Bret McKenzie, who will play Lindir in the upcoming “Hobbit” films, is up for an Academy Award, but it might not be the one you would expect.
McKenzie wrote a number of songs for the recently released film, “The Muppets,” starring Amy Adams, Jason Segel, Kermit, the Frog, and Miss Piggy. One of his extremely memorable songs is “Man or Muppet,” which has been nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Original Song.
“I’m having a great day,” McKenzie told Stuff.co.nz. “It’s a great way to start a day with news you’ve been nominated for an Oscar.” This year, only two songs have been nominated, and according to McKenzie, “It means I have a 50 per cent chance of the award, which is great. The only thing which would be better would be if there was one nomination.”
McKenzie’s talents will come as no surprise to fans of his musical act, Flight of the Conchords. “It really opened a lot of doors in Hollywood,” he said. “The most unlikely people are Conchords fans.” Those fans include fellow “Hobbit” actors Ian McKellen and Hugo Weaving. If McKenzie does win an Oscar, maybe it with be the incentive they need to start developing “The Hobbit: The Musical.”
