Harry - his thirteenth nomination in that category (in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, and 1997), was one more than Billy Wilder's record of 12 screenplay nominations (in 1939, 1941 (twice), 1944, 1945, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1959, 1960, 1966).

Oscar Snubs and Omissions: Kevin Spacey wasn't nominated as Best Supporting Actor for his role as Hollywood celebrity detective Jack Vincennes in L.A. Confidential, nor was Philip Seymour Hoffman for his performance as adult film soundman Scotty in Boogie Nights. And Rupert Everett lacked a nomination for his role as editor George Downes - Julia Roberts' gay confidante in the popular romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding, as did Ian Holm for his performance as defense lawyer Mitchell Stephens in Atom Egoyan's drama The Sweet Hereafter.

Three films were completely neglected: Ang Lee's dramatic tale of dysfunctional families in 1973 suburban Connecticut in The Ice Storm, with Sigourney Weaver and Joan Allen as the two married Connecticut housewives: adulterous Janey Carver and Elena Hood; Kevin Kline took the role of distant husband Ben Hood, who was engaged in an affair with Janey; Christina Ricci also starred as 14 year-old daughter Wendy Hood, and Tobey Maguire portrayed 16 year-old son Paul David Fincher's psychological thriller The Game, with Michael Douglas as investment banker Nicholas Van Orton Neil LaBute's script and directorial effort (his debut film) for In the Company of Men, featuring Aaron Eckhart as slimy, evil and misogynistic businessman Chad, and Stacy Edwards as victimized and fragile deaf secretary/typist Christine - presumably, the film's mature, brutal and sordid themes, that also contributed to its difficulty in finding a US distributor, made it difficult for the mainstream Academy to honor it -- although it received accolades at the Sundance Film Festival And Mike Newell's gangster film Donnie Brasco, with Al Pacino as aging mobster Benjamin 'Lefty' Ruggiero and Anne Heche as

 Maggie Pistone, was recognized with only one nomination - for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Alison Elliott was not nominated for her supporting performance as dying, terminally-ill heiress Millie Theale in The Wings of the Dove, Robin Wright Penn was neglected for her transformative role as white-trash junkie Maureen in She's So Lovely, and Parker Posey was bypassed for playing incest-obsessed, neurotic twin Jackie in the underated Wendy MacLeod play adaptation The House of Yes. Titanic (1997) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON TV ON DISC ALL A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic. Director: Famous Directors: From Sundance to Prominence From Christopher Nolan to Quentin Tarantino and every Coen brother in between, many of today's most popular directors got their start at the Sundance Film Festival . Here's a list of some of the biggest names to go from Sundance to Hollywood prominence.

a list of 46 titles created 14 Mar 2012 a list of 32 titles created 03 Mar 2013 a list of 32 titles created 08 Mar 2014 a list of 23 images created 16 Apr 2015 a list of 32 titles created 2 days ago Search for " Titanic " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Won 11 Oscars. Another 110 wins & 73 nominations. See more awards » Videos A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home. Director: James Cameron A Mumbai teen reflects on his upbringing in the slums when he is accused of cheating on the Indian Version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan Stars: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery.

While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger. Director: Ang Lee The story of King George VI of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it. Director: Tom Hooper Two astronauts work together to survive after an accident which leaves them alone in space. Director: Alfonso Cuarón Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games, a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death. Director: Gary Ross Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure. Director: Francis Lawrence Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1980.

Director: Ben Affleck Forrest Gump, while not intelligent, has accidentally been present at many historic moments, but his true love, Jenny Curran, eludes him. Director: Robert Zemeckis When bitten by a genetically modified spider, a nerdy, shy, and awkward high school student gains spider-like abilities that he eventually must use to fight evil as a superhero after tragedy befalls his family. Director: Sam Raimi Jack Sparrow races to recover the heart of Davy Jones to avoid enslaving his soul to Jones' service, as other friends and foes seek the heart for their own agenda as well. Director: Gore Verbinski After John Nash , a brilliant but asocial mathematician, accepts secret work in cryptography, his life takes a turn for the nightmarish.

