Early awards ignore Kong and Narnia

Peter Jackson

The chances of New Zealand-made movies getting Oscar nominations for anything other than technical awards have fallen with their absence from a major Oscar predictor's nominations.

Neither King Kong director Peter Jackson nor Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe director Andrew Adamson were nominated by the Directors Guild of America for its annual award.

The DGA nominees were George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck), Paul Haggis (Crash), Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain), Bennett Miller (Capote) and Steven Spielberg (Munich).

Adamson was considered an outsider but Jackson was thought to have some chance after receiving a Golden Globe nomination for best director and excellent reviews for King Kong.

At least four DGA award nominees usually go on to earn Oscar nominations, and their movies usually get best picture nominations as well.

Oscar predictors say it is highly unusual for directors absent from the DGA nominations to win an Oscar.

Jackson was nominated for the DGA award for the three Lord of the Rings films from 2001-2003 - the first-ever nominated for the award for three consecutive years - and won in 2003, the year that The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won 11 Oscars.

Both King Kong and Chronicles of Narnia also missed out on acting nominations from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Naomi Watts (King Kong) and Tilda Swinton (Narnia) were acclaimed by critics for their performances, but were out of favour with the SAG.

However, there were New Zealand connections in the SAG nominations.

Two actresses from the United States film North Country, directed by New Zealander Niki Caro, earned nominations - Charlize Theron for best actress and Frances McDormand for best supporting actress.

New Zealand-born Russell Crowe earned a best actor nomination for his part in Cinderella Man.

Brokeback Mountain, a gay cowboy romance film, is the strong favourite to star on Oscar night.

While they are out of favour for directing, acting and best picture, an Oscar-monitoring website predicts King Kong has a good chance of receiving nine Oscar nominations and Narnia six.

Oscarwatch.com predicted both films were strong contenders to be nominated for visual effects, art direction, costumes and makeup, and that both had a good chance for a nomination for best original score.

It also predicted that King Kong had good prospects for nominations for editing, cinematography, sound mixing and sound editing - and an outside chance for adapted screenplay - and that Narnia could earn a best original song nomination.

Oscarwatch also listed Kong as an outsider to earn nominations for best picture, best director and best actress for Naomi Watts, though the guild announcements meant history is not on its side.

Both fantasies have made a strong impact at the US box office.

Narnia has grossed US$247.6 million ($358 million) in five weeks and King Kong US$192.5 ($278 million) in four weeks.

Kong has grossed less than expected in the United States, although its worldwide total has hit US$464.5 million ($671 million).

- NZPA