[Iris Alantiel]

Actually, I was really excited to see RotK win as many Oscars as it did. I actually cheered out loud when they got Best Director and Best Picture (my housemates must have hated me that night). I think that, despite all of the grousing and complaining over all that had to be changed or left out (and I'm the first to get mad about certain changes), Peter Jackson did a really good job and deserves to be rewarded.

Yes, there were things that could have been done better. Of course there were. But in spite of all those little things, when I look at the big picture of the trilogy, it really felt as if I was actually witnessing the world of Middle Earth that I've grown up loving. Jackson really captured the spirit of ME well, at least IMHO. What's more, I think he did a fairly good job striking the right balance between pleasing the hardcore Tolkienites and making a movie people could appreciate even if they hadn't read the books - not an easy task, I might add!

I agree with you about one thing - I'd also rather sit down with the books than sit through the movies. But as far as I'm concerned, the books shouldn't really come into the discussion of the movie's Oscar winnings (except maybe in the Adapted Screenplay category). As I understand it, the point of the Oscars isn't to judge how well the movies adhered to Tolkien's vision of Middle Earth; they're to reward movies that were well made, independent of the book they were taken from.

But then all that is just my opinion, and you're certainly entitled to yours.