OT: Speaking of Return of the Kings..........

[madgardener]

Regardless that it looked like they "greened up the Shire" I think those were real nasturshiums growing around Sam's hobbit house. I've seen pictures of my friend, Diane's and her's were just as lush and vivid as those were in the movie. (think in terms of Chelsea Flower Show and anything is possible)

Despite that they changed how it ended in Tolkein's book (they sometimes have to do that, and it didn't spoil it for me) I think I did pretty good with meself by not having to run to the lady's room the whole movie.... wasn't expecting it to go the whole route, thought they might divide it up. But glad they didn't. Heard that after Jackson finishes his other film project ( King Kong??? lordy) he is hoping the rights to do The Hobbit will be approved (something about the movie company having previous rights because they did a piss poor job of it years back and "own" the rights to it now..........) and do a proper Hobbit since the main actors are willing to do this given permission.

My opinion only, I think they did exceptionally well on portraying the book. I didnt' mind the changes or what they left out, and now son wishes we had gone to the sneak preview Tuesday when the Regal showed all three of them in Knoxville........12 hours of LOR...................(someone who went to that showing said they had

30 minute intermissions, and they stayed true to their promise, the first two were the extended versions) and he was sad to see it end.

Goes to show you that a good book is still a good book. And now that Jackson has done a fine tribute to the awesome books, the movie should become a "classic" in years up the road. Lets hope so. It's amazing that before the miracle of computers and CGI, the fantasies of what lie in Tolkein's mind had to be individually imagined by those who read the books.

You woulda thought with all that crying I did during the movie, I'd not had to pee at all LOL (it's nice to know that Squire was moved almost as much as I was and did his own "watering" ....nothing like looking over to see how he's reacting and we're both leaking

Now we're wondering if there will be an EXTENDED version they will release when it comes out on DVD. .....I wouldnt' think that could be possible.

And I wonder if anyone has thought about doing Terry Brook's Shannara books?? madgardener slipping off to werk.

[Shell]

I believe I heard they filmed all three at one time. No taking off for a year or two in between like they did with Star Wars. Personally I liked the Hobbit better than LOTR but then I always wanted a house like Bilbo's :)

I was introduced to LOTR and the Hobbot when I was 12 and babysat for a neighbor from Australia who highly recommended them. Then when I took British Lit in College my professor had done her PhD on the books and corresponded with Tolkein. One of the best instructors I ever had :) she would even use Mad magazine to illustrate a point on a Chaucer work.

I have a list of great scince fiction books whih would make really good movies if they could film them the way they're written. C J Cherry's Chanur books would be excellent and so would James White's Sector General series. Anything James H. Schmitz has written and the H. Beam Piper Fuzzy novels...I could go on forever :)

I would actually go to a theater to see any of those made into movies and buy the DVD's.

The Shannara books would be great if they could get the look of the Hildebrandt illustrations in the first book.

In the days of CGI annimation and huge 100 million dollar budgets they could do just about anything :)

Shell (who is a huge scince fiction reader and grew up in a house where UFo's were a common topic)

[madgardener]

how did I not know this? I agree, but if you look closely at the images of Rivendale, it had an ethereal and Hildebrandt feel about it. I think they could pull it off. The first three were pretty decent of Brooks, Sword, Elfstones and WishSong. But there were three others if I''m not mistaken and then Brooks went all out with his Magic Kingdom for Sale-Sold series and I think he's written another part to it that I don't have :( Those weren't bad at all and you can tell his influence was Tolkein. I envy you your experience with the professor. I never got to college. But adore good Science Fiction. That's why I can't just "get rid" of the books that are still packed in boxes. I want Squire to build me book shelves so I can put them all back up and eventually since it's been a good 11 years since I read them, start re-reading them. I'll find a lot I had either forgotten or just missed the first time. Like new books! Only they're not. I hate someone stole my Mists of Avalon..........And I hear that Ray Bradbury wrote another book recently. He's getting long in the tooth. (I cut my science fiction teeth on him and Alfred Hitchcock's compilations of good horror, mystery and science fiction picks in my younger days. I didn't read Tolkien until 1970-ish.

