Posted on 03/14/2002 5:07:26 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
This is a continuation of the infamous thread New Zealander Builds Hobbit Hole originally posted on January 26, 2001 by John Farson, who at the time undoubtedly thought he had found a rather obscure article that would elicit a few replies and die out. Without knowing it, he became the founder of the Hobbit Hole. For reasons incomprehensible to some, the thread grew to over 4100 replies. It became the place for hobbits and friends of hobbits to chit chat and share LoTR news and views, hang out, and talk amongst ourselves in the comfort of familiar surroundings.
In keeping with the new posting guidelines, the thread idea is continuing here, as will the Green Dragon Inn, our more structured spin-off thread, as soon as we figure out how to move all the good discussion that has been had there. As for the Hobbit Hole, we will just start fresh, bringing only a few mathoms such as the picture above with us to make it feel like home, and perhaps a walk down memory lane:
Our discussion has been light:
It very well may be that a thread named "New Zealander builds Hobbit hole" will end up being the longest Tolkien thread of them all, with some of the best heartfelt content... Sorry John, but I would have rather it had been one with a more distinguished title!… post 252 - HairOfTheDog
However, I can still celebrate, with quiet dignity, the fact that what started as a laugh about some wacko in New Zealand has mutated and grown into a multifaceted discussion of the art, literature, and philosophy that is Tolkien. And now that I've managed to write the most pompous sentence of my entire life, I agree, Rosie… post 506 - JenB
Hah! I was number 1000!! (Elvish victory dance... wait, no; that would be too flitty) … post 1001 - BibChr
Real men don't have to be afraid of being flitty! Go for it. – post 1011 – HairOfTheDog
Seventeen years to research one mystical object seems a bit excessive… post 1007 - JenB
Okay...who's the wise guy who didn't renew Gandalf's research grant?… post 1024 – Overtaxed
To the very philosophical:
…Judas Iscariot obviously was a good man, or he wouldn't have been chosen to be one of the Apostles. He loved Jesus, like all of the Apostles, but he betrayed him. Yet without his betrayal, the Passion and Crucifixion would never have occurred, and mankind would not have been redeemed. So without his self-destruction infinite good would not have been accomplished. I certainly do not mean this to be irreverant but it seems to me that this describes the character of Gollum, in the scenes so movingly portrayed above… Lucius Cornelius Sulla
To fun but heartfelt debates about the integrity and worth of some of the characters…
…Anyone else notice how Boromir treats the hobbits? He's very fond of them but he seems to think of them as children - ruffling Frodo's hair, calls them all 'little ones'. He likes them, but I don't think he really respects them… post 1536 - JenB
Yes... Tolkien told us not to trust Boromir right off the bat when he began to laugh at Bilbo, until he realized that the Council obviously held this hobbit in high esteem. What a pompous dolt… post 1538 - HairOfTheDog
…I think almost every fault of his can be traced directly back to his blindness to anything spiritual or unseen. He considers the halflings as children, because that is what they look like. He considers the only hope of the ring to be in taking it and using it for a victory in the physical realm. He cannot see what the hobbits are truly made of, he cannot see the unseen hope of what the destruction of the ring might mean--the destruction of Sauron himself, and he cannot see the unseen danger that lies in the use of the ring itself… I just feel sorry for Boromir--he is like a blind but honorable man, trying to take the right path on the road but missing the right path entirely because he simply cannot see it… post 1548 - Penny1
Boromir isn't a jerk, he's a jock… post 2401 – Overtaxed
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Oh, I think by the time Frodo reaches the Cracks, he's not even himself anymore! I think he's not only on the brink of a dangerous place physically, he's on the brink of losing himself completely during the exchange with Gollum. But for some reason, the take-over isn't complete till he actually has to throw the Ring in. The person speaking to Gollum is not Frodo, but the "Wheel of Fire" that Sam sees. After the Ring is destroyed, Frodo not only comes back to himself, but comes back with the unbearable (to him) knowledge of what it's like to be completely without compassion. I think that's why it's so important to him to be compassionate in the Shire… post 2506 - 2Jedismom
…Regarding Frodo's compassion... it's a little too much at the end. Even Merry tells him that he's going to have to quit being so darn nice. But you're right. He's learned a lesson about evil that very few ever learn since it wasn't an external lesson but an internal one. (Those kinds of lessons have the greatest impact) Not only did he totally succumb to it, but he was rather ruthless to my little Smeagol… post 2516 - carton253
Well that Frodo was a big mean bully! (to Smeagol)… post 2519 – Overtaxed
So as you can see, everything JRR Tolkien (and Peter Jackson) is welcome here in our New Row, our soon-to-be familiar New Hobbit Hole…; philosophy, opinion, good talk and frequent silliness.
Okay! I read the Gormenghast trilogy ONCE!
Caution for a bit of rough language in this FROM TORN>>
The Fan Club Breakfast with Dom
(my pics from the weekend here)
Breakfast was at the Hilton Gaslamp. I found parking quickly (another $20 lot, but it was right across the street, and I was so sore from walking yesterday that I sacrificed cash for comfort.)
