Etc...

IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED

In Bangkok, Thailand, Lertrak Panjanawaporn went from sidewalk vendor to wealth beyond her dreams and back again in a single TV game show – and didn't mind at all. Or so she says. On the local version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," she answered all 16 questions correctly, stunning the producers. Until, that is, they discovered a technician accidentally had plugged the wrong cable into her computer monitor, feeding her the answers that were intended for the host. Obliged to try another set of questions, she was right on six and ended up taking home just $575. But that's OK, she said philosophically, because "I didn't want them to get into trouble."

It lost out to "A Beautiful Mind" for Best Picture, but so far "Lord of the Rings" is the box-office champion among this year's Academy Awards winners. Still, their four Oscars each could boost receipts further. How the honorees stack up, by North American box-office totals (in millions of dollars, with month of release in parentheses):

"Lord of the Rings" (December) $296.0

"Shrek" (May) 270.0

"A Beautiful Mind" (December) 153.5

"Black Hawk Down" (January) 108.0

"Training Day" (November) 80.0

"Moulin Rouge" (May) 57.4

"Gosford Park" (January) 36.0

"Monster's Ball" (January) 18.0

– Associated Press