Ian McKellen, leikari Gandalfs í The Lord of the Rings er nokkuð viss um að Lord of the Rings eigi eftir að vinna Óskarinn sem besta myndin. Aðalástæða þess er að heimur Tolkiens er svo vinsæll meðal kvikmyndagerðamanna í Hollywood.

“I think the film has received so many nominations because Hollywood filmmakers are thinking ‘my god I wish I’d worked on that.”

“I'll stick my neck out and say it's going to win Best Picture.”

En McKellen segir að tilkomumestu persónunar í Lord of the Rings, ss. Balrog hafi verið mikið tilkomuminni í stúdíóinu sjálfu.

“Although the Balrog was made to look huge and terrifying on screen, in the studio it was just a yellow tennis ball on a pole.”

“I was yelling ‘you shall not bounce!’. Actors are just kids who never grew up.”