Director Peter Jackson holds one of "Return of the King's" 11 Oscars.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" set an Oscar record by sweeping all 11 awards for which it had been nominated, including best picture of the year.

The record for a film winning all its nominations was nine, set by "Gigi" (1958) and "The Last Emperor" (1988). "Rings" tied both "Ben-Hur" (1959) and "Titanic" (1997) with its 11 awards, the record for most Oscars in a single year. "Rings" is also the first fantasy film to win the top award.

Aside from best picture, the awards "Return of the King" won were: director (Peter Jackson), adapted screenplay (Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens), song ("Into the West"), score (Howard Shore), visual effects, art direction, costume design, makeup, sound mixing and film editing.

Jackson paid tribute to the government and people of his native New Zealand, a country that had been the subject of ribbing from host Billy Crystal as a "Rings" sweep became possible.

Sean Penn won best actor for his performance in "Mystic River."

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron, who gave a career-making performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster," won best actress.

"This has been such an incredible year," she said. Her voice broke as she thanked her mother. "There are no words to describe how much I love you," Theron said.

For Renee Zellweger, the third nomination was the charm. The star won best supporting actress for her performance in "Cold Mountain." She had been nominated for best actress the previous two years, for "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Chicago."

"I am overwhelmed," she said emotionally. Paying tribute to her fellow nominees, she said, "I am honored to be here with you."

Tim Robbins won the first Oscar of the night, an award for best supporting actor for his performance in "Mystic River." He made a plea for victims of abuse -- people like his character in the film -- to seek help.

Sofia Coppola, the daughter of multiple Oscar-winner Francis Ford Coppola, won the Oscar for original screenplay. "The Barbarian Invasions" won best foreign-language film.

Among other Oscar winners, "Finding Nemo" won best animated feature and "Master and Commander" won for sound editing.

"The Fog of War," Errol Morris' film about former Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and lessons learned from the Vietnam War, won best documentary feature.

"I'd like to thank the Academy -- for finally recognizing my films! I thought it would never happen!" said Morris, considered one of the masters of the documentary.