At the end of the show, when all the winners were up on stage, they did a shot from the behind and there were the hobbits all hugging each other and Liv and everyone else who PJ had brought up with him.

Awww so cute.

And from yesterday's NYT: "A Night Out with Dominic Monaghan."

Someone over at Oscarwatch went and saw RotK yesterday afternoon, before the show, and said that the theater was packed full. Funny thing, quite a few of the younger kids there were unaccompanied by adults--it seems that quite a few parents are seeing "The Passion..." and dropping the kids off at RotK.

RotK as a babysitting film--you learn something new every day, I guess!

E-mail from a friend on last night:

You know, every time the Lord of the Rings people won something the camera panned to Frodo and the gang and I had the same sort of reaction. I was really glad they won because it just feels like they've been through sooo much. With the wars and the ring and all.

Then I was like, wait a minute, it was a movie. But then, that reminded me of just what a marvelously engrossing adventure the three movies have been. To see those characters -- even when they're out of character -- on the screen and to have some sort of visceral reaction.

Favorite LOTR-related pics (links subject to change - from yahoo):

Everybody on stage

Dom, Elijah and PJ hugging

Fran, Philippa and PJ accepting

Wish I could find a pic that showed Sean or Elijah's faces on stage or one of the four hobbits in their seats.

cereal:

OK. That Night Out with Dom story that sumi linked to made me kinda sad. He seems SOOOO Bored. Auditioning for TV shows? Hanging out with his physical trainer? I think I need to move to L.A. and comfort him...

OK. That Night Out with Dom story that sumi linked to made me kinda sad. He seems SOOOO Bored. Auditioning for TV shows? Hanging out with his physical trainer? I think I need to move to L.A. and comfort him...

Ahhh! It's my fear realized. Dom's not going to get any work, he's going to blow all his money on cocaine and Playstation 2 games, and wind up doing dinner theater in Wales.

I think I need to move to L.A. and comfort him...

Don't worry. I'll get right on it. Unless someone distracts me with Billy Boyd's contact information.

You have been warned.

Dom's not going to get any work, he's going to blow all his money on cocaine and Playstation 2 games, and wind up doing dinner theater in Wales.

Whaaaaaa! I don't wanna see mug shots of Dom coked up!

Don't worry. I'll get right on it.

Whaaaaa! I wanna comfort him. I love Korean bbq and bad video games. And we smoke the same brand of cigs - it's meant to be.

goes madly hunting for Billy's contact info

I love that everybody with the LOTR posse got to go up on stage for the Best Picture award, not just the folks who were getting statues.

In a weird way, I felt like *I* was getting the award. I've followed the progress of this movie project for years; agonized over each cast and crew choice, discussed each change in the script.

Actually, that's the one award I wasn't a total fan of - I don't think ROTK was the Best Adapted Screenplay this year. But if I look at it as an award for adapting LOTR into 3 movies, okay.

I was seriously concerned that Seabiscuit was going to get Adapted Screenplay, which considering that, IMO, that was the weakest element of the film, I would have probably heaved my wine glass at the TV. Also, Mystic River had too many gaping plot holes for my tastes (last ten minutes, especially), which I attribute to the writer, even though it's probably the director's fault for cutting out the scenes that would explain Laura Linney's character's motivations.

If City of God or American Splendor had won instead of RotK, I would have been okay with that, but still, it was nice seeing Phillipa get her Oscar.