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News from Bree
spymaster@theonering.net
Feb 27 2014, 9:03pm
Post #1 of 19
(724 views)
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How The Return of the King won best picture and 11 Oscars
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[caption id="attachment_87241" align="alignright" width="300"] Return of the King 'For Your Consideration' Ads for the 2004 Academy Awards.[/caption] How exactly did New Line go about mounting its campaign that 10 years ago won The Return of the King a history-making 11 Academy Awards? Vanity Fair interviewed many of those at New Line who were involved in the multi-million-dollar campaign, and the effect that the commercial and critical success had on the way Hollywood views fantasy films.
The biggest problem - and this started with Fellowship - was we had the dreaded F word; we were the fantasy movie, and there was no fantasy movies that ever won for best picture. Russell Schwartz, executive vice president of marketing at New Line Cinema in 2004.
Thanks to Ringer Boromir's Bane for the heads-up.
[gallery type="slideshow" ids="87237,87238,87239,87240,87241,87242,87243,87244,87245,87246,87247,87248,87249,87250,87251,87252,87253" orderby="rand"]
"For Your Consideration" ads from The Hollywood Reporter. Credit: Ringer Spy Frodosam & Ringer Spy ShelaghC
11 Oscars to Rule Them All: An Oral History of The Return of the King's Best-Picture Win
It took one ring to rule them all, and 11 Oscars to make movie history. Ten years ago this month, The Return of the King, the third and final chapter in The Lord of the Rings franchise, did the unthinkable: it swept the Academy Awards, winning all 11 categories it was nominated for, including best picture.
On paper, the film - and the franchise as a whole - was the polar opposite of Oscar bait. These were fantasy films filled with dwarves and hobbits and elves and magic rings. They were directed by a filmmaker known for low-budget horror flicks; cast with a group of unknown actors few audiences could pick out of a lineup; and written, planned, shot, and edited all in New Zealand, far away from the cozy awards-friendly confines of sunny Los Angeles.
What Oscar cognoscenti didn't see from the outset, they would come to realize by 2001, when The Fellowship of the Ring was released to overwhelming critical acclaim. The first chapter would go on to nab 13 nominations - a series high - but only come away with technical awards. A year later, The Two Towers grabbed six nods, but it too lost out on best picture. That set the stage for the final movie, as New Line focused its attention on getting Peter Jackson and the J. R. R. Tolkien-based series the Academy recognition it deserved.
In honor of the 10th anniversary of the The Return of the King's awards sweep, VF Hollywood pieced together the film's entire Oscar campaign. Speaking with more than a dozen people involved with the effort - from New Line executives to designers to consultants - we were able to paint a complete picture of how a fantasy film was able to win 11 Academy Awards - including the granddaddy of them all, best picture - and change the trajectory of the Oscars.
[Read More]
(This post was edited by entmaiden on Mar 24 2014, 9:21pm)
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Meneldor
Valinor
Feb 28 2014, 6:42pm
Post #4 of 19
(449 views)
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Someday, that may grow old. But it is not this day!
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They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.
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elaen32
Gondor
Feb 28 2014, 7:47pm
Post #6 of 19
(438 views)
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Ah, thanks for posting these Lissuin
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Still brings a lump to my throat- I think the whole team so deserved their wins.  One of the sadder aspects is seeing how much everybody, especially PJ, has aged over those 10 years. Just life I guess, but still....
Is there a Tolkien topic that you have wanted to look into more deeply and write about your thoughts on it? If so, we'd like to hear from you for the next TORn Amateur Symposium- coming in April. Happy writing!
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elaen32
Gondor
Feb 28 2014, 7:48pm
Post #7 of 19
(436 views)
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 I hadn't seen this video before- hilarious!!! Thanks again for posting Lissuin
Is there a Tolkien topic that you have wanted to look into more deeply and write about your thoughts on it? If so, we'd like to hear from you for the next TORn Amateur Symposium- coming in April. Happy writing!
