2004 Oscars

[brownjenkins]

Originally posted by azalea
WOOHOOO!!! Finally, a true fantasy film has won for the very first time! Now, give us some more good fantasy films, please, Hollywood!

fan of the film or not... i think this is the film's greatest achievement... the oldest form of storytelling has finally hit the mainstream

not a perfect adaptation in my mind, but highly commendable

i also still think it's terribly unfair to judge another person's love for something... anything... just because you disagree with the way they express it

[Finrod Felagund]

Man, Liv Tyler looked like she stepped out of the eighties, and Annie Lennox is scary when she sings. I could've sworn PJ thanked Tolkien in his best adapted screenplay speech, oh well...

I am impressed, I did not expect it to get all 11, but was pleasantly suprised. Congrats to the rings cast and crew!

Side Note: 11 Oscars
RotK deserved it
Ben-Hur deserved it
Titanic did NOT

[Valandil]

Originally posted by jerseydevil
Agreed. If he didn't give the propaganda speeches and lies before the movies came out as to what we could expect from the movies - I would be giving him a break. People have chosen to forget all the stuff he said BEFORE the movies came out and how his story changed. Now he gives an acceptance speech and doesn't even mention Tolkien. As I said - so much for him being a fan.

I don't think we should place that much emphasis on whom somebody 'thanks' when they receive an award. For one, it's THEIR business... and I don't think it's fair for the rest of us to pass judgement on such a thing. Two, Professor Tolkien is deceased... if he couldn't hear, it doesn't matter - if he could, he probably doesn't much care... rewards of Heaven being what they are promised to be. Third, the Tolkien family has pretty well dis-associated themselves from these movie efforts. For all we know, they may have preferred it this way - maybe even requested that he not mention Professor Tolkien.

[Spock]

The opening with Billy Crystal as Legolas was great and it tied in with the fantastic sweep by LOTR ROTK, a long overdue tribute to Peter Jacksons vision and efforts.

BEST PICTURE
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

DIRECTOR
• Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
• Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

ORIGINAL SCORE
• Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

ORIGINAL SONG
• "Into the West" from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox

ART DIRECTION
• Grant Major, Dan Hennah and Alan Lee, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

COSTUME DESIGN
• Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

MAKEUP
• Richard Taylor and Peter King, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

SOUND
• Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peck, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
VISUAL EFFECTS
• Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

FILM EDITING
• Jamie Selkirk, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

[Tessar]

I actually didn't feel that LOTR should've gotten ALL of the awards.

Most of them, yes, but one that I really didn't think was right was the one for Annie's song. It really wasn't THAT good.

[brownjenkins]

Originally posted by Tessar
Most of them, yes, but one that I really didn't think was right was the one for Annie's song. It really wasn't THAT good.

i'm with you on that... i liked the song from a mighty wind... which is a hilarious movie btw, as are all of christopher guest's movies

[Insidious Rex]

wow 11 for 11. Im quite impressed. 78 years of oscar history and it ties the highest records. Spin this all you like you haters but this is a fantastic victory for Jackson and his crew. And Ill personally feel smug for him in his unparalleled success for the next few weeks. I see this as a triumph for both Jackson and Tolkien despite any differences. Its the fact that there is brilliance in both works. And Ive never been silly enough to compare literature to film. They are about as different as you get. Way to go guys. Well deserved. *tips glass*

[Elvellon]

Haven’t seen RotK yet, wasn’t particularly keen to see it after the disappointment of the other two; hope that this means RotK really improved a lot in relation to the others, but I’m not holding my breath about it. I’ll probably see it when it comes in DVD, probably.


As for PJ not mentioning Tolkien, that was rather rude of him.

[The Gaffer]

An interesting line from Ian McKellen on his (admittedly tired and emotional) way into one of those Oscar parties: it is the most popular film of all time, and the Academy has chosen to go along with that.

Whatever we think of the adaptation (and I for one would not think it merited anything but the technical awards) it's a major production gamble that has paid off big style (think of how much extra they spent on designing all those cultures). I think PJ and his team deserve it for that. It's also re-popularised the books, so I reckon that JRRT's rpm might be slowed somewhat by the added weight of some extra dosh.

OK, so he's just "doing what he loves", but so does Ronaldo, and we don't complain when he wins awards and trophies. If it had been a disaster it could've been the end of his career.

