Personally I have no problem with actors/actresses in general, it's just those that use any chance they have to bring attention to their political beliefs like Penn and Moore did. It was in bad taste, especially when you are accepting an award for something that is not political. I mean how hard is it to walk up on stage thank the cast, your family, and the academy and get your *** off the stage? That is one reason people like Jack Nicholson so much, he knows what he gets paid to do and when the camera is on he keeps his mouth shut about his personal views. There is nothing wrong with using your celebrity for a good cause, but it is sad when they have to use their pedestal to rant their complains, especially when they are being honored for an award in acting.
Sure just about everyone can act in some degree, but it's a whole different story when you are on stage or in front of a camera. Some people are just better at it then others are, but in contrast there are people that just have the looks and can't act worth a damn, then there are those that were in the right place at the right time. What's so great about the system though is that those who just have good looks and little or no acting ability end up being on those "Whatever happened to..." shows saying how they had to declare bankruptcy because the money all dried up.
If you are going to get ticked off about how much money actors make then you should really be pissed off at how much money athletes are making.
I also thought the LOTR movies were a bit long winded too, hell I even fell asleep during the first one and at the end of the third one. The good thing about the third one though was at least five times during the movie I wanted to get up and scream "This movie f*****g rocks!" Even if 2/3 of the movie bored the living hell out of me the 1/3 of the movie was well worth the other bunk you had to sit through to see the good parts.