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elaen32
Gondor
Mar 1 2014, 1:51am
Post #9 of 19
(413 views)
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and have watched all the discs more times than I can remember, but have never found this. Is it on all versions, or just bluray or limited editions? I have the standard DVD EE which was the original release. I'll have to look at my discs again- who knows what is lurking there?! I'm, admittedly pretty rubbish at Easter egg hunting.
Thanks for the tip Meneldor!
Is there a Tolkien topic that you have wanted to look into more deeply and write about your thoughts on it? If so, we'd like to hear from you for the next TORn Amateur Symposium- coming in April. Happy writing!
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Meneldor
Valinor
Mar 1 2014, 7:12pm
Post #10 of 19
(390 views)
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as the alternate SNL Council of Elrond on FotR, if that helps.
They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.
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Aragorn the Elfstone
Tol Eressea
Mar 1 2014, 8:30pm
Post #11 of 19
(399 views)
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This article really goes to show how much campaigning...
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goes into something like RotK's Oscar sweep (to the point that certain people's jobs are actually on the line), even when many of us would like to say it won because it deserved it. That night holds many fond memories for me, but this aspect of the Oscars is what leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Leaving aside the fact that I am very often befuddled by AMPAS's choices each year, I hate the way the whole thing is like a political race. I hear things like "oh, so-and-so isn't winning the award because they haven't been hobnobbing with voters around town", and the like.
I also think about the many classic films that never won Best Picture, or any Oscars for that matter. I've found more joy in recent years in just enjoying movies and not getting hung up on who wins what.
That said, that night in 2004 was pretty joyous for all of us - and it was nice seeing PJ & Co. get recognition for all their hard work. That was a pretty unique situation, I think. We all felt, and continue to feel, quite a personal connection to these hardworking folk.
"The danger with any movie that does as well as this one does is that the amount of money it's making and the number of awards that it's got becomes almost more important than the movie itself in people's minds. I look at that as, in a sense, being very much like the Ring, and its effect on people. You know, you can kind of forget what we were doing, if you get too wrapped up in that."
- Viggo Mortensen
(This post was edited by Aragorn the Elfstone on Mar 1 2014, 8:34pm)
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Misty Mountain Hop
Rivendell
Mar 2 2014, 3:51am
Post #12 of 19
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That is really cool! So the question is...
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...will something like this be done for There And Back Again? I'm not sure how this all works, but it seems like there is a whole process about getting the votes and recognition, something that I had not been aware of until 5 minutes ago. Could they do the same thing and spend loads of money and work their behinds off and get TABA a possible Oscar shot?
"Only, you've never done a hard day's work." - Merry
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LordotRings93
Rohan
Mar 2 2014, 4:23am
Post #13 of 19
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I don't think it's ALL bribes and whatnot
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At least with LOTR's case, the Oscars went to the film trilogy as a whole, and RotK was really a crowning achievement with great emotional scope. You're telling me Into The West only won an Oscar because New Line bribed the Academy? It won an Oscar because it's a great and fitting song for the trilogy. I will agree that the Oscars NOWADAYS lean heavily on "Oscar bait" movies, like that 12 Years A Slave film.
Lover of Medieval Fantasy
"I know what I must do. It's just... I'm afraid to do it."
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Aragorn the Elfstone
Tol Eressea
Mar 2 2014, 4:48am
Post #14 of 19
(394 views)
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And what of the films that won before RotK? Things like Schindler's List, Forrest Gump, The English Patient, Titanic, Shakespeare in Love, A Beautiful Mind, among others? Most Oscar winning films have been what you'd categorize as "Oscar bait". And campaigning is always a part of it. To think that RotK was exempt from this is wishful thinking, imo. Look at the movies that won in the surrounding years: A Beautiful Mind, Chicago, Million Dollar Baby, Crash, The Departed, etc. Does that resemble an Academy that would freely vote for a fantasy film without some nudging?
As far as I'm concerned, RotK rightly deserved every award it received that night - but never in a million years would I believe that the majority of the Academy fell so hopelessly in love with the films that they just had to vote for it. Campaigning had a lot to do with it. I'd wager that many who still felt it was "fantasy rubbish" probably voted for it because they felt they had to (just like you'll hear some voters this year say they were compelled to vote for "that Slavery movie" because of it's historical importance - never mind the fact that it's a cinematic masterpiece).
