Travel to the Realm of the Wóm FolkMen of Wö
Alternative trailer
Amazon wasted their big budget.. One can only hope it will be a colossal failure and that they consider removing their cancerous woke production guidelines, so new shows might at least have a chance.
Tolkien's comments on the film treatment (Letter #210)
The canons of narrative art in any medium cannot be wholly different; and the failure of poor films is often precisely in exaggeration, and in the intrusion of unwarranted matter owing to not perceiving where the core of the original lies.
[...]
Here I may say that I fail to see why the time-scheme should be deliberately contracted. It is already rather packed in the original, the main action occurring between Sept. 22 and March 25 of the following year. The many impossibilities and absurdities which further hurrying produces might, I suppose, be unobserved by an uncritical viewer; but I do not see why they should be unnecessarily introduced. Time must naturally be left vaguer in a picture than in a book; but I cannot see why definite time-statements, contrary to the book and to probability, should be made. ....
Seasons are carefully regarded in the original. They are pictorial, and should be, and easily could be, made the main means by which the artists indicate time-passage. The main action begins in autumn and passes through winter to a brilliant spring: this is basic to the purport and tone of the tale. The contraction of time and space in Z destroys that. His arrangements would, for instance, land us in a snowstorm while summer was still in. The Lord of the Rings may be a ?fairy-story?, but it takes place in the Northern hemisphere of this earth: miles are miles, days are days, and weather is weather.
Contraction of this kind is not the same thing as the necessary reduction or selection of the scenes and events that are to be visually represented.
[...]
I do earnestly hope that in the assignment of actual speeches to the characters they will be represented as I have presented them: in style and sentiment. I should resent perversion of the characters (and do resent it, so far as it appears in this sketch) even more than the spoiling of the plot and scenery.
[...]
If it is meant to represent only a kind of short finale, then all I can say is: The Lord of the Rings cannot be garbled like that.
I agree about the Hobbit, it was not as good as the Lord of the Rings, but it was still very goodWhat I've seen so far doesn't impress me. The opposite even, it disappoints me.
Seems like yet another overly clean random fantasy world. Peter Jackson tried capturing magic in a bottle, and succeeded as he respected the craft and tried understanding it.
Many don't like The Hobbit trilogy and while it is true that parts of it come across as more-hollywood-esque, I'm still very happy with them and am content with what they offer.
It was still yet another visit in Middle-earth, even if it was akin to your annoying aunt doing mean remarks occasionally at your otherwise joyful family gathering.
This... seems wholly different, and not the "second age" different that is wanted. It's more like the basement of your abusive dad that keeps all your destroyed toys from when you were a child in there.
Alternative trailer
Amazon wasted their big budget.. One can only hope it will be a colossal failure and that they consider removing their cancerous woke production guidelines, so new shows might at least have a chance.
The truly meta thing would have been to reuse all the sets from Rings of Power, just all run down and decayed for Conan. After all, the tales of the Cimmerian are ALSO supposed to be set in a pre historic Earth, not some fantasy planet. So maybe they are all connected!I'm just really thankful it's looking more and more likely that that Amazon Conan show isn't happening anymore.
Just imagine how they'd turn him into a side character in his own show , regretting his toxic man ways.
The truly meta thing would have been to reuse all the sets from Rings of Power, just all run down and decayed for Conan. After all, the tales of the Cimmerian are ALSO supposed to be set in a pre historic Earth, not some fantasy planet. So maybe they are all connected!
Tolkien's comments on the film treatment (Letter #210)
The canons of narrative art in any medium cannot be wholly different; and the failure of poor films is often precisely in exaggeration, and in the intrusion of unwarranted matter owing to not perceiving where the core of the original lies.
[...]
Here I may say that I fail to see why the time-scheme should be deliberately contracted. It is already rather packed in the original, the main action occurring between Sept. 22 and March 25 of the following year. The many impossibilities and absurdities which further hurrying produces might, I suppose, be unobserved by an uncritical viewer; but I do not see why they should be unnecessarily introduced. Time must naturally be left vaguer in a picture than in a book; but I cannot see why definite time-statements, contrary to the book and to probability, should be made. ....
Seasons are carefully regarded in the original. They are pictorial, and should be, and easily could be, made the main means by which the artists indicate time-passage. The main action begins in autumn and passes through winter to a brilliant spring: this is basic to the purport and tone of the tale. The contraction of time and space in Z destroys that. His arrangements would, for instance, land us in a snowstorm while summer was still in. The Lord of the Rings may be a ?fairy-story?, but it takes place in the Northern hemisphere of this earth: miles are miles, days are days, and weather is weather.