And we all know that Oscars aren't really just about craft and artistic ability.

[Pailan]

Imho, the 11 for 11 clean sweep is justified, especially when considering the sweep of all three films together. The Academy tends to reward great efforts later than earlier.

But what fun it was to see that crew jump up every time they won another. To bad the Academy doesn't give out Oscars for ensemble acting...

(Nice to be back)

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Fat middle
Just read this at the end of Harry Knowles review on the Oscars:


Okay. I agree and I'm very happy for it.

But the greatness of the movie come from what remained of Tolkien work in it. Not for the work of Phillipa, Fran and... PJ.

Anyway, I'm happy it won so many.

OH and how many people ACTUALLY agree that Titanic was one of the BEST movies of ALL time? So in other words - Lord of the Rings matches up with Tititanic. Well Titanic was a pure box office success - that is all. Other than that - it is a very forgettable film. How many people actually watch Titanic anymore?

[Nurvingiel]

Welcome back Pailan.

I've been lurking around here for a while. Titanic was a dreadful movie, and it is the hair on the zit on the bum of Ben Hur, one of the greatest movies ever.

Originally posted by Pailan
The Academy tends to reward great efforts later than earlier.

Sadly, they go by who's "due", not my who's movies are any good. It just so happens that many people who win actually do deserve it, but this is partly based on chance.

LotR deserved the following awards in my opinion:

ORIGINAL SCORE
ORIGINAL SONG
COSTUME DESIGN
MAKEUP

I'm not sure what these awards entail, but they were probably well deserved also:
SOUND
ART DIRECTION

They especially deserved original score and song, what beautiful music!

[brownjenkins]

ben hur was very good... but i've always been partial to sparticus

[azalea]

I have to say PJ deserved the director Oscar, because of what he achieved. I personally think it deseved best picture, but that one is so subjective. The one that was a joke was Best Adapted Screenplay, for obvious reasons. (I think American Splendor should have gotten it.). But then again, I was glad that it tied the record. There's no getting around the fact that it was because of the great story behind it that the movies became so successful. I see the popularity and awards as the public's way of saying how much they love the story.

[dawningoftime]

The difference between Titanic and LoTR is that Titanic was a movie based on a historical event where people who lived through it are still alive and will take issue with it. LoTR is a fantasy. If you want to talk about bad adaptations (and bad movie making) go out and buy one of the Left Behind movies and then read the book. Now THAT was BAD.

[Spock]

OK, here I go. You really don't think that putting those books on film took genius? The effort required in detail, patience etc., doesn't deserve recognition. And that it all can't qualify as superior to a movie about a horse or love or anything else that is an ordinary story in terms of reality? Gadz they should change the name of this board to "the unrealistic board".

[MasterMothra]

Give a starving dog some "Ole Roy" and he'll think its "Pedigree".

[Valandil]

Originally posted by Spock
OK, here I go. You really don't think that putting those books on film took genius? The effort required in detail, patience etc., doesn't deserve recognition. And that it all can't qualify as superior to a movie about a horse or love or anything else that is an ordinary story in terms of reality? Gadz they should change the name of this board to "the unrealistic board".

Eminently logical, Spock... as we have come to expect! Not ALL around here carry quite such unrealistic expectations though. And sure... there were changes I wasn't crazy about, but the movies could only be done ONE way... so for me to apply a rigid standard of my own about WHICH changes are acceptable and which are not totally crushes artistic expression.

If some really didn't like it, and really can't abide with the changes made from book to movie, that's unfortunate. I wish everyone could relax and enjoy them for what they are. AND be glad that we at least have them... and that Tolkien's work is getting so much more attention than if the movies would not have been made. As far as adaptations, as was stated, check out some others of recent past. It's pretty well understood by most folks that a movie WILL NOT stick to the book (with fiction) or the facts (with history)... so society at large will not think the movies are an exact representation of the books.

Meanwhile, YET ANOTHER friend has taken my offer of loaned books: he read 'The Hobbit' in late January and in February almost finished 'Fellowship of the Ring'... I have no doubt that he would not be reading them had the movies not captured his imagination or piqued his interest.

[Insidious Rex]

well said sir.

[Nurvingiel]

I did enjoy the movies, I was just disappointed. I really thought that Peter Jackson had the skill to do a good adaptation, not just an (highly) entertaining movie. Wait... isn't there another thread about this?