Musical comedy The Sapphires sparkles at Aussie Oscars
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SYDNEY (REUTERS) - Home-grown romantic musical comedy The Sapphires shone at Australia's film industry awards on Wednesday, picking up best film and lead acting trophies for Deborah Mailman and Bridesmaids star Chris O'Dowd.
Awards host Russell Crowe, an Oscar winner for Gladiator, led a star-studded evening whose theme was pride in Australia's outsized success on the international film stage.
"The Australian academy may be small but over the years we have won more than 60 BAFTAs and Oscars," said Crowe at the second annual Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts awards, affectionately known as the Aussie Oscars.
Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman and Jeffrey Rush were all on hand for the event at Sydney's Star casino, leading guest presenter Jeremy Renner to joke: "You can't throw a bottle out the window in Hollywood without hitting an Australian."