I think CJ Cherryh's Book of Morgan would be awesome.................or Anne McAffrey's Dragonriders of Pern............... yeah, you've almost talked me into crawling thru those dusty, boxed up treasures of mine, but once they've been released from the confines of their boxes, they will have to be placed in loving positions on shelves and for that to happen, Squire will have to get his head and ass wired up to make shelves.............................. Happy Solstice!! madgardener up on the ridge, back in Fairy Holler, overlooking English Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset zone 36

[Shell]

If they filmed it in New Zealand, no problem :) The LOTR films made me want to visit there just really really bad.

The first three were pretty decent of

She was so cool :) she would go off on these little side trips and read poems out of Mad magazine. Those of us who knew her would keep taking notes, those who didn't would get a nasty surprise when she would tie everything together in an example illustrating some poetic form or another used in the middle ages. Freaked out all the ones who quit taking notes :)

But adore good Science Fiction. That's why I

I started out on the Frank Herbert Dune series, Heinlein, and Fritz Liebers Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series :) I had at one time stacks of books three deep and 40 or 50 high but lost a lot of them in 2 different floods - very irritating. Haven't heard Bradbury wrote another, I'll have to check it out, I loved Martian Chronicles but not the movie.

LOL I know the feeling, I fussed and whined about shelves for years until I finally got two walls full of floor to cieling ones where my sf, art nouveau, history, and archaeology books and comics and magazines all live :) As far as Anne McCaffrey I would love to see the Dragonbooks and her Brainship series done, Also Cherry's Dreamstone books and the Foreigner series :)

For a good laugh read Jody Lynn Nye's Mythology series and Robert Lynn Aspirin's Myth series, good comedic fantasy is hard to pull off but they do it wonderfully.

Shell (who has studied Faeries and Elves and Aliens and is a closet Archaeologist)

[Ariane Jenkins]

[snip] They were most likely real. From what I've heard/seen in the documentaries, the setting for Hobbiton was carefully cultivated at least a year in advance before filming so it would look like an established community. Real shrubs were put in, real flower and vegetable gardens planted, etc. The "party tree" in you see in the meadow birthday celebration scene is fake (but skillfully done), but most of what you see is real. In the extended DVD version, they put back in a quick scene that's been cut out of the theatrical version of Sam actually gardening. I'm not sure of what flower he's holding, but it too, is quite lovely.

In the LOTR movies, they've done SUCH an incredible job of special effects and detailing of all the costumes, sets, etc. I think plastic flowers would be blasphemy to the WETA studio people!

Ariane, back to lurking mode

P.S. Although I'm sure you've heard it before, I just wanted to say that I love your poetic posts, madgardener. They're such a treat to read and each one is like a mini vacation. :)

[madgardener]

You honor me Ariane. The intensity and fullness of the screen and location made me and Squire contemplate New Zealand......and my first cyber/garden friend when I popped into wreck.gardens was Swani.......in New Zealand! He still hollers at me on occaison. But he's a young man with life ahead of him and doesn't always have time to chat with an old broad such as myself The landscape though is so diversified, it surely is tempting. Thanks for the compliment. I am more and more believing that what I do in the manner of how I do it here on the newsgroup feeds the souls of myself as well as my garden neighborhood. I love each and every one of you all! And the true reason I continue to post here, bad ones and good ones (the good ones are inspirational moment that are fleeting as my fairies) is because of all of YOU!

I wish you a w> > Regardless that it looked like they "greened up the Shire" I think

[dr-solo]

I was into sci fi in high school, went to LOTR first year college when they had an international sci fi festival and I got to shuttle the sci fi writers around from hotel to university.

I teach at the university where the original manuscripts for both LOTR and the Hobbit reside.

all were done at one time and I heard them talking about the DVD and how the extended versions and all the extra was built into the shooting and every bit as planned as the rest of the movie. they are saying the DVDs have swept some DVD awards all ready and will with the future releases.

I purposely did not reread LOTR before see>I believe I heard they filmed all three at one time. No taking off for a

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