Jack Black rocks, 'Rings' rolls at Oscars
Posted Monday, March 1, 2004 at 10:22 AM Central
by John Couture
If The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King had won any more awards, they would have renamed the Oscars, the Hobbits. Luckily, they weren't nominated for anymore.
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King made a clean sweep at the 76th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday winning in all 11 categories in which they were nominated. The eleven victories tied an Oscar record for most wins in a given year with Titanic and Ben-Hur.
On a night when all the front-runners took home golden statues, it was up to comic actors Jack Black and Will Ferrell to create lasting memories. Their "boring" song scored to the music that plays when winners overextend their welcome at the podium stole the show poking fun at the audience and ending as a free commercial for Del Taco.
Host Billy Crystal returned to serve as master of ceremonies after a four year absence, bringing with him his trademark montage opening, where he inserts himself into nominated movies and Best Picture musical number.
Airing with a five second delay thanks to Janet Jackson and her "wardrobe malfunction" during the Superbowl halftime show, the Oscars were noticeably free from controversy and politics which has been a running theme of late. The closest this year's incarnation came to addressing world issues was during Best Actor Sean Penn's acceptance speech when he said "If there's one thing that actors know, other than there weren't any WMDs, it's that there is no such thing as best in acting."
Best Actress winner Charlize Theron thanked everyone in South Africa, her birth country, as a nod to the jokes that with The Lord Of The Rings' eleven wins everyone in New Zealand had been thanked and people were moving there just to be thanked.
A complete list of winners:
Best Picture The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Actor In A Leading Role Sean Penn, Mystic River
Actress In A Leading Role Charlize Theron, Monster
Actor In A Supporting Role Tim Robbins, Mystic River
Actress In A Supporting Role Renee Zellweger, Cold Mountain
Directing Peter Jackson, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Original Screenplay Sofia Coppola, Lost In Translation
Adapted Screenplay Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Animated Feature Film Finding Nemo
Art Direction Grant Major, Dan Hennah and Alan Lee, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Cinematography Russell Boyd, Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Costume Design Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Documentary Feature The Fog Of War
Documentary Short Subject Chernobyl Heart
Film Editing Jamie Selkirk, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Foreign Language Film The Barbarian Invasions (Canada)
Makeup Richard Taylor and Peter King, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Music (Original Score) Howard Shore, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Music (Original Song) 'Into The West' by Fran Walsh, Howard Shore and Annie Lennox, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Short Film (Animated) Harvie Krumpet
Short Film (Live Action) Two Soldiers
Sound Editing Richard King, Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Sound Mixing Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek, 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