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Golden moments A couple of hours above the Arctic Circle, in the quaintly frigid town of Tromsoe, Norway, there are just two movie screens, neither of which is currently showing one of the films that was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award this year. (American films usually arrive in Scandinavia about 8 months after their U.S. release date. And you thought Honolulu was bad.)
with Oscar
Winner of SB Oscar contestBy Scott Vogel
svogel@starbulletin.comBut don't get the idea that the folks on the frozen tundra are immune to the charms and excesses of Hollywood. On the contrary, Inger Gram and her daughter Ingvild, both avid film fans, considered it a divine bit of kismet that they happened to be on holiday in Honolulu during the Hawaii International Film Festival's Oscar Night party last night. The Norwegians immediately became HIFF Ohana, thereby qualifying to pose for a souvenir photo with an actual Oscar statuette, to gain access to a lavish buffet and silent auction on the lawn of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and to hobnob with 300 or so Honolulu greats and near-greats.
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"Who's that guy with all those things around his neck?," said Inger, speaking of HIFF Executive Director Chuck Boller, who indeed had a lot of things, uh, leis around his neck. He was also wearing a mile-long grin, thanks to what he termed a tremendous turnout."This is the biggest and best party we've ever had," he said, giving appropriate credit to the 13 1/2 inch, 8 pound trophy that no doubt drew its share of attendees. And when you threw in the nail-biting suspense of this year's up-for-grabs Oscar race, all the ingredients were in place for a night to remember.
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"I'd love to see Halle Berry win. She was fabulous," said Boller, even as he didn't give the "Monster's Ball" actress much of a chance. (That grin must be even wider now.)Honolulu's other clairvoyants included "Planet of the Apes" and "Pearl Harbor" actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who whispered, "I'm really pulling for Denzel Washington (for Best Actor). He's the most underrated actor in Hollywood, and it's his time."
That "A Beautiful Mind" would win Best Picture was the hope of Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris and his wife Ramona, former Miss America Angela Perez Baraquio, City Councilman Duke Bainum ("though the kid in me loved 'Lord of the Rings'") and Junior Napuelua, one of the two white-gloved security men in charge of making sure no one stole -- or even touched -- the Oscar.
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For the Grams of Norway, it was a split vote. Mom, who's a cancer researcher, liked the scientific subject matter of "Beautiful Mind," while her daughter favored the episodic fantasy "Lord of the Rings."Here's hoping at least one of those movies travels to the Arctic Circle sometime soon.
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Lauren Hong's movie tastes run more to cartoons than drama, but her analytical mind made her the winner of our annual Oscar contest. She was the only one who picked all six winners in the major categories: supporting actor and actress, best actor and actress, best director and best picture. SB Oscar contest
nets one clear winnerStar-Bulletin staff
A majority of the 493 entrants tripped up on lead actor, following the Golden Globes' lead in picking Russell Crowe rather than winner Denzel Washington.
"I watched 'A Beautiful Mind' and I thought Russell Crowe was awesome," said Hong, 20. "I didn't see all the movies, but my parents saw a lot, my sister saw a lot, and I go to the Internet a lot and sorted out all the opinions. I read somewhere that Julia Roberts doesn't really like Russell Crowe, and I think there's a lot of politics when people vote.
"He's not well liked in Hollywood so I didn't think he'd be like Tom Hanks to win two in a row.
"Plus my parents saw 'Training Day' and my dad said Denzel was really good and I trust my dad's opinion."
(Her mom and dad both entered the contest and had picked Crowe.)
Hong said the family often goes to films together and talks about them afterward. "I watched a lot of films the end of last year. I just don't like those where there's shooting and a lot of blood, but my dad likes those."
Hong wins 10 movie tickets and popcorn money so she can take the whole family to the theaters to get a jump on next year's nominees.
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