[The Iron Duke]

'fantasies don't win'

But Hollywood is also a sucker for movies made from great novels so the truisms cancel each other out.

I continue to hope for the best because the Academy does like to reward moviemakers who gamble and win, both financially and creatively. In another close year, Hollywood surprised the heck out of me by doing just that when they honored the very non-PC Braveheart with Best Picture and Best Director in 1995.

Like LOTR, Braveheart with its epic battle of good against evil was a major creative and financial gamble that paid off for its makers. Who would have thought you could make a hit out of a three hour movie about some obscure historical figure who had died almost 700 years ago?

[Lucius Cornelius Sulla]

The argument about fantasies is rather circular, I think. They say fantasies don't win, but don't point to the fact that LOTR is the only big budget movie ever made from a fantasy with a signifigant literary reputation. Oh well, Best Picture award in a little more than 7 hours now!