How Weinstein Almost Ruined "Lord of the Rings" with Quentin Tarantino

Scene from Lord of the Rings

Nowadays it's tough to imagine a world without Peter Jackson directing the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Clocking in at over 12 hours in extended edition, the series has become the peak of the modern epic, pushing visual effects in new and exciting ways. It also created a faithfulness to the source material that was ambitious while also earning billions at the box office along with earning over a dozen Oscars and a Best Picture in just three years. But news has recently broke of just how different things could've gone. Had the producer Harvey Weinstein had his way, things would be different for Jackson. He wouldn't even be there and the film wouldn't even be what it is now seen as.

Best Song: "Into the West" (2003)

Scene from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Welcome to Best Song, a new weekly column released on Sunday dedicated to chronicling the Best Original Song category over the course of its many decades. The goal is to listen to and critique every song that has ever been nominated in the category as well as find the Best Best Song and the Best Loser. By the end, we'll have a comprehensive list of this music category and will hopefully have a better understanding not only of the evolution, but what it takes to receive a nomination here. It may seem easy now, but wait until the bad years.

Ranking Oscar-Nominated Films With More Than 10 Wins

Ladies and gentleman, the time is upon us. In only a short 10 days, this year's Academy Awards ceremony will be held and we'll know for sure who is this year's Best Picture. Will it be The Revevenant? The Big Short? Spotlight? Who knows for sure. With that said, it's time to countdown to the big day by highlighting the final moments of double digits for Oscar prognosticators. Kicking things off will be films that won 10 or more Oscars. Which of the few is better than them all? You'll have to read on to find out.

Nothing But the Best: "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003)

Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

Failed Oscar Campaigns: City of God (2002)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

My Top 20 Favorite Post-1970's Academy Award Best Picture Winners

As someone who enjoys writing about the Oscars for fun, I have also tried to make a decision to watch all of the Best Picture winners. At very least, this would help me to understand the cultural impact more and notice trends. I have gone through some highs and lows, and in the end, I come away with expectations that were either met or disappointed. In the past week, I have reached a new milestone with my goal and have seen every film that has won after 1970. The following is a compilation of my top 20 favorite as well as some honorable mentions and the five that I felt were least deserving (hint: I found some I liked less than Crash)