I arrived about 45 minutes early and got in line. I listened to some conversations around me but otherwise just kind of stood there, bored and half awake. They finally let us in around 5 til, and we took seats. I managed to get a table next to the GOH table. Woot!
Dom arrived with a small entourage of Decipher people and con handlers (and Sala Baker, who was also a delight) a few moments later. He said hello to everyone, and apologized for not being a morning person and said he’d be better after food. He encouraged us all to get our full $30 worth of food :) He said there’d be a talk later and that he’d come around to each table and talk to us, and that we should be sure to have good questions “about sexual practices and such” ready! Even before food, the cheeky Monkey Boy was already raring to go, and he only got better as the morning went on.
After breakfast, he went up to do his Q and A.. Luckily I got all of this on video, and I’ll be doing a full transcript later, but for now here’s a summary.
He started by saying this was his first con experience and he was having a good time so far. Several shouts of “virgin” went up, and he laughed at that.
He talked about going back to NZ for reshoots, and said that he and Billy were there for about a month with Elijah and Sean, who were off doing Frodo/Sam/Gollum stuff and that he and Billy were working mostly on Trerebeard scenes. He said part of the point of their new stuff was that the movie is so dark in the other scenes that they needed a bit more levity from Merry and Pip who are having much more fun getting drunk and hanging around with a talking tree. He made a face and said he had no idea what Tolkien was on when he wrote that- strange mushrooms in his garden or something. :)
He said they were really excited to work on the new scenes and talked a bit about the Ent draught scenes.
He mentioned that he had just missed seeing Viggo in NZ--he was checking out of his hotel and someone came up and smacked him in the back of the head—Viggo, of course, just having fun :)
He said they’ll get a chance to see a cut of TTT in about a month.
First question was about whether or not he and the rest of the cast read any of the online message boards. He confirmed that they do, and that it’s nice to be able to go to a site when you’re having a bad day and read about all the people who are interested in the movies and what they’re doing. He said they go to the boards at TORN, Ringbearer, and the official site. He said he and Elijah go to the hardcore geek sites and search for freaky sites. He said they rarely go on as their own names, but mentioned the chat they did at billyboyd.net. He said Sean Astin goes on a lot, but that he doesn’t think Viggo really does, as he hasn’t really caught up with the times and still writes everything in ink :) He said the information the online people get is scarily accurate. Justin from Decipher also mentioned that Dom is scheduled to make an appearance on the fan club boards as well.
Next question was about his work with Bernard Hill, and he said it was great, and that it was good that Bernard is also from Manchester, and is a Man U fan, and also a John Lennon fan, so they had a lot to talk about. He talked a lot about the wonderful makeup Bernard was in for his first appearances, and said that he looks very imposing and wonderful in his King regalia.
He also mentioned Miranda Otto and how great she is and how wonderful it is to have a female warrior character.
Someone asked who he was the most excited to work with, and he said coming over the most famous person to him was Sean Astin, because his favorite movies when he was a kid were Empire Strikes Back, ET and Goonies, so it was great to meet “Mikey.” He said he was also excited to meet Liv and Cate, and talked a lot about how great Chris Lee was and talked about the speech Chris gave after his last filmed scene and how he’d felt that he’d really peaked as an actor with this project. Then Dom talked about working with Ian Holm during some early Bilbo/Gollum scenes that Andy Serkis wasn’t available for, so Dom got to play Gollum against Ian for a bit, and he said watching Ian work was great, mentioning that he never does things the same way twice.
Next question was asking him about what the night after he got his part was like. He said he was just finishing up a job in France (Monsignor Renard) when he got the first word. Then the next Monday, he was driving home with a van full of other actors from the project when he got the final word. He said he just sat there and quietly smiled and told them calmly about it, and the rest of the van was terribly jealous. He said he only had a few days to finish the job, sell his house back in Manchester and say goodbye. He said it was all so fast he didn’t have a chance to really wrap his mind around it. He said he’d arrived in NZ at 8 am, and was given a tour, and by the time he was touring WETA, he thought he was hallucinating from jet lag, since he was watching them make models of him!
He said they jumped right into rehearsals and that Peter and Co. were eager to have the 9 guys all become a group, and they did, doing all their training. In the middle of this, someone’s phone rang and he made a joke about it, not skipping a beat. He said within 10 days they were all reading each other’s minds. He said that Peter did a very smart thing by starting filming with the four hobbits and then slowly introducing the other characters.
The next question was about when he was told during the audition process that he’d have to be living in NZ for a year. He said that happened right after the first audition and told a story about David Bowie coming in to read for Gandalf and wanting to stick around and see him (though he ended up missing him) He said there was really no question for him about the NZ issue and it seemed like a great place to be anyway (at which Sala cheered.) He said it was such a huge, wonderful project that he wanted to be involved in any way he could.