Director: Ron Howard Edit Storyline 84 years later, a 101-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story to her granddaughter Lizzy Calvert, Brock Lovett, Lewis Bodine, Bobby Buell and Anatoly Mikailavich on the Keldysh about her life set in April 10th 1912, on a ship called Titanic when young Rose boards the departing ship with the upper-class passengers and her mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and her fiancé, Caledon Hockley. Meanwhile, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets to the ship in a game. And she explains the whole story from departure until the death of Titanic on its first and last voyage April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 in the morning. Written by Anthony Pereyra <hypersonic91@yahoo.com> Nothing On Earth Could Come Between Them.

See more » Genres: Rated PG-13 for disaster related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality and brief language | See all certifications » Parents Guide: 19 December 1997 (USA) See more » Also Known As: $28,638,131 (USA) (19 December 1997) Gross: 194 min Sound Mix: Dolby Digital (Dolby Digital 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (L-R)| DTS (DTS 5.1) (5.1 Surround Sound) (L-R)| DTS 70 mm (70 mm prints) (5.1 Surround Sound) (L-R)| SDDS (8 channels) (L-R) Color: Did You Know? Trivia The piece of wooden paneling that Rose floated on after the sinking is based upon a genuine artifact that survived the sinking and is on display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, though it was scaled larger to provide sufficient buoyancy as a life-raft for Rose.

See more » Goofs Shortly before Titanic's break-up, we see Charles Lightoller (Jonny Phillips) clinging to an overturned lifeboat. Lightoller actually went into the water just after the fall of Murdoch. He was either attempting to hide the suicide or a rescue. The suction of the ship pulled him down and Lightoller was underwater at the time of the breakup. He was freed when a boiler exploded and the warm air freed him from the suction, thus saving his life. He surfaced just as Titanic's stern was sinking. Lightoller did indeed believe the ship had sunk intact. Lightoller died in December of 1952; thirty-three years before the Titanic wreck was located (1985). See more » Quotes [first lines] Brock Lovett : Thirteen meters; you should see it. Brock Lovett : [seeing the shipwreck come into view for the first time] OK; take her up and over the bow rail. There are no opening credits after the title has been shown.

See more » Connections See more (Spoiler Alert!) » User Reviews Despite some glaring faults,Cameron's mixing of romance with real life disaster is still impressive and occasionally brilliant 28 November 2005 | by DrLenera (UK) – See all my reviews It's really quite odd. When Titanic first came out,the reviews were mixed but the public generally loved it,those who disliked the film were definitely in the minority. Over the years,it has became somewhat fashionable to slag Titanic off,even if a great many of those people who did so were probably amongst those who made it such an enormous hit in the cinemas. Titanic is flawed,definitely,sometimes greatly so. However,it's also a tremendous achievement for it's director James Cameron. Mixing a real disaster with romance is harder to do than some might think. Maybe he did have a right to say "I'm king of the world" when the film won Best Picture at the Oscars. Just once. The modern day opening is excellent,making effective use of some of Cameron's real footage he took of the sunken Titanic. There is a real sense of mystery. Than we flash back to the Titanic being boarded,and the film stalls just a little for around two hours.

The attention to detail is amazing {even all the cutlery matched,you know} and there is nothing wrong with an extremely slow build up to action-think of The Seven Samourai. However,the central romance between Leo and Kate is often badly written and unconvincing. For a start Kate's Rose would certainly not have done two things she does in the film as quickly as she did {Obviously thousands of teenage girls seeing the film in 1997 would disagree with my views}. We also have to suffer Cameron constantly labouring the point that the poor people on the ship are better than the rich people. However,the final 80 or so minutes,detailing the sinking,is simply brilliant film making. The suspense is built expertly,even though we know what will happen,and climaxes with some technical shots which are still impressive. Perhaps there is a little two much emphasis on the central couple,but there are some truly moving moments,and it really feels true,although of course Cameron did play with the facts a little here and there,as at least one descendant of one of the survivors has pointed out. The following sequence involving the boats is extremely haunting,with some especially good use of sound.

