# should LOTR:ROTK get any Oscars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 6, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080 "2004-01-06T21:00:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/1 "2004-01-06T21:00:51Z")
If so, for what? Acting? If so, who? Directing? Technical achievement? Do you think these should be specifically for ROTK, or for the whole trilogy? ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/2 "2004-01-06T21:14:24Z")
Yes, ROTK should get Best Picture, PJ should get Best Director. Yes, I know it probably won’t happen. Can’t single out actors; too much of an ensemble piece. And no I didn’t see every other movie out there. But LOTR is a milestone in movie-making, and gosh-dang I hope it gets recognized. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/3 "2004-01-06T21:19:12Z")
I agree with well, it should get Best Picture and Jackson should get Best Director. ---
**Author:** ![Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soup)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/4 "2004-01-06T21:37:16Z")
Best Director ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/5 "2004-01-06T21:42:57Z")
RotK should get all sorts of technical, etc. awards–sound, art direction, costuming, soundtrack, cinematography–but should not get best director/picture/actors. The film was an amazing achievement, but not the cleanest/best film I’ve ever seen. On the other hand, FotR should have won best picture, best director, best actor (Ian McKellen), and TTT should have won best supporting actor (Andy Serkis). Both should also have won the above technical awards. FotR was by far the strongest of the trio (it had a huge advantage of a neatly-contained, single-thread story arc), and McKellen in the first film + Serkis in TTT were phenomenal. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/6 "2004-01-06T21:53:20Z")
Later, PJ should get some sort of Special Achievement Award for this mammoth undertaking. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/7 "2004-01-06T22:00:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toadspittle \* > \*\*RotK should get all sorts of technical, etc. awards–sound, art direction, costuming, soundtrack, cinematography–but should not get best director/picture/actors. The film was an amazing achievement, but not the cleanest/best film I’ve ever seen. > \*\* It doesn’t have to be the best film ever, just the best of 2003. And it clearly was. ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/8 "2004-01-06T22:03:04Z")
Well, I must admit I’m quite biased towards PJ and the whole LOTR undertaking, so I’ll just recuse myself. ---
**Author:** ![jmizzou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/edb3f5/32.png) [@jmizzou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmizzou)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/9 "2004-01-06T22:11:29Z")
Along with the technical awards, I think RotK should get Best Picture, and PJ should get Best Director. I’ll agree that RotK may not actually _be_ the best picture, but it would be a way of recognizing the entire trilogy. Best Supporting Actor for (fill in the blank). _Somebody_ deserves it, but heck if I can pick just one. A special Achievement/Recognition Award for Gollum, to be presented to Andy Serkis and the CG team. After making Jar Jar Binks look like claymation, they definately deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/10 "2004-01-06T22:14:19Z")
Oh, hell yes it should! Otherwise, we may look forward to [the nerd riots of 2004](http://www.pvponline.com/archive.php3?archive=20031227). Daniel ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/11 "2004-01-06T22:19:12Z")
Best Picture, Best Director, and IMHO, Billy Boyd for Best Supporting Actor. ---
**Author:** ![Tarrsk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@Tarrsk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarrsk)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/12 "2004-01-06T22:19:29Z")
I have to admit straight off that I haven’t seen several of the other “big” Oscar contenders this year (Mystic River, Cold Mountain, etc.), but I was blown away by Sean Astin’s work in ROTK. Out of the films I’ve seen, I’d hand him the Best Supporting Actor award without hesitation. I’d also like to see ROTK win for Best Picture and Best Director, if only to recognize the once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment that the Lord of the Rings trilogy has been. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/13 "2004-01-06T23:13:58Z")
I don’t think _Return of the King_ should get any Oscars. It’s bigger than the Oscars. It’s better than the Oscars. Offering that little gold-plated whore to _Return of the King_ would be an insult to a great work of cinema. The movie would become tainted by association. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/14 "2004-01-06T23:21:23Z")
It will win _at least_ one major award, apart from the technical stuff. The reason? Politics. The Academy knows very well how much money the movies have made and how they’ve changed the landscape for movie making in America. The financial boom will reverberate into statues and glory for PJ. If he’s smart, he’ll retire and not turn into another George Lucas. ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/15 "2004-01-06T23:29:11Z")
My guess: it does **not** win Best Picture, but PJ does get Best Director. It will be hard for the Academy not to recognize what PJ has accomplished, but I can see some voters liking other movies better. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/16 "2004-01-06T23:30:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > \*\*It will win _at least_ one major award, apart from the technical stuff. The reason? Politics. The Academy knows very well how much money the movies have made and how they’ve changed the landscape for movie making in America. The financial boom will reverberate into statues and glory for PJ. > If he’s smart, he’ll retire and not turn into another George Lucas. \*\* Actually, if he’s smart he’ll avoid turning into another George Lucas by _continually working_. George’s problem was that he took a twenty-two year break from directing and writing, and then thinks he can just pick up where he left off. Film making is a skill like any other, and it atrophies if not exercised regularly. If Lucas hadn’t pissed away two decades by sitting on his ass collecting royalty checks and had actually gotten out there and worked as a movie maker, the new Star Wars movies might have ended up half-way watchable. ---
**Author:** ![Vezer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b38774/32.png) [@Vezer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vezer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/17 "2004-01-07T00:21:06Z")
It will win Best Picture because the others had so much buzz around them. Now the swan song takes place as ROTK gets Best Pic. They will give PJ best director also in the “we held off till the last one” sense. **Tarrsk** is right on Sean Austin. He kissed the Goonies goodbye and captured a role that could of been a mondo whine-fest. Visual Effects. Sound. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mullets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/aeb1de/32.png) [@John\_Mullets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mullets)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/18 "2004-01-07T00:46:13Z")
Personally, I think the oscars count for shit-all but in the interest of recognition for what good aspects the film does have. Even I, who despises the film, agree that the technical achievements are nothing short of brilliant. I still think, however that there was one film which managed to pull off better technical achievements with the budget. Undead, with its budget of under one million Australia dollars was a much better film in technical aspects, when you take the budget into account. With 12 fantastic sets built a shit-load of great special effects and CGI, this film looks much better than most Hollywood films But, of course, the oscars is only for shitty huge-budget Hollywood movies and most of you only watch shitty huge-budget Hollywood movies. I just wish Undead had a bit more recognition. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/19 "2004-01-07T02:07:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Mullets \* > \*\*But, of course, the oscars is only for shitty huge-budget Hollywood movies and most of you only watch shitty huge-budget Hollywood movies. \*\* My, you sure don’t let your pigheaded biases show much, do yo? ---
**Author:** ![Astra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@Astra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astra)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080/20 "2004-01-07T02:18:09Z")
I think the movies deserve a sweep. Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor for Astin, every technical award out there, and a special achievement award for Serkis and the visual effects artists. Gollum was truly a group performance and everyone involved deserves some kind of recognition. Odds of that happening are nil, I realize. Something overblown that was in limited release just to qualify for the awards _cough_Cold Mountain_cough_ will probably win. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-lotr-rotk-get-any-oscars/223080.md?page=2)