NZ Oscar hopes rest on absentee Jackson's shoulders

The second part of Peter Jackson's epic Lord of the Rings trilogy is up for best film at the Oscars today (2.00pm NZT), but New Zealand's most successful director won't be there to pick it up if it wins.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the second in the trilogy, has been nominated for five other Academy Awards - all technical - compared to 13 nominations last year for The Fellowship of the Ring, which won four.

Many actors and directors have cancelled appearances at the annual Academy Awards bash in Los Angeles over security fears heightened by the start of the United States-led war on Iraq.

However, Jackson said he and co-writer and partner Fran Walsh were staying home in Wellington to work on the third part of the trilogy The Return of the King.

Lord of the Rings Minister Pete Hodgson revived New Zealand's Hollywood profile on Saturday night by throwing a party for about 250 people in Beverly Hills to highlight New Zealand film-making.

The Two Towers is up against the musical Chicago, which received 13 nominations, Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, the Virginia Woolf-related drama The Hours and the dark Holocaust saga The Pianist for best picture.

The New Zealand Academy Awards nominees are:

Jackson, Walsh and Barrie Osborne - for best picture.

Michael Horton - best film editing, the second time he has been nominated for his work on The Lord of The Rings.

Christopher Boyes, Michael Semanick, Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek - best sound.

Ethan Van der Ryn and Michael Hopkins - for sound editing.

Jim Rygiel, Joe Letteri, Randall William Cook and Alex Funke - visual effects.

Grant Major, Dan Hennah and Alan Lee - art direction.

- NZPA, REUTERS