[Iris Alantiel]

Hmmmm. I agree with what everyone has already said about the two articles - they seem really to be answering an entirely different question than they claim to be. They aren't referring to whether or not RotK has a chance at winning an Oscar, but whether each respective author, given the power to choose the recipient of the Best Picture award, would give it to RotK. I would have liked to see an article based on objective merit of the movies, or the internal politics of the Academy, or the fact that 85% of the movies that came out in 2003 were lame sequels that were just like their predecessors (case in point: Dumb and Dumberer, though I'm sure that won't be up for an Oscar). <P>Personally, I think Eomer is right: RotK really kind of has to win because, if it does, it will really be an award for all three films, just as, if it doesn't, it will really be an affront to all of the films. But then one of my friends has this theory that it might not win because fantasy is an underprivileged genre in the Academy, though I can't remember exactly what her argument is. (Apparently she's researched it, though.) I guess at this point, though, it's ultimately just a guessing game, at least until RotK comes to theatres.