As for the final scene,it does manage to be pretty moving,it's schmaltzy but it works {though hardly original,think of Somewhere In Time and various 40s romantic fantasies}. Titanic has some excellent use of CGI {watch out for the transitions from present to the past on the sunken ship} and one glaringly bad special effect-the iceberg which looks like polystyrene. James Horner's best selling score is really quite poor and only occasionally brings the emotion it should do. Performances are generally excellent and sometimes succeed in overcoming some thin characterisation {such as Billy Zane as Rose's fiancée,who even has to suffer with far too much eye make up!} Overall Titanic is still worth seeing,and sometimes it really does hit the heights that it should. It succeeds more than it fails,which is impressive in a film as ambitious as this. 232 of 374 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes Avatar - James Horner | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic James Horner google+ AllMusic Review by James Christopher Monger The score for director James Cameron’ s epic, 3D sci-fi adventure Avatar was composed by longtime collaborator James Horner , who won an Oscar for his work on the director’s 1997 blockbuster Titanic. Never one to shy away from familiar motifs, the vaguely wistful, mostly magical main theme that weaves its’ way throughout the film relies unapologetically on the composer’s Titanic love theme (try humming the first three notes of the chorus to the Horner -penned, Celine Dion smash My Heart Will Go On), but the overall feel of the score owes more to Ennio Morricone' s iconic work on the Mission, utilizing an atmospheric blend of native drums and choirs with lush, traditional adventure orchestration.

In an attempt to double up on his success with Dion in 1997, Cameron and Horner recruited English pop and R&B, post-reality show singer Leona Lewis for the torch ballad I See You, a forgettable piece of grocery store balladry that (unlike the schmaltzy, but appropriate My Heart Will Go On) feels ridiculously out of place, especially in a film about 10 foot tall blue aliens. Track Listing James Cameron won the divorce... but Kathryn Bigelow got the Oscars | Daily Mail Online comments It was the night when the ex-wife finally had her revenge - and more than 80 years of Oscar history was overturned. Kathryn Bigelow was in a straight fight with her former husband for the two most prized Oscars - the best director and best picture awards. The pair, who were married for two years from 1989, were sitting within feet of each other. At last!

Kathryn Bigelow with two of the six awards for her movie The Hurt Locker, which triumphed over ex-husband James Cameron's film Avatar And while Avatar director James Cameron may have had the Academy Awards pedigree - his last blockbuster Titanic picked up a record-equalling 11 awards in 1998 - it was Miss Bigelow who triumphed at the 82nd Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. She made history by becoming the first ever woman to be named best director. Her film The Hurt Locker managed to beat off Avatar for the best picture award. That's despite the Iraq war film being made for £7million - £150milllion less than Cameron's effort. Nevertheless, Cameron, 55, took his defeats in good part - pretending to strangle Miss Bigelow before embracing her as the extent of her triumph became clear.

As she opened the envelope to announce the winner of the best director category, Barbra Streisand had declared: 'It's about time.' When she received the award, Miss Bigelow said: 'This really is, there's no way to describe it, it's the moment of a lifetime.' She dedicated the award to 'the people who risk their lives on a daily basis in Iraq and Afghanistan . . . may they come home safe'. Afterwards, Miss Bigelow spoke further about becoming the first female director to win. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share She said: 'First of all, I hope I'm the first of many. But I'm ever grateful if I can inspire some young, intrepid, tenacious male or female filmmakers and have them feel that the impossible is possible and never give up on your dream.' She told the Daily Mail that it seemed incomprehensible to her that it had taken 82 years for a woman to take the best director crown. 'That barrier's down now,' she added. In all, The Hurt Locker won six awards, compared with Avatar's three. The drama about a U.S. bomb disposal unit in Iraq did not prove popular at the box office and has just gone to DVD in the UK.

But the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences were certainly impressed by it - even after producer Nicholas Chartrier was last week banned from the ceremony for sending an email to voters asking them not to vote for Avatar. As for Cameron, he had made a public statement that it would be fine for Bigelow to win best director. But he had said he felt Avatar should be given best picture to honour all his colleagues who worked on the ground-breaking sci-fi movie. On an otherwise predictable night for the Oscars, the awards went to the favourites. Hollywood veteran Jeff Bridges, 60, won the best actor award for Crazy Heart. Raising his statuette to the heavens, he said: 'I want to thank my mum and dad for turning me on to such a groovy profession. This is honouring them as much as it is me.' In the film, he plays fallen country singer Bad Blake, a heavy drinker who has been long starved of success and is relegated to playing small bars.