Contraction of this kind is not the same thing as the necessary reduction or selection of the scenes and events that are to be visually represented.
[...]
I do earnestly hope that in the assignment of actual speeches to the characters they will be represented as I have presented them: in style and sentiment. I should resent perversion of the characters (and do resent it, so far as it appears in this sketch) even more than the spoiling of the plot and scenery.
[...]
If it is meant to represent only a kind of short finale, then all I can say is: The Lord of the Rings cannot be garbled like that.
Everything they touch indeed does turn to shit.Nice find. Not only does it confirm that Tolkien didn't want anybody making drastic changes to his story and lore (for background, I'm pretty sure the "Z" mentioned in the letter is a screenwriter who drafted a script for a LOTR film), but also confirms Middle-earth isn't just a whimsical fantasy world.
The Lord of the Rings may be a fairy-story, but it takes place in the Northern hemisphere of this earth: miles are miles, days are days, and weather is weather.
Alternative trailer
Amazon wasted their big budget.. One can only hope it will be a colossal failure and that they consider removing their cancerous woke production guidelines, so new shows might at least have a chance.
Amazon are really going all out with the marketing.
Amazon are really going all out with the marketing.
Guess they're hoping for these kind of reactions when people see something new resembling Lord of the Rings.The cringe with something like this. All that money spent to stage a teaser screening, narrow view of a diverse group and acted emotion of joy.
I'm sure they had these in the back ground for their "moments of joy"
Yeah! They could've followed a similar template like the Kingsbridge series from Ken Follet. Those books take place over decades and even centuries between books I believe. The throughline is the actual town/village (Kingsbridge), even though characters get old and die - their decedents live on and become the new characters. Major historical events happen to be going on (like the Hundred Years War and the Black Plague), but the main characters are "ordinary" people just living through it and sometimes getting swept up into it.what would have been so hard about making small stories in middle earth...way more interesting....middle earth is huge. The mysterious happenings in one small village and glen is way more interesting then time compressed giant battles. This amazon nonsense makes the land look flat and boring and small. I know Jackson compressed the world down for the film...but that was a movie. A series or show has so much time to build and flesh out some intersting little area and characters somewhere in this giant world. Theres a thousand stories and a weeks worth of walking just from the shire to Weathertop.
Guess they're hoping for these kind of reactions when people see something new resembling Lord of the Rings.
Guess they're hoping for these kind of reactions when people see something new resembling Lord of the Rings.
Bullshit. No one was saying “this guy does not look like Gandalf or Frodo”. Or “Legolas doesn’t look like a Tolkien elf”.I'll watch it, and the complaints seem similar to those regarding PJ's first movie trilogy, when the first trailer dropped.
Amazon are really going all out with the marketing.
Guess they're hoping for these kind of reactions when people see something new resembling Lord of the Rings.
LMAO, so they are just going to make a bunch of shit up and fill a whole series with it? Because the Second Age is extensively covered in The Silmarillion, and they can't use any of that?Oh boy
10 Burning Questions About Amazon’s ‘The Rings of Power’
Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay dive deeper into the details of the lavish “Lord of the Rings” TV series.www.vanityfair.com
“We have the rights solely to The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, the appendices, and The Hobbit,” Payne says. “And that is it. We do not have the rights to The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle-earth, or any of those other books.”LMAO, so they are just going to make a bunch of shit up and fill a whole series with it? Because the Second Age is extensively covered in The Silmarillion, and they can't use any of that?
“We have the rights solely to The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, the appendices, and The Hobbit,” Payne says. “And that is it. We do not have the rights to The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle-earth, or any of those other books.”
??? I thought this series was literally derived from the Silmarillion?
Enjoy:Bullshit. No one was saying “this guy does not look like Gandalf or Frodo”. Or “Legolas doesn’t look like a Tolkien elf”.
Cate Blanchett is one of the most gorgeous creatures to walk this earth.Cate Blanchett was too ugly to play Galadriel? I’d question that forum’s gene pool, not hers.
I mean, yeah. That's all it was ever going to be. The book's been done for some time now lol.This is why a vast majority of the events in this series will be fan fiction. Think Shadow of War levels of fan fiction.
