Crowning Glory

Return of the King – the third and final film in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings series – made a clean sweep of the 2004 Academy Awards, winning 11 Oscars including Best Picture and Director. It is the only film ever to win in every category for which it was nominated. The total number of awards won brings it level with record-holders Ben Hur (1960) and Titanic (1998). Said an elated Peter Jackson, “I’m so honoured, touched and relieved that the members of the Academy have supported us, that they’ve seen past the trolls, wizards and hobbits (by) recognizing fantasy this year. Fantasy is an F-word that hopefully the five-second delay won’t do anything with.” The number of Kiwi accents on stage prompted host Billy Crystal to quip, “It is now official: There is nobody left in New Zealand to thank … You know people are moving to New Zealand, just to be thanked.”