Austrian actor Christoph Waltz took the prize for best supporting actor for his role as a ruthless Nazi officer in Inglourious Basterds, while the American comedian and actress Mo'Nique triumphed as best supporting actress for her role in Precious. No hard feelings: James Cameron reacts to his ex-wife Kathryn's film winning one of six Oscars The other major film award went to Sandra Bullock, who beat off Brits Carey Mulligan and Helen Mirren to take the best actress award for her portrayal of southern belle Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. Miss Bullock, 45, was won of the night's most popular winners. She picked up her award for The Blind Side only 24 hours after she had personally accepted the alternative pre-Oscar Golden Raspberry award for worst actress for All About Steve. But with the post Oscar parties in full swing in the early hours of yesterday, she had to get home - to take over from the babysitter.

Flashbulb frenzy: Sandra Bullock arrives at the ceremony in her stunning floor-length gown Quick exit: Sandra Bullock collects her award for best actress for the American football drama The Blind Side, before heading home to relieve the babysitter, while Jeff Bridges makes his acceptance speech after being named best actor for musical film Crazy Heart He won the divorce... but she got the big prize By GWYNETH REES As James Cameron leaned in to congratulate Kathryn Bigelow after she beat him to the award for best director, he jokingly put his hands around her neck as if to throttle her. She laughed it off, and the former lovers then embraced with seemingly genuine affection. It was a moment that summed up many things, not least the canniness of the Oscar producers, who seated Cameron directly behind his ex-wife - usually nominees are placed as far apart as possible, so that the loser's disappointment doesn't impinge on the shot of the winner's delight. But most of all, it encapsulated an extraordinary moment of personal drama. Because, for all the good-humoured camaraderie, there is no doubt that they were both desperate to win the award.

All in jest: James Cameron pretends to throttle ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow Cameron in particular is known as extremely competitive, demanding and used to getting his own way. The superstar director is also used to winning. Seeing anyone else clutching that award must have hurt, let alone the third of his five wives, whom he left for a younger woman. Meanwhile, 58-year-old Bigelow - director of the Iraq war thriller The Hurt Locker - had slightly different motives for wanting the Oscar. Even if she is too polite to say it, what could be better than beating a former husband at his own game (particularly when the consensus is that he won hands-down in the divorce courts)? Making history: Kathryn poses with one of her Oscars in front of teams of photographers The couple married in 1989, bonding over their love of film and directing. During their marriage, Cameron was the bigger deal. He was directing the sequel to his blockbuster film Terminator, while Bigelow was working on a project that would become a well-received - but low-key - success, Point Break.

Hosts: Steve Martin (left) and Alec Baldwin presented the show, seen here surrounded by scantily-clad women Grand: The best actor and best actress nominees line up inside the venue at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles Then, disaster struck. On the set of Terminator 2, Cameron fell for his beautiful leading lady Linda Hamilton, who was five years younger than Bigelow. His wife filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable and 'unhappy' differences between them that made it 'impossible for them to live together'. The divorce papers show the settlement was remarkably generous to him. Bigelow got the marital home, and Cameron, now 55, paid the cost of her lawyers and gave her around £400,000. Mo'Nique wins best supporting actress for her role in Precious and, right, Christoph Waltz took best supporting actor for Inglourious Basterds Rare victory: Designer Sandy Powell was one of only two British winners, for Best Costume Design for The Young Victoria But she signed away the right to any further spousal support - and her claim on a share of the £345million takings from Terminator 2.