No offense dude but half these posts are from 2 people on 1 forum. A lot of those complaints arw nitpick. The movies would have been better without some of the liberties to be fair. But I was there in 2001, before the film released. I was on the internet and forums everyday - not the one that you posted. And the hype was real. I remember the hype especially after 20 or something odd minutes were shown at Cannes.Enjoy:
"
I combed through 20 pages of forum discussion in 2001 of Tolkien fans criticizing Peter Jackson and his LoTR movie before it was even released. They were basing their criticism on the teasers, promos, leaks, interviews, etc. It's striking (yet not entirely unexpected in hindsight) how similar some of those complaints were to what we've been seeing in the past few days. For the vast majority of the complaints/concerns people have expressed regarding the new RoP show, you can almost find a near perfect match in that 2001 thread. It doesn't necessarily mean those concerns aren't valid, but it helps to take a step back and gain a "historical" perspective.
In this post, I will show many of the issues fans had with PJ and his movie (before anyone watched it) and I've grouped them into several categories. I will give you both the actual quote (sometimes shortened) and a link to that specific comment in that 2001 thread. Of course, these are just comments from one thread on the internet so don't take them too seriously. The main purpose of this post is to remind people that the show is still months away and we still know very little about it and that a bit more patience, optimism, and open-mindedness would be healthy for ourselves, the fandom, and the show and its cast and staff. Also, these 2001 complaints are just so hilarious that no matter what you think about the new show, we can probably all have a good laugh together.
Just to clarify, obviously I've picked some of the most ridiculous ones in that thread, but the vast majority of the comments in that thread were very negative. In a few places I've also added some context or my own short comment in Italic.
Now enjoy (get comfortable, cause it's very long):
Insulting Peter Jackson:
- I have come to the conclusion that he is probably not a good director // Reminder that this was one month before the movie release
- I know that Peter what-his-name may have cinematic license, but DID THIS DUDE EVER READ THE BOOKS!
- Jackson is taking ludicrous and unecessary liberties with the movie! I must cry out WHY? WHY? WHY? Why not leave things as they are?????
- Tolkien created an extremely detailed and consistent universe; for the bastard peter jackson to disrespect it is unconsciounable
- From the many quotes I've seen from PJ and actors, they have a pretty warped idea of "lover of the books" and "staying true to the story". What a load of two-sided, speaking out of both sides of the mouth, drivel!
- They're spouting lies the whole time. I mean, listen to Sean Astin's quote! He obviously hasn't read the books himself, so apparently Mr. Jackson has been lying to his own cast as well.
- How could PJ do this. LOOOOOOOOSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR
- To feel better about him/herself, the director simply looks for something to change. Watch a housewife, sorry ladies, try to decide how to decorate a room and you get my drift.
- The writer [Tolkien] needs to get mean and face up to the child-like director and marketing freaks. // If that had happened, Tolkien would be known as Tolkien the White
- PJ appears to feel his changes are insignificant and shouldn't trouble anyone. Sheesh... what an idiot!
- I feel he intends this as his legacy ....... and is milking it for every bit of publicity it's worth. I mean no-one had heard of him before this! ( how the hell did he manage to get to be the one to do it I wonder )!
- Hollywood screwed LOTR to high heaven, maybe PJ could be killed by a chaotic fan // They might have said that sarcastically though. Not sure.
- May the dreaded swan boat sail over your grave peter jackson and Glorfindel's white horse personaly pee on it // r/BrandNewSentence
- if he doesn't change them i will RIP OF HIS THROAT AND $#!+ DOWN IT AND THEN I SHALL CRUSH HIM WITH MY DRAGON BLUDRAG
Insulting the cast:
BTW, this is how Ian defended the movie and PJ (which the fan called BS): "The devotion to that man [Tolkien], I think, was equal to everyone's devotion to Peter Jackson. It was never, 'Ah good, we've got this storyline, let's see what we can do with it.'... When this film comes out, it will just say 'New Line [Cinema] presents The Lord of the Rings. It's not going to be 'A Film by Peter Jackson.' Now, wouldn't you think you'd earned the right, having brought this project to life, to have your name up there? The man you meet is the man we saw every day. He's only got one pair of shoes. He's always in shorts. He's always in the same shirt. He generates such enthusiasm just simply by being himself. He's not a star, but his knowledge is formidable. You can go to him and absolutely get your answer."
- Liv Tyler is every bit as guilty as Jackson. She volunteered to destroy the character for money. To her it was just another script. And she, rich as she is, decided she would take part in the blasphemy that is what has happened with her character. Any actor with a conscience should have turned that down when they considered the disappointment of fans.
- If he wanted Liv Tyler to be the action heroine.... cast her as Eowyn. I think that it is ironic that PJ cast her in the tame role of Arwen and casts a nobody as Eowyn.
