COLD MOUNTAIN COUTURE: Sting and daughter
Coco, 76th Annual Academy Awards, 2004 From English teacher to
Commander of the British Empire, the once spike-haired Gordon Sumner has risen
on the power of his music -- though even in his first stellar turn in a film,
the disturbing
... more "Brimstone & Treacle," he showed considerable acting
potential. One of the most literate of musicians, Sting provided an original "folk" song -- "You Will Be My Ain
True Love" -- for Anthony Minghella's "Cold Mountain," snagging his third Oscar nomination (previous
noms came for "Kate & Leopold" and "The Emperor's New Groove"). Truth be told, the haunting music of
"Cold Mountain" -- contributed by Sacred Harp singers, Jack White, Alison Krauss, et al -- was the best reason to see
this disappointing movie. Onstage at the Oscars, elegantly costumed in an
old-fashioned tux, with stand-up shirt collar and silk cravat spiked by a square
emerald-cut 8-carat diamond pin, Sting cranked his hurdy-gurdy while the
angel-voiced Krauss performed his "Cold Mountain" love song. (Francis
Specker/epa/Corbis)Close