Wild Hotel Rendezvous and Oscar Thoughts

By Susan Thea Posnock

So, Friday afternoon I was in a hotel room with Sean Astin and Andy Serkis. Now get your minds out of the gutter people! I’m a hobbit fiend, not a hobbit slut!

That’s right, I participated in one of those wild and crazy press days in New York City. Unfortunately, I was a bastard child from the start. First the New Line folks gave me the wrong time, so I arrived late, then there wasn’t even a chair for me at the cozy little press table, and then after it was over I discovered my recorder wasn’t working. Such is my life. I guess I should just be glad New Line actually let me attend the roundtable, versus putting a restraining order on my obsessed ass.

Anyway, a very kind fellow reporter said he would send me the Sean Astin interview, so I’ll share some of it in a future column. (Update: The bastard never sent the tape!)

In the meantime, some quick thoughts: I think I’m taller than both Andy Serkis and Sean Astin. They are both adorable in person. (I saw them at Trilogy Tuesday in NYC, but only from a distance.) Sean answered a question of mine and looked right at me the entire time he was talking. Damn my freakin’ tape recorder!

I felt very much like a fan. Well, lets face it; I’m not an objective journalist when it comes to these films. I didn’t want to be conducting an interview; I wanted to have a conversation about “The Lord of the Rings.”

I guess these press events are part of New Line’s Oscar campaign. In the coming weeks I’ll be looking at “Return of the King’s” chances in every potential category. After all, this is OscarWatch.

Everybody and their grandmother seem to think it’s a lock for a Best Picture nomination this year—and the likely winner. Ditto Peter Jackson’s chances for Best Director.

At this point, I do think the Oscar prospects are very good. But everyone is always gunning for the top contender. I think New Line needs to keep the film in front of voters, without overkill. Borrow the Miramax charm and drop the obnoxiousness? I don’t think one should ever underestimate the power of backlash. Though, in the shortened Oscar season it seems less likely.

Anyway, the idea that ROTK is not the type of film the Academy usually picks is, frankly, bullshit. It is epic and sweeping and beautiful and well acted. I know I wrote in my last column that if it doesn’t win Best Picture it doesn’t really matter. Well, I lied. To me it will sink the credibility of the Academy to less than zero. And I know there’s nothing the members of the Academy want to do more than please me and have my respect. I’ve watched the Oscars every year as long as I can remember. If ROTK doesn’t win the top prize, I will never watch it again. I know that not everyone thinks it’s the best film of the year or even close. I know there is such a thing as personal opinion. Let everyone who feels differently from me be disappointed. This is the year to honor this film (and by default, the entire trilogy).

Obviously, I’m biased. But I’m making it a point to see all the major Oscar contenders this year. So far I’ve seen “Lost in Translation,” “Mystic River,” “Seabiscuit,” “Bad Santa” (not exactly Oscar bait, but very funny), “Big Fish,” “The Last Samurai” and “American Splendor.” Next on my list are “Master and Commander” and “Cold Mountain.” And, I plan to see films with potential Academy Award acting nominations, like “21 Grams” and “House of Sand and Fog.”

However, I have a bit of a dilemma. I recently left my full-time job to pursue LOTR-related activities 24/7 (you know, taping Elijah Wood on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” catching Sean Astin on “The View” and other important tasks). As a result, I am currently broke. (It doesn’t help that I’ve paid to see ROTK three times including Trilogy Tuesday, and I just saw the trilogy again at Lincoln Center.)

So if you work for a major studio and you want me to compare your film to ROTK, I will gladly accept a screening invite and give my fairest assessment. Maybe one of the films I haven’t seen is better than ROTK. Perhaps I’ll change the name of my column to “Diary of a Civil War Epic Fiend.” Okay, I wouldn’t bet on it, but you never know.

Stay tuned for my detailed coverage of Lord of the Rings weekend, more detailed Oscar thoughts, and my official 10 (give or take a few) Best of 2003 (believe it or not, it includes other films besides ROTK).

(Originally published on OscarWatch.com. ©2004 OscarWatch All Rights Reserved.)