'RING'ING UP AWARD SEASON AFI NAMES TRILOGY'S OPENER AS BEST FILM.

Byline: David Kronke Staff Writer

BEVERLY HILLS - The long road to the Academy Awards began earlier than normal this year with the first-ever American Film Institute Awards.

``Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,'' director Peter Jackson's first installment of the trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved series, was named movie of the year, one of three trophies the film picked up.

Denzel Washington was voted best actor for his portrayal of a corrupt narcotics detective in ``Training Day.'' Sissy Spacek took home the best actress honors as a grieving mother in ``In the Bedroom.''

Critic favorite Robert Altman was named best director for his unusual mystery film ``Gosford Park.''

``This film is so close to my heart,'' Spacek said when she accepted her award. ``It was a real labor of love, I think, for all of those who worked on it.'' She thanked the film's cast, saying, ``I feel like I'm standing on all their shoulders right now.''

Spacek was one of the few winners to show up at the ceremony.

The evening began inauspiciously when six of the first nine winners were no-shows. Among the absentees were Gene Hackman, who won for best supporting film actor for ``The Royal Tenenbaums''; Jennifer Connelly, the best supporting film actress (``A Beautiful Mind''); best actor in a TV series winner James Gandolfini (``The Sopranos''); and Judy Davis, who won an acting award for the TV miniseries ``Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.''

Altman and Washington were also absent.

Some of those who did show up to claim their awards declined to meet with the press backstage, including best actresses Spacek and Edie Falco, who won the TV series award for ``The Sopranos''.

HBO virtually swept the TV categories, winning six out of seven awards: The World War II drama ``Band of Brothers'' was named best TV movie or miniseries, and ``Curb Your Enthusiasm,'' created by and starring ``Seinfeld'' co-creator Larry David, was named comedy series of the year.

Accepting his award, David joked, ``Apologizing comes a lot easier to me than thanking people, so to everyone associated with 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' I'd just like to say, 'I'm sorry.' ''

Backstage, David, who exploits his gloomy but gleefully misanthropic persona on the series, deadpanned through a thin smile, ``I'm generally a little happier than I normally look.''

Scott Grimes, one of the actors from ``Band of Brothers'' - executive producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, too, were MIA - said the terrorist attacks may have affected viewership of the miniseries. ``It worried me at first; I don't think many people watched the week after (the attacks),'' he said. ``But then, some kind of patriotism took over the country and I think more people ended up watching.''

At the boot camp training for the actors, Grimes said, series producer Tom Hanks told them, ```You're either going to do this right - or you're not going to do this at all.' He wasn't being the nice Tom Hanks, but the teacher.''

Accepting the TV drama of the year trophy, ``Sopranos'' creator David Chase recalled that he was once rejected as an AFI fellow. He thanked cable channel HBO, saying, ``They trust us, but more than that, they trust the audience, and that's the whole difference right there.''

The AFI is an organization that offers filmmaking courses and film preservation but is best known for its string of Top-100 movie lists. The new awards included nominees in 12 movie and seven television categories. Nominees were chosen by two 13-member committees, one each for movies and television. One hundred industry insiders and observers selected the winners.

Jeffrey Wright, named best actor for his portrayal of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the TV movie ''Boycott,'' discussed the addition of yet another award show in an already crowded season: ``We're actors and I guess we're kind of needy, so every year people gather to acknowledge the things we've done, unlike people who don't get nominated for outstanding word processor.''

The only other multiple winner in the film categories besides ``Rings'' was ``Moulin Rouge,'' which won two awards, for editing and music.

``Rings'' producer Barrie M. Osborne tried to introduced Robert Shea, head of New Line Films, distributor of the film, onstage but the show ended before he could say anything.

Backstage, Shea said, ``If Barrie hadn't used up all my time, I would've said something.'' He reflected on the gamble ``Lord of the Rings'' represented for New Line: The studio committed an estimated $400 million on production and promotion of the trilogy, with the next film due in December, follow by the third part in December 2003.

``We felt very confident,'' Shea said. ``We knew we were going to be entertaining people. We went to New Zealand to see the film as it progressed. When I saw the first assembly of actors footage, I got really excited. That was just the beginning. We saw more and more exciting stuff. ... I never lost confidence, period, but my enthusiasm got unbridled as I saw what these people were doing. It's what I think populist filmmaking is all about.''

As for the film's Oscar hopes, Shea said, ``I'm a member of the Academy and I'm going to vote for it.''

Elijah Wood, who stars as Frodo in the film, admitted he was ``massively surprised'' by the film's win.

``Everything was against us in terms of bringing these stories to film, and we've accomplished it,'' he said. ``To have the response be so glowing, it's incredibly rewarding.''

Next up: The Golden Globes on Jan. 20. Directors, producers and actors guilds will dispense trophies in March, and the Oscars will nail the lid shut on the awards season on March 24.

THE WINNERS

Here's a list of winners of the American Film Institute Awards for film and television presented Saturday night in Beverly Hills:

MOTION PICTURES

--Movie: ``Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''

--Director: Robert Altman, ``Gosford Park''

--Actor: Denzel Washington, ``Training Day''

--Actress: Sissy Spacek, ``In the Bedroom''

--Featured Actor - Movies: Gene Hackman, ``The Royal Tanenbaums''

--Featured Actress - Movies: Jennifer Connelly, ``A Beautiful Mind''

--Screenwriter: Christopher Nolan, ``Memento''

--Editor: Jill Bilcock, ``Moulin Rouge''

--Cinematographer: Roger Deakins, ``The Man Who Wasn't There''

--Production Designer: Grant Major, ``Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''

--Digital Artist: Jim Rygiel, ``Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''

--Composer: Craig Armstrong, ``Moulin Rouge''

TELEVISION

--Drama Series: ``The Sopranos''

--TV Movie or Miniseries: ``Band of Brothers''

--Comedy Series: ``Curb Your Enthusiasm''

--Actress - Series: Edie Falco, ``The Sopranos''

--Actor - Series: James Gandolfini, ``The Sopranos.''

--Actor - Movie or Miniseries: Jeffrey Wright, ``Boycott.''

--Actress - Movie or Miniseries: Judy Davis, ``Me and My Shadows: Life with Judy Garland''

- Daily News

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) ``Lord of the Rings'' stars Sean Astin, left, and Elijah Wood take the stage Saturday at the American Film Institute Awards.

(2 -- color) Edie Falco reacts to winning the AFI Award for best actress in a television series for her work on ``The Sopranos.''

Monty Brinton/CBS

(3) ``Lord of the Rings'' participants Sean Astin, left, Robert Shea, Barrie Osborne, Elijah Wood and Mark Ordesky celebrate a win.

(4 -- color) SPACEK

(5) San Francisco artist Nikolas Weinstein designed the AFI award. It's a glass sculpture representing a screen backed by a rippling curtain.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

Box:

THE WINNERS (see text)