- As for Christopher Lee...well..We are talking about a guy who was not beneath taking cheap roles in wretched Hammer Films productions of every incarnation of Dracula imaginable, so I can see where the money in his pocket was not problem...how else do you explain why he has said nothing about his character apparently being killed at Orthanc
- I think what you see in the cast list are people who... don't really have a career anymore but are willing to ignore the fact that they are prosituting themselves and Tolkien's writings so long as they get paid...(This is the ONLY thing I can use to describe Christopher Lee, who claims to re-read the books every year)
- We already know Ian McKellen's done a lousy job // Oh do you??
- What a bunch of BS. How anyone can listen to this guy any longer is unfathomable to me. // (Ian McKellen (Gandalf) defended PJ against fan criticism before the movies was even out, and this fan called it a bunch of BS)
- Jackson [has] ugly characters playing the beautiful ones... FoTR has Elrond's actor and Cate Blanchett.
- Doesn't Celborn look like an a number one WUSS!! Why couldn't they have picked someone with a little more presence.
Arwen shouldn't fight, ride a horse, or have many dialogues, or... kiss Aragorn?:
And a big shoutout to Liv Tyler (Arwen) who was harassed by fans who dubbed her XenArwen as in Xena Arwen because she did fighting in the movie, and then straight-up said in an interview that "If you don't want to see what another person does with the part, then don't go to the movies." I don't think many actors today have the courage to say that to fans.
- She's just supposed to be this little Elven-hottie that sits in the Hall of Fire & has next to no lines, and Aragorn marries her in the end. // Wow... just wow...
- in the book as others have stated already, she simply sits there looking pretty
- If you're gonna give that scene to Arwen... HELL! YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE HER LEAD THE FELLOWSHIP! HELL!!!! YOU MIGHT AS WELL LET HER CARRY THE RING TO MORDOR ALL BY HERSELF!!! SHE SURE DOESN'T NEED ANY HOBBIT WHEN, BEING THE MOST COURAGEOUS AND BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN MIDDLE EARTH, SHE CAN DO IT ALL BY HERSELF!!!!
- theArwen-warrior-spell-casting-witch-ifyouwanthimcomeandclaimhim-steroid wench REALLY REALLY BOTHERS ME!!!!!
- I think that by turning her into this warrior sorceress Mr. Jackson is twisting and cheapening her character
- And I'm not someone who always hates "political correctness." But this is different entirely.
- If the movie (I mean all three parts) was made to represent the book as closely as possible, as should have been, women would have had an incredibly small role in this film, and would have been nearly absent entirely... But political correctness (also known as BULLS**T) in Hollywood won't allow that.
- Lets make the characters more "exciting" and "politically correct", regardless of how Tolkien wanted it... Why don't we just make Lassie a cat. Down with PJ! // (He's referring to the movie/tv show about a dog called Lassie)
- the screenwriter is a woman, and as we all know middle earth is a very sexist planet, so in the interest of pleasing half of the audience of the movie a woman would need to be shown more often and as someone more important
- Arwen looks like a little girl pouting fit and have to have he[r] grammy come and console her
- not to mention they show Aragorn kissing Arwen, yep .
Gandalf looks weird/stupid:
- Gandalf grabbing Frodo and asking "IS IT SAFE?" like some crazy old man.
- Gandalf becomes a sputtering madman, "Is it here? Is it SAFE?!?".
- And Gandalf, sputtering like a senile old man?!
- Yeah right, Gandalf is a nutcase who is stupid enough to bump hid head in a house he visited many times.
- It sounds like Gandalf is a stooge; what does he do, fart when you pull his beard???
- He does seem a bit of a scaredy cat in the clips. Well if it's any consolation he will die before the end. You might be wishing for that bit to come quick though. // First time I've seen anyone hoping to see Gandalf die faster...
Elrond looks off:
- he's just as homely as he was on The Matrix!! Except he's supposed to be beautiful as Elrond!! What happened??
- I can't look at Elrond without hearing him say "How are you going to speak Mr. Anderson, when you have....no mouth?"
Galadriel is ugly:
- Galadriel isn't nearly beautifull enough
- Cate Blanchett?? Don't ask me from what gene pool PJ picked his elves from...
Lurtz (the Uruk Hai that killed Boromir) isn't in the books so shouldn't exist:
BTW this was mentioned at least 20-30 times in that thread. But it's pretty repetitive so I didn't include more.
