The End of the Age

"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was, is lost, for none now live who remember it."

Alas, Galadriel is right. With the today's release of the final extended edition of the Return of the King, the end of era is upon us (COME ON! It's Tolkien - grandiosity required). For over five years I have been an online geek, following every spoiler alert, looking for pictures, reading stories, waiting with bated breath for the eventual release of the next installment of The Lord of the Rings. However, this December marks the first holiday season in which Peter Jackson didn't deliver a new film to those of us dwelling in Middle-earth nerd-dom. It's hard not to be let down.

But as I mentioned, we do get a little precious, The Return of the King with 50 minutes of additional footage added into the theatrical release (and which will be viewed on the big screen this Friday night @ JW). Like its predecessors, this extended edition will round out an already packed narrative and build greater depth into the characters. We will also finally get to see the final confrontations between not only Gandalf and Saruman, but Gandalf and the Witch King. The Mouth of Sauron and his revelation at the Black Gate will ratchet up the emotion, particulary as it relates to Frodo and Aragorn's last, desperate charge. I can't wait to see it. For a preview of the DVD, go to the official Lord of the Rings movie web-site.

The other thing that I will miss though is the way Peter Jackson allowed fans like me to participate in the movie-making process. Jackson himself is a fan and has not forgotten how important it is to include people in the telling of the story - and not just the movie narrative, but the story that happens as the film is being made. I enjoy watching all the extras on the DVD as much or more as the films themselves. Of course, this is not over because Peter Jackson is still making movies. To be exact, he is re-making King Kong. In re-making this movie, he has partnered with the best Lord of the Rings fan-site, The One Ring.net. They have created another great fan-site, this time for King Kong called Kong is King. Here's the amazing thing. If you go to that site, posted on the right site of the page are five-minute movies that Jackson has been filming called production diaries. By clicking on them you can actually watch the film itself being made as it is happening. Gone is having to wait for an after the fact DVD. Of course, these diaries will make it onto the DVD, I'm sure...but I gotta say, Jackson is a genius. What does this say to us about our desire to be included, to go behind the curtain and get involved. This is kind of a non-sequitur but what do our churches and leadership structures have to learn from this man?

Finally, one more bone for you fantasy geeks out there. Here's a link to a short-clip taking you behind the scenes of the making of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The clip features Richard Taylor, the man in charge (with Peter Jackson) of Weta, the New Zealand special effects company responsible for LOTR, King Kong, and now TCON. Amazing stuff.

Comments

[timsamoff]

And, of course, if you long for the old, less serious days of Peter Jacksondom, you can always rent classics like "Dead Alive" and "The Frighteners."

[doug]

Admittedly I am not the biggest fan of the LOTR movement; as a matter of fact I have not seen or really plan to any of the movies . . . can you two find it in your big warm hearts to still love and except me after that bombshell of a revelation ?

However, I was intrigued by a documentary on Tolkien last night on the Ovation Channel. What a fascinating man he was. What I found surprising was the psychedelic cult following of his during the '60's. Many musicians and beatniks alike were really into him and through LSD tried to find hidden meanings and messages of The Hobbit and LOTR (this really bothered Tolkien, along with people camping out in his lawn). Further more, the Beatles wanted to make the first LOTR movies, check this out :

John Lennon wanted to play the grasping, thieving creature Gollum in a 1960s Beatles version of the "Lord of the Rings," New Zealand movie director Peter Jackson told Wellington's Evening Post newspaper. Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, who was to play the hero Frodo in the movie, told Jackson about the plans at the Academy Awards in Hollywood, the Post reported.

"It was something John was driving and J.R.R. Tolkien still had the film rights at that stage but he didn't like the idea of the Beatles doing it. So he killed it," Jackson told the newspaper.

George Harrison was to play the wise wizard Gandalf who advises the hobbit Frodo in his quest to destroy the evil golden ring at the center of the epic tale of good versus evil, one of the most popular books of the 20th century. Ringo Starr was to play Frodo's devoted sidekick Sam, while Lennon would take the part of the hobbit-like creature that tracks the heroes throughout the story, trying to get his hands on the powerful ring.

"There probably would've been some good songs coming off the album," Jackson said of the Beatles' plan.

[doug]

ERROR CORRECTION

I meant to say "accept me", as in :
-To receive, especially with gladness or approval. -To admit to a group, organization, or place.

NOT "except me", as in :
-With the exclusion of; other than; but -To leave out; exclude -To object

darn English language, some many words to choose from and they all sound alike. sorry to waste time and space. at ease.

[Larry]

I was listening to one of the Mars Hill cd's a little while back that contained an interview with a literary critique who postulated that Tolkien was one of a group of what he called (IIRC) "traumatized authors". These were authors that he maintained had been severely traumatized by the industrialized warfare of the 20th century. Tolkien had been shot throught the neck, C.S. Lewis had been left for dead on the battlefield. He of course also include Vonnegut in this group, Vonnegut having survived the fire bombing of Dresden. The critic's point was that the trauma that these authors had suffered explained a lot of their work. Things like Tolkien's description of the hobbits as not liking mechanical things very much, and of course his depiction of elves.