HOLLYWOOD - At long last, the wait is over.No, we don't mean finally knowing who won the Academy Award for Best Actor (Denzel!), Best Actress (Halle Berry!) or Best Picture (A Beautiful Mind!); we mean Woody Allen made his first appearance at the Academy Awards in Hollywood.
Despite being nominated 20 times and winning three Oscars, Allen deigned to appear at this year's awards show to end all awards shows only as part of a tribute to his favorite place on earth, New York City.
Allen introduced a video montage of some famous films that have been shot in New York City--as all of Allen's films have--and then urged filmmakers to continue shooting movies in the Big Apple even after the horrific terrorist incidents of Sept. 11.
"It's a great place to come and work and make your movies because it's still a thrilling and very, very exciting city," Allen pleaded.
Allen's appearance drew a round of applause and a standing ovation from the surprised crowd.
The montage featured clips from Allen's Annie Hall (which garnered Allen Best Director and Best Original Screenplay Oscars) and Manhattan, as well as seminal films On the Waterfront, Breakfast at Tiffany's and The Godfather.