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Click on any picture to see a larger version. Move mouse over picture for explanatory text. IMPORTANT NOTICE: All images on this site are Copyright Ian Smith and may not be reproduced or sold on Ebay, or copied outright to other fan sites without my express permission! Quotes are based on a mini-disc recording and may contain errors owing to high noise levels from party attendees.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of Ian Smith (this IS a personal web site and a PERSONAL report!) and do not reflect the views and opinions of any other organisations or clubs that Ian Smith belongs to or may be involved with. Specifically this article does not purport to represent in any shape or form the views or opinions of TheOneRing.net or the Official Lord of the Rings Movie Fan Club or any of its members. At the start of the evening while people filtered into the main hall Dorian Mirth were playing recorders, seemingly happy to serve as a musical backdrop for those reacquainting themselves with old friends and meeting and greeting each other in the main hall. The 'Red Carpet' part of the oscar broadcast wasn't projected on the huge screens that were fitted in the main halls, which gave many an excuse to hit the bar, and take a look around the venue.
		The free bar was a huge success again and I was impressed with the efficiency of all four bars that I visited on my quick tours throughout the evening (hic!). Downstairs a magnificent 'Lord of the Rings' pinball machine (we wantssss it, my precious) was receiving surprisingly little attention - an indication that there was so much to see elsewhere, I guess. The usual auctions (wish I'd not got caught up with 'work' or I'd have bid on the silver Ringwraith on steed) and raffles were held and this year official party t-shirts seemed to be in more plentiful supply. One dark corridor hid a Shelob-like spider, with nasty sticky cobwebs hanging from the roof causing almost as much consternation to many of the female attendees who got their expensively coiffured hair caught up in it as they'd caused poor old Frodo in the movies. An over-sized chair was available in the small downstairs bar, with a similarly over-sized sofa also on display in the VIP room. This naturally inspired much photo-taking as people took advantage of the ability to depict themselves as if they were small hobbits participating in an over-sized human event. A professional photographer with a small room set up as his studio was also in attendance, so that friends dressed up in the best frocks and tuxes could get a quality, permanent memento of the evening. All-in-all the party was going fairly well, but I sensed some negativity over the lack of red carpet broadcast, with too many people assuming that this meant there might be problems with broadcasting the actual oscar ceremony itself. These concerns weren't allayed by the announcement, in the VIP area, that the 'No transmission' messages on the TV screens were because of 'technical problems' that were being looked at. Eeeek! I've seen first-hand how people can be very unforgiving about these things, even though it's always extremely difficult to get things technically 100% perfect on the night, as was evidenced at the New Line party down the road. According to press reports New Line party attendees had a pretty miserable time of it because they were unable to get their broadcast technical problems sorted, so it's a real credit to all those 'back room' TORn technicians that we didn't suffer in similar fashion, and the initial negativity I'd detected quickly vanished. I wish all party goers could have witnessed the sheer blood, sweat and tears that was going down in the small techie's room downstairs from the main hall as Arathorn, a volunteer who'd flown in from the UK just to help with the party, led a team that seemed to be having to cope with one minor disaster after another that was not of their own making. I have to say it was a real relief to see him much later in the evening, far less stressed out and clearly much happier with the way things were going. A major web site crash, lack of webcam and problems with broadcast transmission were just some of the problems the team working down there had to cope with on the night and coped with to such an extent that most will not have known there were any problems at all. Good job! With the oscar broadcast transmission problems fixed I felt the party really moved up a few gears right from Billy Crystal's opening movie pastiche, affectionately parodying Lord of the Rings, and featuring a special appearance of Jack Nicholson as a Gandalf/Matrix hybrid. All-in-all I felt that Crystal's opening parody couldn't have got the broadcast ceremony, and the TORn fan party itself, off to a better start. Excitement reached fever pitch and the whole room seemed to sense that tonight was going to be OUR night for winning oscars.. Press reviews the next morning were hyper-critical of the awards ceremony. I didn't understand this as I thought it had been a great broadcast: fast, funny, witty and entertaining for the most part. I detected a strong whiff of hypocrisy in the constant media complaints about how 'boring' it was for New Zealand winners to thank their families etc, given how often we've had to suffer much longer lists of names from American winners in the past! Press criticism aside, the party-goers certainly seemed to enjoy the broadcast and every glimpse of a cast member bought screams and applause, to the extent it was impossible to hear any celebrity audience interviews that featured an LOTR actor in the background. You can imagine the reaction when the movie started winning awards! Ear-piercing shrieks aside, I'm always impressed by the intelligence of the average fan at this sort of gathering. There are always a few "mindless" devotees of course but it was something of a relief to find out that I wasn't the only one surprised (heck, disappointed even!) at Return of the King winning the best adapted screenplay award. Not because I didn't want the movie to win every oscar going, but because in winning that particular award I felt the other awards it rightfully won were somehow belittled as a result. .When the movie won 'Best Song' the signs were pretty clear that it was going to be a good night, but with the award of the 'Best Adapted Screenplay' everyone suddenly realised it was going to be the 'clean sweep' that Steven Spielberg later announced. Of course the atmosphere was fantastic at the fan party - you'd have thought most party goers had won the oscars themselves! I actually found myself feeling sorry for the winners that they were in a rather stuffy theatre rather than gathered with the fans in enthusiastic celebration! When the 'Best Director' oscar was announced things peaked (if only I'd known so that my camera could have caught it!) with two canons firing streamers and glitter into the crowd. Whether this rather premature peak was deliberate, or just the organisers not wanting to tempt fate by waiting in case ROTK didn't win 'Best Movie' I'm not sure. With the oscar broadcast over it's safe to say that all the party-goers were happy. It had been a great evening, the bars were open and now was the time to celebrate. Alas, I only had time to say the briefest of 'Hello's to people I've met at previous events, because it was time to take up position in the press area and wait for the celebrity arrivals. It was nice to see Vicky and Dan Wang from my New Zealand trip (and a couple of other people from the Rohan tour who's names I've forgotten - doh!), and also to see Erica and Thomas, now married, again (alas, the photo I took of them is as unflattering as the one I took of Garfy and Billy last year so I've decided to do them a favour and not publish it here!). Too many friends, and no time to chat to them, alas. Outside I maintained my vigil, expecting a long wait for the first arrivals. As it turned out, it wasn't much of a wait at all. Forward to page 3 of report Back to page 1 of report Celebrity arrivals and quotes (original report)
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Email: ian@iansmith.co.uk