The Lord of the Rings and this year's Oscar Nominations

I'm including the following full list for reference, with the six categories that are generally regarded as major highlighted in red, and LotR:RotK's 11 nominations highlighted in green.

As you can see, out of the top six awards, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was only nominated for two of them. Not a single cast member was recognized for his or her performance in the production.

In a way, I can almost understand the hesitance of the Academy voters. The films have been such strong ensemble pieces that it is truly difficult to pull out a single cast member for recognition. Nevertheless, difficult or not, that is their task; their responsibility as voters. However, I am not necessarily suggesting that the voters shirked that job: in fact, the very power of the ensemble cast may have worked against it. For example, if some voters selected Bernard Hill, while others selected Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen, or Andy Serkis, then no one cast member would have enough votes to make the final nomination cut.

If no single actor received a plurality, then that individual's vote numbers would not have been able to compete, even if the LotR vote totals for the cast was comparatively high. Indeed, voters may have counted on this problematic issue, and thus avoided voting for individual cast members entirely. One can mention Gone With the Wind as an example of a perfectly-cast film in which the Academy recognized numerous individual performances, however, there were far fewer characters in that film, and it was but one picture, not a three-film epic.

What I would wish to see, as a viewer, would be some sort of special awards presentation to the cast as a whole. That would do justice to the remarkable shared achievement that is Lord of the Rings.

As a side note, it appears that X-Men 2 and both of the Matrix movies were, unfortunately, completely overlooked in the categories listed above, even for Film Editing, Visual Effects, and Sound Editing, though I know there's an additional list for technical awards that I haven't yet seen.

Additionally, I agree wholeheartedly with those who are saying it's a crime that LotR: RotK wasn't nominated for Cinematography, but I recognize the limitations of the Academy, and the difficulty they face in getting their heads out of their collective bums. However, I don't ask much of them. Nope, I will be content if they don't split the Director/Picture awards this year, and if the Rings saga gets both. The entire cast and crew deserves it. If the Academy cannot grasp the truly monumental effort of almost a decade of work and give appropriate accolades, then it truly does not deserve the honor of selecting the best of the best.

We have seen great injustices done in the past by the Academy, especially when it comes to genre films. My hope is that 2004 will be the exception, rather than the rule. Of the numerous films that deserve recognition, Lord of the Rings stands head and shoulders above them. Please, may it be that its merits triumph over the Academy's history of pandering to that which is traditional, staid, safe, and quickly forgotten.