- And this Lurtz dude, what is with adding him in? I'm not sure if he is actually purple/blue, but in a couple pics I have seen he is purple/blue... He kind of reminds me of... Barney the purple dinosaur *shudders* in a way. // New meme: Boromir killed by Barney the purple dinosaur
- I'd say it Lurtz. And, I don't think it even sounds like an orc name.
Orcs popping out of cocoons is weird and breaks lore:
This was mentioned at least 30-40 times in that thread. People were really really obsessed with how Orcs reproduce for some reason...
- JEEEEEZ!! If it couldn't get any worse!! Orcs from pods?
- I... was absolutely horrified, it was the most disgraceful thing I had ever seen in my life.
- You would think, since the orcs were made in mockery of the elves, they would reproduce as elves do. What is with the pods and cocoons!!! Does PJ think they're ants or some sort of bug???
- This is really disturbing me, because PJ is sick enough to put something like this in LOTR. Tolkien would probably have a heart attack if he could see this stuff being done to his wonderful book.
Victims of false rumors or paranoia:
- LOTR without Treebeard? How does he think to get rid of all the orcs at Helms Deep?
- My deepest fear is that Jackson... has so much desire for Frodo to be liked and so wants there to be a "happy ending" that he might just... let Frodo destroy the Ring at mount doom
- My question, is....from where does the strength come from for that moth to carry Gandalf away from Orthanc and many leagues across ME... Can you imagine on the battlefield in front of Morannon...."The moths are coming! The moths are coming!!" // This one got me good I gotta say. Premium meme material!
- A moth? Gwahir would accidentally eat him, never mind listen to a message from him. // The man actually has a point here lol
- Elves and Uruk-hai have Samurai-style armor
- Who knows what kind of climax RotK will have? Maybe Frodo can put on the ring, use it to cut Smeagol in half, turn it on Barad-dur and blow that up, then take it off and throw it in saying "Later for you!" all the while Limp Bizkit's latest plays in the background (with special guest vocalist ... I don't know, some rapper.)
- I really hope there is SOMETHING of the real story left. This thread scares the hell out of me
Hollywood is ruining LoTR for money/political correctness:
- You don't just take that and bastardize it because Hollywood, who as you've said does that to movies, wants to get its mud hooks on it and create a big money maker.
- Hollywood seeks money. Art is secondary. Everything else, except in rare cases, is secondary. Producers and directors are hired to make "shock-value" and attract audiences.
- If Hollywood could get away with it, he [Gandalf] would have a machine gun in his hand and saying,"I'll be back!" // Ok, I actually need this to happen when Gandalf falls off the bridge in Moria
- the movie is not made for the fans. it is made to make MONEY. it is all about profit.
- Hollywood corrupts art to make money. They needed to bring in a charater "politically correct" to have a female role model. Tolkien was not politically correct and that just doesn't sit well with Hollywood
- Every time there is a movie that we have deep forebodings about, we still go to it to "see what it's like". It happened with Aliens III, Alien Resurrection, Episode I, and a dozen others. After we see the movie, we find we hated it after all, yet we still gave them our money! In the end, it doesn't matter to Peter Jackson or New Line Cinemas (curse them both!)
"I'm a Tolkien purists":
- Many changes! Blasphemy!
- I just don't think that it is truly Tolkien and I do believe that it will distort the way "newbies" will view the real LoTR and Tolkien in general.
- Do you even do any research?... some people do care about what Tolkien intended even if you don't... What are you here for? // (A purist was borderline cyber bullying someone who dared to want to give the movie a chance)
- This isn't just a movie. This is supposedly a serious attempt to put the Lord of the Rings, one of the greatest literary works of all time, on screen. It's not just "entertainment;"
- We (as a generic term) are in fact probably the best authorities on how these movies should be. The "normal person" might not see problems, but that is because the "normal person" does not understand.
- From his letters he was quite adamant about what PJ 's doing now. It's to be expected that nowadays people will sell out great literature for entertainment. It's even sadder that people who know better (Tolkien fans) don't really care. After all, it's only entertainment.
- It bothers me, especially when the book can stand alone on its own merit rather then needing the "help" of money grabbers who want to make it their own.
- Maybe when you take a few more English classes in school, you will see that.
- I will not, however, accept it as "Lord of The Rings" and will not promote the movie as "Tolkien".
- I think the worst part is that LoTR will never again be the same, people. All the marketing, all the merchandise, all the misconceptions. PJ's movie has changed the dynamics of what LoTR was to society.
- I will go now, without so great an expectation of seeing the LOTR... but rather I will simply go see some potentially decent fantasy movie made by some fat, ugly Englishman with a terrible beard.