By anyone's standards, Bigelow was a clear loser on the financial front - a fact probably driven home to her when Cameron went on to divorce, Hamilton, whom he married in 1997. She walked away with a settlement of £33million. After their divorce, the former couple maintained an amicable relationship. A few years ago, Bigelow reportedly asked Cameron to look over the script of The Hurt Locker before committing to the project. Cameron, who was making Avatar, told her to drop whatever she was working on and go for it. Perhaps a small part of him now regrets offering her such encouragement. Of course, he hasn't expressed that opinion in public. Nor has he let slip any annoyance with the fact that his shy, self-deprecating ex-wife has been lauded by her peers while his mega-success has been the subject of critical sniping. Before the Oscar nominations, he said: 'I would love to see The Hurt Locker get nominated and see her get the recognition she has deserved for a long time.' Dressed in their finest: VIPs outside under a canopy on the red carpet ahead of the glitzy do Bigelow has returned the compliment.

'I love it, love it, love it,' she gushed to Entertainment Weekly about Avatar. But even if she is too polite to say so herself, what woman wouldn't derive a small glimmer of satisfaction for proving to the man who left her for another woman that she is doing very well without him? He may have won the divorce - but she got the Oscar. And that's got to be worth smiling about. The not-so-A list gossip From Sara Nathan in Los Angeles Hammered: Victoria Beckham and Daily Mail reporter Baz Bamigboye arriving at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Los Angeles Victoria Beckham was seen waiting patiently in the queue for the loos with her two bodyguards at the Vanity Fair after-party. Perhaps they were there to keep her away from Katie Price, aka glamour model Jordan, with whom she has fallen out in the past. Mrs Beckham was, in her own words, 'hammered' as she posed for photographers on the red carpet. Award winner Mo'Nique chose the Oscars to speak out about a prickly subject - her refusal to shave her legs. The 42-year-old Precious actress revealed she once tried to trim her leg hair but has since let nature take its course.

She said: 'If you have seen my legs I am 42 and I'm very hairy. I tried shaving one time and it was so uncomfortable and so painful. 'When it grew back it grew back even thicker and more of it. I said never again would I do that to myself.' And she revealed that her husband does not have a problem with her grooming habits. 'He loves the hairy legs,' she insisted. Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer joked about their ages on the red carpet. The Last Station stars - who were both up for awards - said they felt old surrounded by a sea of younger actors and actresses. Mirren, 64, said: 'He can laugh at my bad back and I can laugh at his bad knees.' Plummer, 80, added: 'We're over 14 and you can still have fun over 14. With this lady there's no such thing but fun.' Most revealing outfit: Hilary Swank Katie Price was overheard at Elton John's after-party trying to launch a second pop career. She was attempting to convince Will.I.Am, the man who helped mastermind Cheryl Cole's career, it was worth taking a punt on her.

Sadly, her electric blue ball gown made her look like an extra from film Avatar. And the award for most revealing outfit goes to... Hilary Swank. The 35-year-old actress made sure all eyes were on her by choosing a plunging Armani Prive dress. Her modesty was saved only by a piece of sheer mesh which kept her neckline from gaping wide open. Simon Cowell took fiancee Mezhgan Hussainy out for their first public outing since news of their engagement broke. But the sight may have been a little galling for Simon's recent ex, Terri Seymour, who was seated just a few feet away. But a source insisted: 'They will always be friends and Terri has moved on. She's dating a French banker now.' Every self-respecting celebrity will have spent months primping and preening for the Oscars. But forget diets and Botox. One doctor has revealed this year's must-have treatment is a £800 freezing technique called Zeltiq, which dissolves fat cells. Dr David J Goldberg, of New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, said: 'We get flurry of activity right before Oscars night.

We manage to fit everyone in.' As Hollywood A-listers gathered to celebrate at the Oscars, there were some unlikely faces flying the flag for the UK. Kelly Brook was there to promote her horror film Piranha 3-D, which is unlikely to feature heavily at next year's awards. And Peaches Geldof somehow managed to blag a ticket to the coveted Vanity Fair after-party - but only as the date of director Eli Roth. Blagger: Peaches Geldof went to the hottest party in town - but only as the date of director Eli Roth Leonardo DiCaprio: Titanic Is "a Huge Part of My Life," "Proud of it" - Us Weekly By Stephanie Webber Seventeen years after starring in James Cameron's Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio has revealed what he really thinks about the film that made him a household name -- see what he had to say Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images Don't worry, Jack Dawson lovers! Leonardo DiCaprio has only good things to say about his 1997 blockbuster hit Titanic.

