The New Hobbit Hole

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The New Hobbit Hole
Concerning Hobbits
The New Hobbit Chronicles

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

-----------------------------------------

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.

[ecurbh]

Okay, I'll do some Legolas for ya tonight (unless someone else has already).

[HairOfTheDog]

Good morning hobbits! I have been staring at that cover, even enlarged to super-size, and I am not seeing as much as you are. Grim faces? - Long hair? hmmm. I see the little blob figure of Merry or Pippin on the ground next to something red... but I can't tell what the thing is in the left hand corner.

[sipping coffee]

[HairOfTheDog]

From Ananova :

Lord Of The Rings actress says her character 'has a bit of guts'

Miranda Otto says her character in the next two Lord Of The Rings films has hidden depths.

She says Eowyn is not "some wimpy kind of Sleeping Beauty character".

Otto plays her in The Two Towers and The Return Of The King.

The character goes from being a member of court to a warrior.

Otto tells www.usatoday.com Eowyn is "slightly cold, white, emotionally distant, a lady.

"But once Aragorn comes along, there's a huge well of feeling for him. She's a very passionate person underneath," she said.

"She's not some wimpy kind of Sleeping Beauty character, but someone with a bit of guts.

"She falls in love, but her love is unrequited, and she dresses up as a man, goes to war and kills the king of the witches."

Otto says one of the best bits about being involved in the film was the sword fighting.

"It was fun, extremely liberating. I'd like to do more of it, even though I stabbed someone in the leg!"

Story filed: 15:32 Wednesday 10th April 2002

[HairOfTheDog]

Here is the USATODAY story:

USATODAY.com - Miranda Otto slips into the 'Rings'

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04/09/2002 - Updated 11:58 PM ET

Miranda Otto slips into the 'Rings'

By Jeannie Williams, USA TODAY

	Miranda Otto, who appears in two Ring films, has a role in Human Nature.

"It's like being in your own fairy tale!" raves Miranda Otto of her role as Eowyn in the next two Lord of the Rings movies, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

Otto, yet another member of the "Aussie posse," won't be seen until December in Towers. But you can spot her in Human Nature, a small, quirky movie opening in selected cities Friday, and as the American Mrs. Hurtle in the current PBS Masterpiece Theatre series, The Way We Live Now.

You've probably seen Otto in a number of smaller roles. During casting for Rings in 1999, she was in L.A. making What Lies Beneath, her first big-budget movie, in which she was a mysterious next-door neighbor to Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer. When she returned to Australia, where she is widely known, she was asked to read for Eowyn, a woman who becomes a warrior. Otto's character wasn't in Fellowship of the Ring.

Otto describes Eowyn as "slightly cold, white, emotionally distant, a lady. ... But once Aragorn (played by Viggo Mortensen) comes along, there's a huge well of feeling for him. She's a very passionate person underneath."

She spent five months in New Zealand on the two Rings movies director Peter Jackson made after Fellowship. She likes Eowyn because she's "not some wimpy kind of Sleeping Beauty character, but someone with a bit of guts." She "falls in love (with Aragorn). ... But her love is unrequited, and she dresses up as a man, goes to war and kills the king of the witches."

Otto, 34, adored the medieval costumes: "My favorite! I've always wanted to dress like that." Even more, she liked the sword fighting. "It was fun, extremely liberating. I'd like to do more of it, even though I stabbed someone in the leg!"

Otto, daughter of Aussie actor Barry Otto, was once involved with Richard Roxburgh, the Duke of Monroth in Moulin Rouge. That ended a year and a half ago. As a "swinging single," she has had "the best two years of my life, so much more time to concentrate on my life and career."

She has had some hunky co-stars, including Mortensen. "He's lovely! He was Aragorn. It was difficult to tell when Viggo ended and Aragorn began. And he's an amazing sword fighter."

In Doctor Sleep, her co-star was Goran Visnjic of ER fame; in Julia Walking Home, William Fichtner (Black Hawk Down). In Human Nature, she's with Tim Robbins and the personable Rhys Ifans, who plays a man raised as an ape in the wild. "Really nice men," she says. "It re-inspires me that there is hope out there."

In Human Nature, she plays a French lab assistant to Robbins, who is involved with a hirsute woman, Patricia Arquette. Otto says the Charlie Kaufman-penned (Being John Malkovich) movie "is not your sitcom-type sense of humor. I think there's a big market for people who are bored with what they're seeing and want something a bit different."

[ecurbh]

Mellyn!

The scans are a bit hard to make out, partly because the cover is rather aged and tattered. Remember it took me dozen years to notice these details in the first place!

Thanks for the articles! Eowyn's character has always appealed to me, mostly because of the "issues" her character has. There is not only the unrequited love aspect, but the fact that she is being forced by society into a role she does not want, and feels left out, and a bit angry I think. There are things she wants and is denied, and feels powerless and resentfull.

Is it December 18 yet?

[Penny1]

I have one Legolas so far....

[HairOfTheDog]

Ecurbh... I have to say, you are willing to fall in love with some pretty high-maintenance angst-driven women! - Bless you... A lesser man would never try someone like Eowyn.

253 days.

[HairOfTheDog]

I swear Legolas has borrowed Galadriel's housecoat in that scene. hehehehehe

[htur_75]

Thank you so much. That will help tide me over till ecurb e-mails me some more. A lot of women pant after Aragorn. I prefer Legolas myself over Aragorn, although I like Aragorn's character and the skill of the actor.

[ecurbh]

Maybe it is due to my own fantasy of being the "knight in shining armor" who rescues her from that existence.

[HairOfTheDog]

I am cativated by Legolas when he is on screen, but it is definately above mere sex appeal. Aragorn is not above sex appeal. ;~D

[JenB]

I won't criticize your choice at all, but don't you think Legolas is a little too Elvish for us human gals? That's why I prefer the human men... Aragorn and (already) Faramir. An Elf would be, well, what's the male equivalent of high-maintenance?

[htur_75]

I guess I don't fully see the sex appeal of Aragorn as so many other women do. However, I never seem see the appeal of many actors that women think have oozing sex appeal. I tend to usually go against the majority. That's just me I guess. :)

[htur_75]

I think the elvish appeals to me more than the human. More fairy taleish.

[ecurbh]

Good point. I think that is why Eowyn beats out Arwen in my book. Arwen is certainly very (very) appealing, but the human aspects of Eowyn make the attraction occur on a deeper level. The Arwen thing is more of a courtly attraction, gazing from afar at someone unatainable by we mere mortals.

[JenB]

I like the way you put it! I think most people wants a 'special person' who's really special, but still mostly human. Which is why most of us Hobbit ladies prefer Aragorn over Legolas. You get the feeling that Aragorn drinks a beer in the evenings, and has laundry that needs to be done, even though he's also really cool and has that air of otherworldliness, while Legolas is more the china figurine on the mantle that needs to be dusted every now and then, but otherwise is "just for looking".

[htur_75]

I have to say that I am so glad that I can post my opinions without feeling like I will be attacked or looked down on for thinking them. I am glad ecrub has introduced me to this world. :)

[ecurbh]

You have entered the realm of the Freepers. You cannot go back.

[JenB]

Next thing you know, you'll be discussing Sindarin, arguing about minor characters, and getting banished to Tooks Corner for insubordination! We're glad to have you. Have a pint!

[htur_75]

They come in pints? :) THanks I am happy to be here, and I know that I will forever be altered by my contact here.