- Down with PJ! And Down with the ignorant media promoting it and dragging JRR through the mud with their stupid, uninformed comments about ME...
Boycotting the movie:
- I am getting madder and more unmotivated by the minute to see this movie.
- I am reiterating my intention to *not* give the bastard Peter Jackson even a dime of my money. That's why God invented the bootleg download. I will *not* go see this movie in the theatre. I will*not* buy or rent it on VHS or DVD. I will download a free copy of the movie off of the Internet. I've never done this before and proabably won't do so again... but I will *not* give the bastard Peter Jackson a cent of my money.
- if half the things that I have read on this board are true, I will never go to see any of these movies... I would rather read the books backward, word for word, than go see this debacle. I would rather see Harry Potter twenty-seven times in a row than catch the slightest glimpse of an orc-pod.
- We must take a stand now and *all* vow *not* to see *any* of the movies!
- But, I didn't go [to see the movie]. And I won't go today, either. Or tomorrow. I choose to keep my integrity, unlike some people who direct block-buster movies.
Other miscellaneous ones:
"
- Sam and Merry are much too bold when confronted with the Nazgul
- he makes these really quite unnessecary changes, like having Pippin knock a skeleton instead of a rock down the hole in Moria. // This is some advanced nit-picking...
- Anyone know if the Legolas "shield surfing" is still in? // Yes! And it's a meme now.
- Galadriel floats on some cheesy amusement park boat instead of large swan boat paddled by two elves.
- "Saruman captures Gandalf by fighting a 'wizard duel' involving telekinesis, lightning, and Gandalf being slammed against the wall." Please don't tell me this is going to be some sort of children movie like Harry Potter or D&D. // Harry Potter and the Wizard Duel, featuring Gandalf and Saruman. I'd watch that!
- The Ringwraiths aren't all riding black horses. They look brown.
Yeah, this ain't reflective of the general air around these movies back then at all. So a bunch of people who can't deal with anything changing even a little bit are yelling at clouds on a forum, who gives a shit? I was hanging around theonering.net and some others sites, plus talking to all my friends about this and the excitement was through the roof.Enjoy:
"
I combed through 20 pages of forum discussion in 2001 of Tolkien fans criticizing Peter Jackson and his LoTR movie before it was even released. They were basing their criticism on the teasers, promos, leaks, interviews, etc. It's striking (yet not entirely unexpected in hindsight) how similar some of those complaints were to what we've been seeing in the past few days. For the vast majority of the complaints/concerns people have expressed regarding the new RoP show, you can almost find a near perfect match in that 2001 thread. It doesn't necessarily mean those concerns aren't valid, but it helps to take a step back and gain a "historical" perspective.
In this post, I will show many of the issues fans had with PJ and his movie (before anyone watched it) and I've grouped them into several categories. I will give you both the actual quote (sometimes shortened) and a link to that specific comment in that 2001 thread. Of course, these are just comments from one thread on the internet so don't take them too seriously. The main purpose of this post is to remind people that the show is still months away and we still know very little about it and that a bit more patience, optimism, and open-mindedness would be healthy for ourselves, the fandom, and the show and its cast and staff. Also, these 2001 complaints are just so hilarious that no matter what you think about the new show, we can probably all have a good laugh together.
Just to clarify, obviously I've picked some of the most ridiculous ones in that thread, but the vast majority of the comments in that thread were very negative. In a few places I've also added some context or my own short comment in Italic.
Now enjoy (get comfortable, cause it's very long):
Insulting Peter Jackson:
- I have come to the conclusion that he is probably not a good director // Reminder that this was one month before the movie release
- I know that Peter what-his-name may have cinematic license, but DID THIS DUDE EVER READ THE BOOKS!
- Jackson is taking ludicrous and unecessary liberties with the movie! I must cry out WHY? WHY? WHY? Why not leave things as they are?????
- Tolkien created an extremely detailed and consistent universe; for the bastard peter jackson to disrespect it is unconsciounable
- From the many quotes I've seen from PJ and actors, they have a pretty warped idea of "lover of the books" and "staying true to the story". What a load of two-sided, speaking out of both sides of the mouth, drivel!
- They're spouting lies the whole time. I mean, listen to Sean Astin's quote! He obviously hasn't read the books himself, so apparently Mr. Jackson has been lying to his own cast as well.
- How could PJ do this. LOOOOOOOOSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR
- To feel better about him/herself, the director simply looks for something to change. Watch a housewife, sorry ladies, try to decide how to decorate a room and you get my drift.
