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.
Maybe you'll be one of them rangers!
It's a Wednesday, so school is in session, and the theatre will no doubt have it playing on more than one screen. If the audience is a hassle, I can ask to be switched to the other screen room.
I am pretty sure the first day will have a lot of LOTR fans in attendance, so I'm hoping they will be as eager as I am to hear the movie in peace with little talking. I do expect a bit of whispering with die hard fans, comparing movie to book, etc - but I don't mind that as long as it isn't constant or loud. I really wanted to join a line party, but thought better of it when I think logically about seating, etc.
The Paso Fino breed fanciers claim you could set your champaine glass on their butts without spilling a drop! - It is the lack of rythm that makes it smooth. At any given time, three feet are on the ground and only one is up. Unlike a trot where all four feet are off the ground, coming down two at a time with a springing motion.
It's cruel to keep any animal if you cannot care for it correctly.
Now...if I win the Lotto.....
Either would be an improvement over two computer speakers. I'm thinking about purchasing better speakers. Maybe someday I'll get something that takes advantage of the DTS track.
Oscar Hopeful Serkis 'Towers' Over CGI Brethren
http://www.reuters.com/NEW YORK (Variety) - There was never any Oscar buzz for the performances of Jar Jar Binks or Dobby, but New Line is hoping that Gollum will be up for an acting Academy Award in March.
Andy Serkis is the British actor who performs the centerpiece role of Gollum in Peter Jackson's second installment of the "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Only you might not realize it, because his personage has been painted out and replaced with a CGI creation. Other CGI characters were purely figments of the imagination, like Jar Jar Binks and Dobby.
The 20 minutes of "Two Towers" footage shown recently by New Line indicates a breakthrough with Gollum, who looked as real as a blue-tinted, bent and gnarled creature could look. And Jackson went back and subsequently improved the character, which the media observed.
New Line will push Serkis for a supporting actor nomination. And the actor has just signed with the Gersh Agency, hoping that his cyber-work in "Two Towers" and next year's "Return of the King" finale will propel him into regular Hollywood film work.
"This all started with an offer to do three weeks of voiceover work as Gollum," said Serkis. "I remember thinking, a voiceover? Why can't I get offered a decent acting role in a major movie? I'm known for being chameleon-like as an actor, and I've played a lot of quirky, physical roles in Mike Leigh's movies. This didn't seem that involved."
Serkis soon learned from Jackson and his screenwriting-producing partner Fran Walsh that vocal skills would be only part of the Gollum job.
"Peter had the idea to do something unprecedented," Serkis said. "Even though Gollum would be computer-generated, Peter wanted all the emotion and the physicality to come from a single performance."
Instead of three weeks, Serkis worked the better part of the last year, logging more hours than any other actor in the "Rings" ensemble.
First, Serkis acted the scenes with Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) as they carried the ring toward Mordor. Serkis repeated the entire performance, clad in a skintight bodysuit, wired to capture his every move and transfer it to the computer. Serkis did the role yet again, both to supply Gollum's slithery rasp of a voice, and to transfer his facial expressions to every enunciation. He spent countless more hours with the 40 animators who refined Gollum. The performance is signature Serkis -- even though the actor was erased from every scene.
"In a way it's a bummer, but I honestly feel strongly that the essence of what I've done is up there. Much the way that John Rhys-Davies hardly looks like the dwarf Gimli after being shrunk and wearing heavy prosthetic makeup, I feel like I'm wearing CG prosthetics. There is a satisfaction in playing one of the great literary character creations, being able to play Gollum without being pinned down by him for the rest of my life. Some anonymity is the actor's greatest weapon."
I prefer to re-package 'food' in ziplock baggies. They're nice and quiet in the theater and slip nicely into my purse. ;)
But paying for stable space is even more expensive than the lessons!!!
I would guess that it would have to be a newer, more modern theatre to have that sort of amenity on hand.
Of all the characters and events I am looking forward to seeing, I would have to honestly admit that it is Gollum who most intrigues me.
My daughter took our dog to the movies, in her purse. It stayed quiet the whole movie (unlike alot of the audience, I guess) and nobody hardly knew she had it.
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