Short Takes / The rest of the best

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’

Grant Major, Dan Hennah, Alan Lee

All this year’s nominees were for period films, but the similarities largely ended there. In what proved a harbinger of things to come, “The Lord of Rings: The Return of the Kings” won its first award of the evening for art direction.

Grant Major, art director, had been nominated without winning for both “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,” as was set decorator Dan Hennah. Set decorator Alan Lee had been previously nominated for “The Two Towers.”

In his acceptance speech, Major acknowledged the moment by saying, “It’s been a long journey for us all, and it’s just such an incredible high note to have finished it on.”

Hennah thanked New Line executives and expressed appreciation for the late Carla Fry, who served as executive in charge of production on the massive project until the time of her death in April 2002.

Lee summed up the gratitude list by thanking the “real wizard,” director Peter Jackson.