Lawrence.com

Beverly Hills, Calif. — What if you threw a Hollywood award show and the winners stayed away?

That was the embarrassing situation facing the American Film Institute Awards on Saturday, when director Robert Altman and actors Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Jennifer Connelly, Judy Davis and James Gandolfini didn't show up to collect their honors.

The only film actor winner at the show was Sissy Spacek, who won best actress for the dark suburban drama "In the Bedroom."

"The no-shows were not a snub of the award; it's just that the underdogs weren't there with speeches ready," said Tom O'Neil, an award-show scholar who runs Goldderby.com, which tracks Oscar predictions.

The new show is the first big ceremony of Hollywood's long awards season, and the best picture win by "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings" seemingly legitimizes the fantasy epic's Oscar quest.

Altman and Hackman gained Oscar momentum Saturday with both the AFI Awards and honors from the National Society of Film Critics.

AFI, a film training and preservation organization, is well-respected for its lists ranking all-time top American films or screen stars, but it hosted its first major award ceremony with mixed results.

Actor Dustin Hoffman delivered a choppy introduction while staring blankly at the camera, and there were few jokes to add levity to the proceedings. Most damaging, only 11 of the 19 winners were there, most of them behind-the-scenes artists.

O'Neil said it would be unfair to judge the show by who attended. In several cases, three out of four nominees were in the audience and only the winner was missing.

Spacek, a five-time Academy Award nominee who won for "Coal Miner's Daughter," could emerge as a front-runner for another Oscar for her portrayal of a vengeful mother in "In the Bedroom."

"This film is so close to my heart," Spacek said. "It was a real labor of love, I think, for all of those who worked on it."

Washington won for best film actor in "Training Day," and Altman won directing honors for "Gosford Park."

Hackman's role as the comedically coarse father in "The Royal Tenenbaums" earned him best supporting actor, while Connelly won supporting actress for her turn as the wife of a schizophrenic math genius in "A Beautiful Mind."

In the television category, Gandolfini won best actor for "The Sopranos" while Davis won miniseries actress honors for "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows."

The 12 awards in the film categories were spread among nine movies. The only multiple winners were "Lord of the Rings," which also won for digital effects and production design, and "Moulin Rouge," honored for composing and editing.

"In the Bedroom" and "Black Hawk Down" had led with five nominations each, but "Black Hawk Down" was shut out in every category.

Also on Saturday, the National Society of Film Critics gave best picture honors to director David Lynch's surreal Hollywood nightmare tale "Mulholland Drive."

The group of 52 newspaper and magazine film critics also voted Altman best director for "Gosford Park" and honored scribe Julian Fellowes for best screenplay.

"Mulholland Drive" star Naomi Watts took best actress, and Hackman won again, this time in the best actor category, for "The Royal Tenenbaums."

The AFI Awards kick off a long season of so-called "kudocasts," televised ceremonies honoring the best in film. The Golden Globes take place Jan. 20, the Screen Actors Guild gives out its awards in March, and the Oscars top things off March 24.

AFI nominees were chosen by two 13-member committees � one each for movies and television � which included AFI trustees, industry professionals, film and TV scholars, and critics. Winners were picked by a 100-member jury of industry insiders.

AFI, best known for its lists ranking all-time top American films or screen stars, provides industry training, holds film screenings and conducts movie-preservation efforts.