Oscar Buzz about LOTR

Lord of the Rings Trilogy Forum

LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- Las Vegas has been disseminating odds on who will win Oscars for years, though actual betting on the outcome of the annual Academy Awards contest isn't allowed there.

But with the advent of legal online betting, offshore companies not only take bets on who will win but on who will be nominated.

This year's overwhelming favorite for a best picture nomination is "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," according to odds posted at http://www.BetWWTS.com. It's such a lock, in fact, that a bettor will win a scant $1 for each $20 wagered if the film is nominated.

Rounding out the field of favorites for a best picture nomination are, in order, "Mystic River," "Cold Mountain," "Big Fish" and "House of Sand and Fog."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) will announce the nominations for the 76th Academy Awards on January 27, 2004.

"Invariably, we're the first to get odds up, and invariably, we offer the biggest selection of bets," said Stuart Doyle, chief betting officer at BetWWTS.com, an Antigua-based firm that takes primarily sports bets.

In fact, BetWWTS.com also is offering a whole slew of wagers surrounding Wednesday's opening of "The Return of the King." The over-under for the film's three-day opening, for example, is $65 million, and it's heavily favored to beat the five-day opening tally of slightly more than $102 million for its predecessor, "The Two Towers."

You can even bet on whether the movie gets more or fewer than 9.5 Oscar nominations.

Doyle said the site boasts only about 50 users who regularly bet on movie box office performances each week, making that aspect of its business more an attention getter than a profit center. But the Academy Awards garner about 1,500 bettors each year.

I really hope ROTK finally gets some serious nods from the academy this year, best effects and sound editing just won't cut it this time around. The problem is the fantasy genre is widely considered 'not quite artsy enough' to win serious awards, but i would hope people would realize this isn't your typical fantasy trilogy.
Personally, i would be satisfied with a best director recognization for Jackson and his tremendous effort, but best picture sure would be nice too.

yeah...they get awards..but the awards they win seem kinda cheap, considering how monumentally awsome these movies are. oh well you take what you can get.

I still say Ian McKellan was robbed. He was so wonderful as Gandalf. I hope he and Vigo get nominations at least.

i think that sean astin deserves not only a nomination, but the award for best supporting actor. i thought he was absolutely amazing in his role of sam. i was so into the character. what does everyone else think?

Well, I don't get to see the movie until Sunday, but so far Sean has been awesome. He is the perfect Samwise. Just enough humility, humor, and emotion to the role.

I still love Ian as Gandalf. He is so awesome in that role.

you are going to love it. it was absolutely amazing...i saw it wednesday afternoon and i'm still on a "high" if you know what i mean....i can't wait to go see it again.

heh...i'm still on a high too...i only saw it today though...whooo...loved it. but yeah..kudos to all involved...it was the best 3 and 1/2 hours of my life. i liked ian as gandalf too...they got him perfectly. course, i think they got all the characters pretty much perfect, except for faramir, whom they ruined, and then screwed over.