Barbara Walters' Pre-Oscars Special
March 31 -- Barbara Walters takes you into the homes of Nicolas Cage, Renée Zellweger and Julianne Moore as three of Hollywood's brightest stars talk about their careers and personal lives.
The Barbara Walters Special, originally scheduled to air on the evening of the Academy Awards, was delayed until April 1 at 10 p.m. ET because of the war in Iraq.
The stars, all Oscar hopefuls when the interviews were conducted, failed to win. But each has reason to celebrate, and they reflect with Walters on their personal voyages to upper reaches of celebrity.
Cage Talks About Presley
For a man who chose a career that keeps him in the public eye, Cage has tried to keep his private life just that. He has shied away from questions about his personal life since his divorce from Patricia Arquette back in 2000. Walters penetrates Cage's veneer, and he talks about his tumultuous romance with Lisa Marie Presley and their short-lived marriage, which ended in December 2001, after just 108 days.
In Adaptation, Cage plays Charlie Kaufman, a screenwriter addled by self-loathing and resentment toward his cocky and carefree twin brother, Donald. He won a best actor Oscar for his performance in Leaving Las Vegas (1995). That trophy this year went to Adrien Brody for The Pianist.
Zellweger sat in the nominee circle last year for her leading role in Bridget Jones's Diary. She was nominated again this year for her portrayal of the scheming Roxie Hart in the film adaptation of Bob Fosse's stage musical Chicago.
Zellweger, an Austin, Texas, native who transformed herself into a frumpy Brit in Bridget Jones, pulls off another metamorphosis in Chicago, recreating herself as a sexy chanteuse hoping to steal the spotlight from vampy Velma Kelly (played by Catherine Zeta-Jones). Zellweger talks with Walters about her personal triumphs and her extraordinary rise to Hollywood's top tier.
While Zellweger once again failed to take home the Oscar for best actress — losing to Nicole Kidman — she remains one of Hollywood's hottest and most versatile actresses.
Also joining Walters is Julianne Moore, who earned double honors this Oscar season with two Oscar nominations. While she went home empty handed, Moore is widely hailed for turning in two highly acclaimed performances.
Moore was nominated for best actress for her portrayal in Far From Heaven of a 1950s Connecticut housewife who develops a close relationship with her African-American gardener as her marriage to an advertising executive (played by Dennis Quaid) crumbles. Moore was also up for a best supporting actress award for her role as another unhappy 1950s housewife in The Hours.
Moore had been nominated twice before — for best supporting actress in 1997's Boogie Nights and best actress for The End of the Affair (1999). Moore talks with Walters about her career and her personal life with director Bart Freundlich.
