The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[RosieCotton]

I'm also mad about Haldir. Yeah, I know Myranda didn't mind him (ummm...understatement?) but I didn't think he (or most of the other elves) were ANYTHING like the elves of the books. Legolas...he was well done. And Arwen and Galadriel, I guess, though I'm still not sure about the Halloween scene. But the others...they're more snooty than noble and wise.

[RosieCotton]

Where did Faramir almost get corrupted by the ring in TTT (the book)? If I am correct, he would not go near the ring.

You are correct. That's precisely what bothers me. And he didn't go dragging poor Sam and Frodo all over the place either!

[HairOfTheDog]

I don't remember what was about either!

I will talk to pret-neer anyone on the phone!

[HairOfTheDog]

Well that's a good thing to have!

I thought so!

[CARepubGal]

Sam and Frodo never went to Gondor at all. They stayed on course towards Mordor. I think those two brave hobbits had enough trouble without being dragged all over the place.

[RosieCotton]

I'm getting all het up about this subject again. *sigh*

I really hope ROTK somehow explains why they turned [wonderful] Faramir into Boromor-Lite.

[HairOfTheDog]

I am watching the special-feature 'looking back' documentary on The Big Chill DVD as a way of not cheating! - I haven't seen this in a long time, so I am kind a like a kid alone with the cookie jar.

[Wneighbor]

Well that's a good thing to have!

you're just saying that because you're going out there to visit.

[RosieCotton]

Umm...Boromir, not Boromor. I'm not sure WHO Boromor is...

[ecurbh]

Well I certainly don't want to have to pack my own!

[RosieCotton]

Thanks for the prayers, you two!

[Wneighbor]

Faramir did NOT almost get corrupted. However, in his discussion you can discern that the corruption of the ring is a thing he had thought out and dealt with in his life. He was privy to information about the ring from Gandalf's visits and research when he was a child so the existance of the ring was not a surprise to him. His words were something to the effect that if the thing were lying in the road waiting for him he would skirt around it and not touch it.

[ecurbh]

I really hope ROTK somehow explains why they turned [wonderful] Faramir into Boromor-Lite.

Actually, I expect most of that to be taken care of in the Extended Edition, and especially the writer/director commentary track. I thought they did a wonderful job of explaining their reasoning behind the changes in FotR.

[Wneighbor]

I'm also mad about Haldir. Yeah, I know Myranda didn't mind him (ummm...understatement?) but I didn't think he (or most of the other elves) were ANYTHING like the elves of the books.

Yeah, I agree. Myranda only liked Haldir because she thought the Kiwi was hot.

[Wneighbor]

I'm not sure WHO Boromor is...

I remember him. I think I dated him. He's the guy that "Bores you more!!!" da dum dum!

[HairOfTheDog]

I really hope ROTK somehow explains why they turned [wonderful] Faramir into Boromor-Lite.

Peter Jackson and Philippa Boyens on Faramir:

Q: In the book, for example, Faramir is very pure and very noble, but here in the film, he's got this evil touch. He's even tempted by the ring.

Peter Jackson: For a short time, yeah. We made that change, just to use that example -- and this is really where being a filmmaker differs from being a writer. You make decisions as a filmmaker and, rightly or wrongly, you change things if you think they need to be changed. We wanted the episode with Faramir in this particular film to have a certain degree of tension. Frodo and Sam were captured. Their journey had become more complicated by the fact that they are prisoners. Which they are in the book for a brief period of time. But then, very quickly in the book, Tolkien sort of backs away from there and, as you say, he reveals Faramir to be very pure. At one point, Faramir says, "Look, I wouldn't even touch the ring if I saw it lying on the side of the road."

For us, as filmmakers, that sort of thing creates a bit of a problem because we've spent a lot of time in the last film and in this one to establish this ring as incredibly powerful. Then to suddenly come to a character that says, "Oh, I'm not interested in that," to suddenly go against everything that we've established ourselves is sort of going against our own rules. We certainly acknowledge that Faramir should not do what Boromir did and that he ultimately has the strength to say, "No, you go on your way and I understand." We wanted to make it slightly harder, to have a little more tension than there was in the book. But that's where that sort of decision comes from.

I'm getting all het up about this subject again. *sigh*

Don't do that! - Stay focused for the phone call!

[Wneighbor]

And he didn't go dragging poor Sam and Frodo all over the place either!

Well, he did drag them to the cave with the waterfall. The one where they look down and see Gollum in the forbidden pool. But, that was partially for their protection after the battle where the Oliphaunt was. And to find out the scoop on 'em. BUT! Never on that long journey to Osgiliath!

[ecurbh]

she thought the Kiwi was hot.

Do you mean this...

Or perhaps this...

[Wneighbor]

Notice she hasn't admitted YET that this phone call is from a male.

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks for the prayers, you two!

But I asked a question at the end! :~D