Politics, gay love and a flock of adorable penguins were the stars of the Oscars last night. Before “Crash” stole the show as Best Picture, George Clooney won the supporting-actor prize for “Syriana,” for which he packed on 40 pounds to portray a jaded CIA patriot disillusioned by U.S. policy in the Middle East.
“Wow, so I’m not winning director!” Clooney quipped, adding that his win would forever be attached to his name, even in his obit.
“Oscar-winner George Clooney, sexiest man alive 1997, ‘Batman,’ died today in a freak accident,” he deadpanned.
The hunky superstar also took a shot at host Jon Stewart, who poked fun at Hollywood as out of touch and joked that Clooney’s “Good Night, and Good Luck,” was “not only the sign-off of [Edward R.] Murrow, it’s also how Mr. Clooney ends all his dates.”
Clooney said: “We are a little bit out of touch in Hollywood every once in a while. We were the ones who talked about AIDS when it was being whispered. We talked about civil rights when it wasn’t really popular. I’m proud to be part of this academy . . . I’m proud to be out of touch.”
British actress Rachel Weisz walked away with Best Supporting Actress for “The Constant Gardner” in which she played a feisty social activist murdered in Africa as she probes the shady dealing of a huge drug company.
It was a grand slam for the 34-year-old beauty, who chalked up Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild wins for the same role. She paid tribute to novelist John le Carre, on whose thriller the film was based.
“He really paid tribute to people who are willing to risk their own lives to fight injustice. They are greater men and women than I,” she said.
Waddling off with the Oscar for Best Documentary was the touching nature tale “March of the Penguins,” which depicted the tortuous mating rituals of emperor penguins in Antarctica.
Filmmaker Luc Jacquet said backstage: “It’s a question of a good story and with a small documentary, you can reach many people. I think it means that people are not stupid.”
Gay-cowboy flick “Brokeback Mountain,” which led contenders with eight nominations, picked up the Oscar for Gustavo Santaolalla’s musical score.
But Philip Seymour Hoffman won best actor for another gaythemed film, “Capote,” and Reese Witherspoon won Best Actress for her role in “Walk the Line.”
“Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit,” about a cheese-eating English inventor and his dog who battle a mutant rabbit out to destroy their town’s Giant Vegetable Contest, hopped away with the statue for Best Animated Feature.
The raucous hip-hop tune “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from “Hustle & Flow,” whose profanity-laced lyrics were cleaned up for its TV performance, won the prize for Best Song.
The show was full of jokes about the gay themes surrounding “Brokeback Mountain” and “Capote.”
“Brokeback Mountain” showed America not all gay people are virile cowboys. Some are actually effete New York intellectuals. It’s true!” Stewart quipped, referring to Truman Capote.
And Billy Crystal and Chris Rock, both previous Oscar hosts, spoofed “Brokeback” by poking their heads out of a tent like the gay cowboys in the movie and saying they were “too busy” to host the ceremony again.
Peter Jackson’s remake of “King Kong” scored the Oscar for best visual effects.
An honorary Oscar was given to Robert Altman, the highly-acclaimed, but never-awarded, director of such hits as “M*A*S*H,” “Nashville” and “The Player.”
“I always thought this type of award meant that it was over,” Altman joked. “I look at as a nod to all of my films because to me I’ve made just one long film.”
Stewart, in his first turn as host, was full of political humor got political a la his “The Daily Show” program, jabbing the ceremony feting liberal-leaning Hollywood as a rare “place where you can watch all your favorite stars without having to donate any money to the Democratic Party.”
In a subtle blast at the popularity of home video eating into box-office profits, the academy showed off a eye-popping montage of panoramic scenes best seen on the big screen.
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And the winners are…
Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Capote”
Actress: Reese Witherspoon, “Walk the Line”
Supporting Actor: George Clooney, “Syriana”
Animated Film: “Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit”
Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz, “The Constant Gardener”
Documentary: “March of the Penguins”
Original Score: “Brokeback Mountain”