It's just the way things operate each year. I got used to it myself over time - until I finally lost the taste for it.
"The danger with any movie that does as well as this one does is that the amount of money it's making and the number of awards that it's got becomes almost more important than the movie itself in people's minds. I look at that as, in a sense, being very much like the Ring, and its effect on people. You know, you can kind of forget what we were doing, if you get too wrapped up in that."
- Viggo Mortensen
(This post was edited by Aragorn the Elfstone on Mar 2 2014, 5:00am)
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Kirly
Lorien
Mar 2 2014, 3:39pm
Post #15 of 19
(371 views)
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Campaigning and how good the movie actually is.
Btw, I haven't yet seen 12 Years a Slave, which you described as a cinematic masterpiece. Is it really? I have wanted to see it for a long time but movies like this (Defiance, for example), I prefer to watch at home on a very bright sunny day. IMO, the Light deflects some of the darkness in the story.
My avatar photo is Lake Tekapo in New Zealand's South Island. Taken by me in 2004 on a Red Carpet Tours LOTR Movie Location Tour. 'Twas the Vacation of a Lifetime!
pictures taken while on the tour are here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Kirly7/LOTRNewZealandTour#
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Aragorn the Elfstone
Tol Eressea
Mar 2 2014, 8:04pm
Post #16 of 19
(359 views)
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I had the same type of reaction to the film that I had to, say, Schindler's List. It left me shaken and emotional. The film is both disturbing and life-affirming. It's one of those that I instantly knew would take a place on my top 10 list of the decade after walking out of the theater. Among other exemplary qualities, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender give mesmerizing performances that I don't think I'll ever forget.
But I suppose it also depends on your tolerance for difficult subjects. I feel it's a film that everyone should see, particularly in the U.S. This was a particularly dark period of our history, and I think we need to be reminded of it. Not only that, but such abductions into slavery are still happening around the world this very day.
"The danger with any movie that does as well as this one does is that the amount of money it's making and the number of awards that it's got becomes almost more important than the movie itself in people's minds. I look at that as, in a sense, being very much like the Ring, and its effect on people. You know, you can kind of forget what we were doing, if you get too wrapped up in that."
- Viggo Mortensen
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Magpie
Immortal
Mar 2 2014, 8:20pm
Post #17 of 19
(369 views)
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an interesting commentary on tv this morning
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by David Edelstein on CBS Sunday Morning about the Oscars:To those of you placing large bets based on which movies you like, play cards with me. Please! There's a world of hidden Oscar campaigning that determines these things. Nominees go to parties, weddings, brises.
... (and after commenting on various nominees)
You're on your own now, but let me remind you what the Oscars, for all their grandiosity, are not: a measure of cinematic greatness.
They're a game, a sport -- and if you watch in the right spirit, they're Olympian in their power to make you cheer . . . and gasp in horror.
http://www.cbsnews.com/...s-oscar-predictions/
LOTR soundtrack website ~ magpie avatar gallery
TORn History Mathom-house ~ Torn Image Posting Guide
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Kirly
Lorien
Mar 3 2014, 12:39am
Post #18 of 19
(345 views)
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Schindler's List - that I own and want to have available but rarely ever want to watch and only on a bright sunny day. Very painful topics these two.
My avatar photo is Lake Tekapo in New Zealand's South Island. Taken by me in 2004 on a Red Carpet Tours LOTR Movie Location Tour. 'Twas the Vacation of a Lifetime!
pictures taken while on the tour are here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/Kirly7/LOTRNewZealandTour#
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Loresilme
Valinor
Mar 3 2014, 7:29pm
Post #19 of 19
(362 views)
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Those were wonderfully touching to watch, thank you so much for sharing the links! It is amazing, what a first it was in so many ways. What a night. 11 Oscars, just.... wow.
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Indeed.//
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