Stars React to Oscar Nominations

Feb. 13, 2002 -- It's been said that acting is reacting. Newly anointed Oscar nominees certainly had a lot to react to — and so did those apparently snubbed.

The news from Hollywood Tuesday clearly reverberated around the world.

In his native home of New Zealand, Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson received the news at 2:30 a.m. that his film got 13 nominations — as many as Gone With the Wind, Shakespeare in Love and Forest Gump. Only All About Eve and Titanic have surpassed that, with 14 each."To be nominated is almost as good as winning," said Jackson, whose now working on the second and third parts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which have already been shot and are scheduled for release in December of 2002 and 2003.

"It's just absolutely, absolutely tremendous because there were over 2,500 people who worked on these movies and continue to work on them," he said. "These 13 nominations in some way have touched all those people." Connelly: ‘How Does This TV Work?’

Jennifer Connelly, who portrayed the nurturing wife of schizophrenic mathematician in A Beautiful Mind, was in Berlin for a film festival. She and the film's screenwriter, Akiva Goldsmith, hunkered down in a hotel room, trying to get some news from America.

"I had the bright idea to make the volume a little louder, just before it came on, because it was kind of low and we inadvertently turned the TV off and I just sort of scrambled to find the button to turn it back on," Connelly said.

"We couldn't find the button and we got the wrong channel and we were flipping around. All of a sudden we just started laughing … But we got it figured out." Finally they found out — both earned an Oscar nod. Kidman: 'What Film?'

In Sweden, where Nichole Kidman is shooting Dogville, she was in the middle of a heavy scene when her dialect coach held up a sign that read, "You were nominated for Best Actress." Kidman says mouthed back,"For what film?" and went right back to the scene.

Kidman's received nods for her turn as a dying showgirl in the musical Moulin Rouge. But she could have been honored for her ghostly performance in The Others.

Back in the states, actress Halle Berry was wrapping a Valentine's Day present for her daughter when her manager called with the news of her first Oscar nomination, best actress for Monster's Ball.

"I was out of my head," Berry said. "I didn't realize where I was and what was happening until maybe 14 minutes later. So, I had to rush out and I did a live interview with Bryant Gumbel and then I flew back to my place. It was just 15 minutes of sheer madness."

Another Best Actress nominee, Renee Zellweger, told Eonline, "I'm shocked, honored and grateful and shamelessly laughing and dancing around the apartment."

Crowe: ‘Don’t Worry, I’m Not Getting Used to It’

Last year's winner for Best Actor, Russell Crowe, says no matter how many times he gets nominated, it's always special. "I had a pretty intense last three years, you know. But don't worry, I'm not getting used to it. It's a fantastic thing."

Kate Winslet agreed. She's been nominated twice before, but the 26-year-old British actress has never won. She said her nomination for Best Supporting Actress Tuesday for Iris reminded her of when she was nominated for her work in Titanic."This is exactly how I felt then and so I'm kind of relieved that that feeling isn't changing," Winslet said. "I'm relieved that I'm not becoming cynical and not becoming blasé."

Winslet says she's especially honored to be mentioned in the same breath as British acting legends Helen Mirren and Maggie Smith, who were nominated for their supporting roles in Gosford Park.

Moulin Rouge tied A Beautiful Mind for the second most nominations, with eight each, including art direction, editing and cinematography.

But the creative force behind Moulin Rouge, director Baz Luhrmann, was among those passed over, and director Ron Howard said he knows the feeling well.

"I couldn't help but immediately think about and kind of identify with, you know, a number of people whose names have been bandied about, considered as likely candidates and they didn't hear their names called. I've experienced that," he said.

"I must say that shortly after the excitement died down a little bit, I was thinking about that as well."

After directing many box office blockbusters, including Cocoon and Apollo 13, Howard earned his first nomination. But now, A Beautiful Mind heads into the Oscars as one of the clear frontrunners. "To have eight nominations," Howard said, "it meant a lot to me as a director."ABCNEWS Radio and ABCNEWS.com's Buck Wolf contributed to this report.