Middle-earth in film also became the most-nominated in the Academy's history, surpassing the "Godfather" series' 28 (with the release of "The Hobbit", the series currently has 36 nominations total). Its 11 Oscars at the 2004 Academy Awards tied it for most awards won for one film with "Titanic" six years earlier and the 1959 version of "Ben-Hur." It also broke the previous "sweep" record, beating "Gigi" and "The Last Emperor" (which each took 9 out of 9). "The Return of the King" also made movie history as the highest-grossing film opening on a Wednesday and was the second film after "Titanic" to earn
Ben Hur Live it received mixed reviews from theatre critics. Ben Hur Live Ben Hur Live is a 2009 stage adaptation of Lew Wallace's novel "". Produced by Franz Abraham with music and narration by Stewart Copeland, it premièred on 17 September 2009 at the O2 Arena in London, the first date of its European tour. The show's dialogue is in Latin and Aramaic, and it includes a sea battle and gladiatorial combat, as well as the chariot race for which "Ben Hur" is famous. It is based primarily on the book as its source material rather than the Academy Award-winning adaptation which