In an interview with CBS This Morning, the actor revealed he's "proud" of the film that made him a household name -- contrary to what fans may have assumed as schmaltzy or overblown from the actor's perspective. PHOTOS: Leo's exes "You know, it's been such a long time, but it was such, you know, a huge part of my life," DiCaprio, 39, told CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King. "And people maybe think I have a reaction to that film. But the truth is, I'm incredibly proud of it. And not only that, the movie has really made me be in control of my career." PHOTOS: Oscars biggest snubs DiCaprio starred in the James Cameron-directed film alongside now longtime friend Kate Winslet . (The film grossed a then-record breaking 343.6 million worldwide, and won the Oscar for Best Picture.) But before he came face-to-face with an iceberg, the Wolf of Wall Street star snagged his first Oscar nomination in 1993's What's Eating Gilbert Gilbert for his portrayal as a mentally handicapped boy.

The Hollywood hunk has famously never won an Oscar to this day, but admitted that he didn't want to win for the early '90s film anyway. "No, I -- I didn't," he said. "All I remember is being paralyzed with fear that I'd have to actually get up on that stage because somebody told me a billion people watch that show. And that's the only thing that I really remember." PHOTOS: Leo's romance with Blake Lively "And -- and I was in shambles about that," he continued. DiCaprio went on to mention that something like giving a live speech is much different than filming a movie. After all, there's no "cut" being given by a director, and no chance for a re-take. "That's the problem. There is no cut," he said.

"I mean, I've had a lot more experience since then, but I -- that -- that was my memory." Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the 1997 blockbuster hit Titanic 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images Film History Milestones - 1997 Event and Significance 1997 Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension (aka Marvin the Martian in 3D), a 12-minute Warner Bros film, opened as a feature of the Warner Bros.' theme park "Movie World" in Australia. It was the first computer-animated CG film that was to be viewed with 3-D glasses. It combined the experience of watching a fully CGI film with polarized/anaglyphic glasses. 1997 James Cameron's Titanic (1997), the most expensive film of all time at the time of its release, also soon became the highest grossing and most successful film of all-time in Hollywood history (at $600.8 million domestic gross box-office receipts, and $1.8 billion total worldwide gross), surpassing the all-time box-office (domestic) record of Star Wars (1977) .

(Titanic remained at the top until Cameron's own Avatar (2009) surpassed it 12 years later at $760.5 million (domestic).) It was the first film with a budget of $200 million, and it was the first movie to gross $1 billion (worldwide). When adjusted for inflation, however, Cleopatra (1963) had the highest budget of any film, and Gone with the Wind (1939) remained the highest grossing. Delays during production and a budget of $200 million threatened to 'sink' the film, but didn't affect its overall success. Repeated theatrical viewings by young teens (enthralled by the romance between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) were partly responsible for the film's high returns. The bulk of the state-of-the-art visual effects (CGI and miniature models) were provided by Cameron's own company, Digital Domain. And the film was backed or co-produced by two studios in order to foot the bill -- Fox and Paramount.

1997 The blockbuster film Titanic (1997) had a record-tying fourteen nominations and won a record-tying eleven Academy Awards (duplicating the feat of All About Eve (1950) ). That made it the second of only two films to receive 14 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It was also the second film to win 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture - it tied Ben-Hur (1959) with eleven Oscar wins - the most Oscar wins of any film in Academy Awards history. [ The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) would equal the feat in six years with 11 wins.] 1997 There were only two instances in which the same movie character was Oscar-nominated within the same film. The first instance was in Titanic (1997), where the character of Rose DeWitt Bukater was played by nominees Gloria Stuart and Kate Winslet.