- The writer [Tolkien] needs to get mean and face up to the child-like director and marketing freaks. // If that had happened, Tolkien would be known as Tolkien the White
- PJ appears to feel his changes are insignificant and shouldn't trouble anyone. Sheesh... what an idiot!
- I feel he intends this as his legacy ....... and is milking it for every bit of publicity it's worth. I mean no-one had heard of him before this! ( how the hell did he manage to get to be the one to do it I wonder )!
- Hollywood screwed LOTR to high heaven, maybe PJ could be killed by a chaotic fan // They might have said that sarcastically though. Not sure.
- May the dreaded swan boat sail over your grave peter jackson and Glorfindel's white horse personaly pee on it // r/BrandNewSentence
- if he doesn't change them i will RIP OF HIS THROAT AND $#!+ DOWN IT AND THEN I SHALL CRUSH HIM WITH MY DRAGON BLUDRAG
Insulting the cast:
BTW, this is how Ian defended the movie and PJ (which the fan called BS): "The devotion to that man [Tolkien], I think, was equal to everyone's devotion to Peter Jackson. It was never, 'Ah good, we've got this storyline, let's see what we can do with it.'... When this film comes out, it will just say 'New Line [Cinema] presents The Lord of the Rings. It's not going to be 'A Film by Peter Jackson.' Now, wouldn't you think you'd earned the right, having brought this project to life, to have your name up there? The man you meet is the man we saw every day. He's only got one pair of shoes. He's always in shorts. He's always in the same shirt. He generates such enthusiasm just simply by being himself. He's not a star, but his knowledge is formidable. You can go to him and absolutely get your answer."
- Liv Tyler is every bit as guilty as Jackson. She volunteered to destroy the character for money. To her it was just another script. And she, rich as she is, decided she would take part in the blasphemy that is what has happened with her character. Any actor with a conscience should have turned that down when they considered the disappointment of fans.
- If he wanted Liv Tyler to be the action heroine.... cast her as Eowyn. I think that it is ironic that PJ cast her in the tame role of Arwen and casts a nobody as Eowyn.
- As for Christopher Lee...well..We are talking about a guy who was not beneath taking cheap roles in wretched Hammer Films productions of every incarnation of Dracula imaginable, so I can see where the money in his pocket was not problem...how else do you explain why he has said nothing about his character apparently being killed at Orthanc
- I think what you see in the cast list are people who... don't really have a career anymore but are willing to ignore the fact that they are prosituting themselves and Tolkien's writings so long as they get paid...(This is the ONLY thing I can use to describe Christopher Lee, who claims to re-read the books every year)
- We already know Ian McKellen's done a lousy job // Oh do you??
- What a bunch of BS. How anyone can listen to this guy any longer is unfathomable to me. // (Ian McKellen (Gandalf) defended PJ against fan criticism before the movies was even out, and this fan called it a bunch of BS)
- Jackson [has] ugly characters playing the beautiful ones... FoTR has Elrond's actor and Cate Blanchett.
- Doesn't Celborn look like an a number one WUSS!! Why couldn't they have picked someone with a little more presence.
Arwen shouldn't fight, ride a horse, or have many dialogues, or... kiss Aragorn?:
And a big shoutout to Liv Tyler (Arwen) who was harassed by fans who dubbed her XenArwen as in Xena Arwen because she did fighting in the movie, and then straight-up said in an interview that "If you don't want to see what another person does with the part, then don't go to the movies." I don't think many actors today have the courage to say that to fans.
- She's just supposed to be this little Elven-hottie that sits in the Hall of Fire & has next to no lines, and Aragorn marries her in the end. // Wow... just wow...
- in the book as others have stated already, she simply sits there looking pretty
- If you're gonna give that scene to Arwen... HELL! YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE HER LEAD THE FELLOWSHIP! HELL!!!! YOU MIGHT AS WELL LET HER CARRY THE RING TO MORDOR ALL BY HERSELF!!! SHE SURE DOESN'T NEED ANY HOBBIT WHEN, BEING THE MOST COURAGEOUS AND BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN MIDDLE EARTH, SHE CAN DO IT ALL BY HERSELF!!!!
- theArwen-warrior-spell-casting-witch-ifyouwanthimcomeandclaimhim-steroid wench REALLY REALLY BOTHERS ME!!!!!
- I think that by turning her into this warrior sorceress Mr. Jackson is twisting and cheapening her character
- And I'm not someone who always hates "political correctness." But this is different entirely.
- If the movie (I mean all three parts) was made to represent the book as closely as possible, as should have been, women would have had an incredibly small role in this film, and would have been nearly absent entirely... But political correctness (also known as BULLS**T) in Hollywood won't allow that.
