Chicago takes best picture at the Oscars

4.54pm

The musical "Chicago" added best picture to its haul of Oscars at the Academy Awards in Hollywood today. Presented by father and son Kirk and Michael Douglas the awards took the movie to six awards at the ceremony today.

It was the first musical to win the top prize since 1968's "Oliver".

Michael Douglas' heavily pregnant wife Catherine Zeta-Jones earlier performed "I Move On" from "Chicago" with Queen Latifah before Zeta-Jones took the award for best supporting actress.

"My hormones are too out of control to deal with this!" the 33-year-old Welsh beauty, who is expecting her second child with husband and actor Michael Douglas a week after the awards ceremony, said as she accepted her first Oscar.

Chicago had already picked up five awards with Zeta-Jones's award as well as film editing, art direction, costume design and sound.

In a stunning upset, veteran director Roman Polanski won the best director Oscar for Holocaust drama "The Pianist".

Polanski, who has not set foot in the United States since fleeing a statutory rape conviction in 1977, won the Oscar for the Holocaust drama on his third directing nomination, the others having been for Chinatown and Tess. He also received a writing nomination for Rosemary's Baby.

Nicole Kidman won best actress for her role as suicidal English novelist Virginia Woolf in "The Hours".

It was Kidman's first Oscar and followed wins at the Golden Globes and Britain's BAFTA ceremony for a searing performance in which she transformed herself from elegant, glamorous redhead to a virtually unrecognizable, depressed, 1930s English woman.

The best actor category saw another upset win with the award going to Adrien Brody for "The Pianist".

Brody learned to play the piano and lost 14kg for the film, directed by Polanski, whose own family died during the Holocaust.

"There comes a time in life when everything seems to make sense. This is not one of those times," Brody said as he took the stage. "What I do know is that I've never felt this much love an encouragement from my peers and the people I admire.'

Another surprise win saw rap superstar Eminem beat out favourite U2 to take best song for "Lose Yourself" from the movie "8 Mile" which he also starred in.

Luis Resto, one of the co-writers of the song, accepted the Oscar on behalf of Eminem.

"He's creative, he has symphonies in his head," Resto said of the controversial rapper. "He's a good man, good heart."

The New Zealand film contingent took two awards. The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers won best visual effects, with Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke the recipients, and also the award for sound editing.

Other awards presented include actor in a supporting role which Chris Cooper won for his part in the drama Adaptation.

The award for animated feature film was given to "Spirited Away".

- REUTERS