[Note: The second instance was the character of Iris Murdoch in Iris (2001).] 1997 The 18th official Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) was the first film in cinematic history to have the largest product placement deal ever, covering its entire production budget of $110 million. The film was largely marketed through the film's promotional partners. Sponsoring companies included BMW, Ericsson cellphones, Bollinger champagne, Omega watches, Dunhill, Brioni clothing, Avis rental cars, Golden Wonder potato chips, L'Oréal cosmetics, VISA, and Heineken beer. Some joked that the Bond films had now become the "Licence to Sell." 1997 The first time product placement appeared in an animated picture was Chanel perfume in Anastasia (1997). 1997 Due to its opening against James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic (1997), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) was the first (and only) Pierce Brosnan Bond film to not open as the # 1 film at the box-office.

1997 Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt won Best Actor and Best Actress Oscars for As Good As It Gets (1997). This was only the seventh time in 70 years that the leading actor and actress from the same film received the Oscars. 1997 Slim DVDs (Digital Versatile Discs), the new generation of optical disc storage technology, began to be sold to consumers. By 2003, there were over 250 million DVD playback devices worldwide, one of the most successful consumer electronics products of all time. It was destined to replace the laser disc, videotape (bulky VHS), and videogame cartridges. In mid-2003, DVD rentals first topped those of VHS. 1997 Writer/director Paul Thomas' Boogie Nights (1997) was a significant film for authentically portraying the Southern California pornography industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s, through the character of Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) - based upon the life of porn actor John C. Holmes, who became well-endowed porn star Dirk Diggler.

1997 Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-Wai's haunting and melancholy film Happy Together (1997, HK) (aka Cheun Gwong Tsa Sit) about a gay couple, was released. The film's cinematographer used multiple film speeds and color film stock. It was controversial for its graphic portrayal of Chinese male homosexuality and was banned in Singapore, among other places. 1997 George Lucas released re-vamped Special Editions of the Star Wars Trilogy . Episodes IV, V, and VI were remastered and re-released for theatrical showings. Most of the changes were cosmetic - various scenes or images were cleaned up or restored, but some changes were made to the films as well. For example, in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) , there was a new CGI version of Jabba the Hutt (originally a latex puppet), and a modified "Cantina Scene" in which Greedo shot first. 1997 Star Wars (1977) was the first film to earn more than $400 million domestically.

It reached this mark in February 1997 after the re-release or re-issue of its 20th anniversary edition. 1997 The British comedy film The Full Monty (1997) was an unexpected sleeper hit, although American audiences were unfamiliar with the slang term "the full monty" (complete nudity during a striptease). 1997 In June 1997, J.K. Rowling's first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published in the UK. It would become the first in a franchise series of Harry Potter films, beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) . 1997 Sleepy-eyed actor Robert Mitchum died at the age of 79 of lung cancer.

He was active as an actor, often as a "macho" anti-hero, from the 1940s to 1990s, appearing in such favorites as The Story of GI Joe (1945) (earning his sole Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor), the noirish Out of the Past (1947) , director Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter (1955) , and Cape Fear (1962). Other roles included Pursued (1947), Crossfire (1947), Angel Face (1952), Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957), The Red Pony (1959), The Sundowners (1960), El Dorado (1967), and the remake of The Big Sleep (1978). 1997 One day after the death of fellow actor Robert Mitchum, American film actor James Stewart died at the age of 89, also from lung cancer. One of the finest actors ever, he appeared in dozens of classic films, and was nominated for five Best Actor Academy Awards for: Mr.

Smith Goes to Washington (1939) , The Philadelphia Story (1940) (win), It's a Wonderful Life (1946) , Harvey (1950), and Anatomy of a Murder (1959). Other notable Stewart films for Alfred Hitchcock included: Rear Window (1954) , Rope (1948), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), and Vertigo (1958) . 1997 Founded in 1994, DreamWorks SKG's first feature film release was The Peacemaker (1997), starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. A year later, the studio released their first animated film Antz (1998). 1997 The mockumentary An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn (1997) reduced the effectiveness of using an alias director's name (in this case for director Arthur Hiller, who disowned the film), and it became the last film to ever bear the pseudonym. The Director's Guild of America (DGA) changed their rules afterwards, allowing other names to be used as aliases.

In the past, according to DGA rules, a director unhappy with creative changes made on a film could have his name removed during post-production, and replaced only with a required alias: "Alan Smithee."

Question: In 1997 James Cameron won an Oscar for which blockbuster?
Answer: Titanic