One Ring to Rule them All… Let’s Hope Not
February 1, 2004 |
As we enter February, the world of Hollywood is patiently awaiting its biggest night of the year. It is a night where all of Hollywood’s A-list, and some of its B, come together to exchange little naked men–more specifically little GOLD naked men. I’m speaking of course about the Oscars. This years Oscars are being presented on February 29th, a day which might as well be left off the calendar. As far as I’m concerned, this years Oscars might as well be left off too.
Typically, the Golden Globes (which were handed out last weekend) are a good indication of which way the Academy will lean and, suffice to say, the Globes were a disappointment as well. The biggest problem of the Globes, and sequentially the Oscar nominations, is the Lord of the Rings. LOTR, as its known by people who claim to be cool by dressing up as their favorite hobbit, won the Globe for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song. On top of these four, LOTR received seven more Oscar nominations. My question to the Academy is why?
Don’t get me wrong, the trilogy that is The Lord of the Rings is truly incredible. It’s an epic story and the cinematography is amazing, but if that’s all you look at you are missing the total picture. The trilogy wasn’t nominated, the final installment, The Return of the King, was. This movie by itself is not Oscar worthy, defiantly not Best Picture worthy. The sad thing, however, is that LOTR will more then likely win Best Picture at the Oscars and Peter Jackson will more then likely win Best Director as well. This is a tremendous shame considering all of the other movies that will be overlooked this year because of the Ring.
Sadly, what I consider the best movie of the year was not nominated for Best Picture. Even worse, it was only nominated for one Oscar, Best Original Score. The movie is Big Fish. I don’t want to get into how amazing this film is, just know that it deserves to at least be nominated.
Other movies that could be shafted by Return of the King include Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation and Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River. Both of these movies are amazing in their own right, and well deserving of both the Best Picture and Best Director award.
However, if the Golden Globes are any indication, there will be some justification. Sean Penn and Charlize Theron both warrant Best Actor/Actress awards, as their performances are career defining. Renee Zellweger is well deserving of Best Supporting Actress and of course, Finding Nemo is a hands down favorite for Best Animated Film.
Nevertheless, who knows what will happen come the 29th. The Academy could surprise us all and give the truly deserving movies awards and leave The Return of the King where it belongs, in the technical categories. Everyone will just have to wait and see, and then complain about it later.
Below are the Oscar nominations for the big categories. In bold are my picks.
Best Picture
Lost in Translation
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Mystic River
Seabiscuit
Best Actor
Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Jude Law, Cold Mountain
Sean Penn, Mystic River
Best Actress
Keisha Castle-Hughes, Whale Rider
Diane Keaton, Something’s Gotta Give
Samantha Morton, In America
Charlize Theron, Monster
Naomi Watts, 21 Grams
Best Supporting Actor
Alec Baldwin, The Cooler
Benicio Del Toro, 21 Grams
Djimon Hounsou, In America
Tim Robbins, Mystic River
Ken Watanabe, The Last Samurai
Best Supporting Actress
Shohreh Aghdashloo, House of Sand and Fog
Patricia Clarkson, Pieces of April
Marcia Gay Hayden, Mystic River
Holly Hunter, Thirteen
Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain
Best Director
Fernando Meirelles, City of God
Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation
Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Peter Weir, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Clint Eastwood, Mystic River
Sam
February 2nd, 2004 | 10:46 am
What I think is most funny about this is that no one cares about what you think. I, and I’m sure many other people, want to read things written by interesting people. However, your views on just about everything are the same as every other twentysomething male. I bet you love Quentin Tarantino, don’t you?
You fail to mention any reason why “Big Fish” is so good, so why should anyone agree? You also fail to mention that each LOTR film has been nominated for Best Picture. Could that not be seen as the entire trilogy being nominated?
You mention “Mystic River” and “Lost in Translation” because they are “amazing in their own right, and well deserving of both the Best Picture and Best Director award.” That’s what being nominated means.
Additionally, your little essays written for The Orlando Sentinel proved only that this country’s youth is seriously affected by an increasingly poor educational system. They were poorly written, useless dribble, and the ink used to print them would have been put to better use if it were poured on the floor.
Sometimes I think that your write what you do to get a reaction from readers. Do intend for the reaction to be because of the point you attempt to make, or how unimportant, uninformed, and silly you are?
Lauren
February 4th, 2004 | 5:56 pm
I would have to agree with you Justin. Big Fish definitly got shafted. It was an awesome movie.
Rachel G
February 5th, 2004 | 1:52 pm
Hey Justin, I agree about Big Fish, but didnt it come out in 2004? If so, maybe it will be nominated next year?
Shannon Rich
February 5th, 2004 | 3:29 pm
I thought that Lord of the Rings was a very good movie and I think that it deserved that awards that it recieved.
Justin
February 5th, 2004 | 8:30 pm
no, big fish was released in selected cities on christmas day which puts it in the running for this years awards. it was up for a handful of globes, including best picture - musical or comedy, though it didn’t win.
Wayne
February 6th, 2004 | 10:47 am
Is it bad that I’ve only seen four movies of the last five years’ “Best Picture” nominees? And two of those start with “The Lord of the Rings.”
Kathy
February 14th, 2004 | 9:34 am
Who the hell is this Sam person - he is a stalker or what? Seems like the man,immature boy or maybe even a women given the trans-gender name and all, has a serious jealousy problem. Grow up. Of course the articles are written to generate reaction and - the author is obviously more informed, more important and more interesting than you are. After all, who’s name is published in the Sentinal - not Sam.
The Laughing Nerd
March 1st, 2004 | 10:26 am
Hahaha! Take that, Justin!
Sam
April 3rd, 2004 | 11:48 am
Sorry guys about my previous comment, I had alot of pent up gay agression and I need an outlet to relieve myself. I just think that Logalias guy is so dreamy, so don’t mess with him girlfriend.
-Love and Cheetos