Coens, Bardem, Cotillard Win Oscars
By DAVID GERMAIN -- 21 hours ago
LOS ANGELES (AP) — "No Country for Old Men" was living up to its front-runner status at Sunday's Academy Awards, winning adapted screenplay for the Coen brothers and supporting actor for Javier Bardem. "La Vie En Rose" star Marion Cotillard was a surprise winner in the best actress category.
Cotillard rode the spirit of Edith Piaf to Oscar triumph over Julie Christie, who had been expected to win for "Away From Her."
Joel and Ethan Coen are mainly known for their original screenplays, making only two films based on adaptations, "No Country" from Pulitzer winner Cormac McCarthy's novel, and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," loosely inspired by the ancient Greek epic "The Odyssey."
"I think whatever success we've had in this area has been entirely attributable to how selective we are. We've only adapted Homer and Cormac McCarthy," said Joel Coen.
Previous original-screenplay winners for 1996's "Fargo," the Coens came in as the best-picture and directing favorites for "No Country."
The Coens missed out on a chance to make Oscar history — four wins for a single film — when they lost the editing prize, for which they were nominated under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes.
"The Bourne Ultimatum" won the editing Oscar and swept all three categories in which it was nominated, including sound editing and sound mixing.
Cotillard tearfully thanked her director, Olivier Dahan.
"Maestro Olivier, you rocked my life. You have truly rocked my life," said Cotillard, a French beauty who is a dynamo as Piaf, playing the warbling chanteuse through three decades, from raw late teens as a singer rising from the gutter through international stardom and her final days in her frail 40s.
"Thank you life, thank you love. And it is true that there are some angels in this city."
A relatively fresh face in Hollywood, Cotillard has U.S. credits that include "Big Fish," "A Good Year" and the upcoming "Public Enemies," featuring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.
With a heartbreaking turn as a woman succumbing to Alzheimer's in "Away From Her," Christie had been expected to win her second Oscar. She won best actress 42 years ago for "Darling."
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Marion Cotillard
Marion Cotillard
La Vie en Rose
NOMINATED ROLE
Marion Cotillard plays Edith Piaf, the legendary French singer who rose to international fame from her beginnings on the streets of Paris.
ACADEMY AWARDS HISTORY
This is the first Academy Award nomination for Marion Cotillard.
FILM SYNOPSIS
In a life marked by personal tragedy and artistic triumph, Edith Piaf grows from a child born in poverty to an internationally acclaimed singer. Raised primarily by her grandmother, a brothel keeper, young Edith is discovered singing on the streets of Paris and begins a remarkable career that cannot save her from a life haunted by drugs, alcohol, and a succession of unhappy love affairs.