Next question was about the day they got stranded at Te Anau. He said at the time it was awful but he looks back fondly on it now. They were filming the Midgewater Marshes scenes (which he said we’d see on the DVD because they got cut from the movie by some “dickhead at New Line.”) He said they were just starting to film when it started to snow big huge flakes, and they were still having fun, since the four hobbits were already barefoot and in water up to their knees, “getting pushed in by Viggo every two minutes.” He said the 1st assistant director wanted to call it, but Peter didn’t and they didn’t, so they kept filming for a while, but eventually it became clear that they’d have to go or have to stay there on site. So they all headed back to the hotel and ended up sitting on washing machines getting out of makeup. Viggo brought in a big bottle of whiskey and they sat around getting drunk and telling stories. Elijah was apparently sitting on the last washer in a row, which was just a couple of feet away from the wall on that side, and was telling a crazy stoy. When he finished, Dom, drunk, laughed and pushed at him and Elijah fell off over the side of the washer and into the little space wth just his legs sticking up!
He talked a bit more about scenes that will be in the DVD and described a cute scene where they get lembas. Legolas tells them that a small bite will feed a grown man for 4 days, and Merry looks over at Pip and says, “uh, how many did you have?” and Pip replies, small and sick, “Five?” Sounds like a great scene and I can’t wait to see it.
The next question was about the foot injury he got at the hands of Sean Bean. Apparently they were filming the scene in Moria where they’re attacked by Orcs from above with arrows. Sean is supposed to sheath his sword and bring out hs shield to hold in front of them, only he missed the sheath and stabbed Dom in the foot instead. Dom said Peter kept filming! He said he kind of likes the scar so he can have something to give Bean some shit about :) He talked about some of the other cast’s injuries, inlcuding how real Viggo’s fight scenes were (some of the punches and head butting in his scenes with Lurtz were real.) He described, in very gory detail the foot injury that Sean Astin got, and how the other three hobbits were poking at the enormous blood clot with sticks! He also mentioned an infected ingrown toenail he got. And then, totally cheeky, he looks up and says “oh, I’m sorry, you just had breakfast!”
Then someone asked where they all got their tats and he said where everyone’s was, saying that Elijah got his on his “sexy little torso.” He mentioned the “10” tattoo that Peter, Barrie, Mark and Richard got. He said Sean Astin and Billy held each other’s hands during it because they were such “sensitive little lambs.” Ali Astin came along and got a fake tat as well.
Next question was how often he talks to the other castmembers. His first response was “I try and not talk to Billy that much ‘cause you know, he’s an idiot,” which we all busted up at. He mentioned living in LA now and talking to Sean Astin about every other day since Christine is due to have their baby next week. He said he and Elijah see each other almost every day since they kind of do the same thing—into music and film. He said they’d seen Signs together the night before. He said he talks to Billy about every weekend while he’s been filming in Mexico, and that he and Elijah and Billy would be going surfing there this weekend. He said Orlando just got back in town and that they had breakfast together the day before. He said he sees Ian McKellen whenever he’s in town and Viggo whenever they get the chance since Vig’s very busy and splits his time between NY and LA. He talked a lot about how close they all became since they were spending so much time together during filming. He said they’re a good support group for each other, and that it’s hard to explain to others who weren’t there what really went on.
The last question was what was his favorite scene. He said he didn’t want to spoil it for us, but he described the scene where Merry and Pip reunite on the battlefield and Merry’s so out of it he doesn’t even recognize Pip, who has to try to get him back to reality, and remind him of who he is. He said it was “sad and beautiful and they’re both men now and they hug and kiss and cry!” Sounds really fabulous!
He then finished and came around to each table, talking to everyone. At our table, Moocholas brought out the cutout of the pics she’d taken at Viggo’s gallery opening back in Feb. He posed with those, being silly. Someone asked him about Hetty reruns and he mentioned how long ago that was. After he’d made his way around, we all packed up and headed out.
Overall, just as with yesterday, he was utterly charming and sweet and very nice to everyone as well as supremely cheeky as only Dom can be. It was a great morning!
I'm wondering if the same girl will be at the counter when I go back to Wal-Mart in... an hour-and-a-half!
I'm starting to get sleepy though... hope I can hold out until midnight!
As far as I know, except for McKellan the cast are blessedly non-political. For reasons of self-protection, if nothing else, I think it is unlikely that they would be politically interested conservatives who would have heard of FR. I know there are a lot of us who much prefer the HH to the rest of FR, but I don't think anyone came here specifically for the HH, unless directed by a friend or relative.
Good luck on this, I have been in some freepmail discussions of Registered, who made a semi-technical violation of forum protocol, the AM said he didn't think is was malicious, and banned him for a week. Now he isn't coming back!
So who do you want to run the Green Dragon in your absense??
Well, I did, sorta. At least, I signed up because of the HH. I had lurked on FR for years before that, but never wanted to actually sign up until I decided to post here.
It was the comment about searching for "freaky sites" that made me think of HH (no offense!) I mean, one must admit, the idea of an enclave of obsessed LOTR fans among a hard-core conservative site like FR is just a little... different.
Registered's been banned? And he isn't coming back??
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