Long-time creative collaborators Bill Condon and Laurence Mark -- who most recently teamed up to co-produce "Dreamgirls," a former Academy favorite in its own right -- were hired this year as first-time Oscar show producers. Yahoo! Movies was offered the opportunity to sit down to interview them (unfortunately at the last moment Bill Condon became indisposed), so I sat down to pry for secrets and see what they have in store for this year's TV audience.
Along with its eleven Oscars -- including Best Picture -- and its piles and piles of cash, Peter Jackson's epic saga of wizards, hobbits, and lethal jewelry can claim one more prize: according to Yahoo! Movies users it is the "Ultimate Best Picture." With over a total of over 700,000 votes cast, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" vanquished Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" to win the coveted title.
This is it. The final round of the "Ultimate Best Picture" deathmatch is here and only one "Godfather" movie is still standing. With over a half million total votes thus far, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" managed to edged out "The Godfather, Part II" in the semi-finals, while the "The Godfather" crushed "Schindler's List" gain entrance into the last round. So which movie will be crowned the greatest "Best Picture" winner of all time? You decide. Voting ends Monday at noon PT.
For Round Three, it's the Corleone clan facing off against Steven Spielberg's monochrome masterpiece and it's "The Godfather, Part II" battling against Peter Jackson's sprawling epic. Who will win? You decide. The polls close on Friday the 13th.
Round Two of voting is really heating up. Currently, "The Godfather, Part II" holds a sizable lead over "Titanic," but "The Lord of the Rings" is ahead of "Forrest Gump" by just a nose. Today's lineup presents two more tough choices. You've got two movies set around World War II, but a million miles apart in tone: "The Sound of Music" and "Schindler's List." And two critical and financial powerhouses from the 1970s duke it out: "The Godfather" against "Rocky."
The other top winners: Kate Winslet, best actress for the Holocaust-themed drama "The Reader"; Sean Penn, best actor for the title role of "Milk"; Heath Ledger, supporting actor for "The Dark Knight"; and Penelope Cruz, supporting actress for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." more »