- Lets make the characters more "exciting" and "politically correct", regardless of how Tolkien wanted it... Why don't we just make Lassie a cat. Down with PJ! // (He's referring to the movie/tv show about a dog called Lassie)
- the screenwriter is a woman, and as we all know middle earth is a very sexist planet, so in the interest of pleasing half of the audience of the movie a woman would need to be shown more often and as someone more important
- Arwen looks like a little girl pouting fit and have to have he[r] grammy come and console her
- not to mention they show Aragorn kissing Arwen, yep .
Gandalf looks weird/stupid:
- Gandalf grabbing Frodo and asking "IS IT SAFE?" like some crazy old man.
- Gandalf becomes a sputtering madman, "Is it here? Is it SAFE?!?".
- And Gandalf, sputtering like a senile old man?!
- Yeah right, Gandalf is a nutcase who is stupid enough to bump hid head in a house he visited many times.
- It sounds like Gandalf is a stooge; what does he do, fart when you pull his beard???
- He does seem a bit of a scaredy cat in the clips. Well if it's any consolation he will die before the end. You might be wishing for that bit to come quick though. // First time I've seen anyone hoping to see Gandalf die faster...
Elrond looks off:
- he's just as homely as he was on The Matrix!! Except he's supposed to be beautiful as Elrond!! What happened??
- I can't look at Elrond without hearing him say "How are you going to speak Mr. Anderson, when you have....no mouth?"
Galadriel is ugly:
- Galadriel isn't nearly beautifull enough
- Cate Blanchett?? Don't ask me from what gene pool PJ picked his elves from...
Lurtz (the Uruk Hai that killed Boromir) isn't in the books so shouldn't exist:
BTW this was mentioned at least 20-30 times in that thread. But it's pretty repetitive so I didn't include more.
- And this Lurtz dude, what is with adding him in? I'm not sure if he is actually purple/blue, but in a couple pics I have seen he is purple/blue... He kind of reminds me of... Barney the purple dinosaur *shudders* in a way. // New meme: Boromir killed by Barney the purple dinosaur
- I'd say it Lurtz. And, I don't think it even sounds like an orc name.
Orcs popping out of cocoons is weird and breaks lore:
This was mentioned at least 30-40 times in that thread. People were really really obsessed with how Orcs reproduce for some reason...
- JEEEEEZ!! If it couldn't get any worse!! Orcs from pods?
- I... was absolutely horrified, it was the most disgraceful thing I had ever seen in my life.
- You would think, since the orcs were made in mockery of the elves, they would reproduce as elves do. What is with the pods and cocoons!!! Does PJ think they're ants or some sort of bug???
- This is really disturbing me, because PJ is sick enough to put something like this in LOTR. Tolkien would probably have a heart attack if he could see this stuff being done to his wonderful book.
Victims of false rumors or paranoia:
- LOTR without Treebeard? How does he think to get rid of all the orcs at Helms Deep?
- My deepest fear is that Jackson... has so much desire for Frodo to be liked and so wants there to be a "happy ending" that he might just... let Frodo destroy the Ring at mount doom
- My question, is....from where does the strength come from for that moth to carry Gandalf away from Orthanc and many leagues across ME... Can you imagine on the battlefield in front of Morannon...."The moths are coming! The moths are coming!!" // This one got me good I gotta say. Premium meme material!
- A moth? Gwahir would accidentally eat him, never mind listen to a message from him. // The man actually has a point here lol
- Elves and Uruk-hai have Samurai-style armor
- Who knows what kind of climax RotK will have? Maybe Frodo can put on the ring, use it to cut Smeagol in half, turn it on Barad-dur and blow that up, then take it off and throw it in saying "Later for you!" all the while Limp Bizkit's latest plays in the background (with special guest vocalist ... I don't know, some rapper.)
- I really hope there is SOMETHING of the real story left. This thread scares the hell out of me
Hollywood is ruining LoTR for money/political correctness:
- You don't just take that and bastardize it because Hollywood, who as you've said does that to movies, wants to get its mud hooks on it and create a big money maker.
- Hollywood seeks money. Art is secondary. Everything else, except in rare cases, is secondary. Producers and directors are hired to make "shock-value" and attract audiences.
- If Hollywood could get away with it, he [Gandalf] would have a machine gun in his hand and saying,"I'll be back!" // Ok, I actually need this to happen when Gandalf falls off the bridge in Moria
- the movie is not made for the fans. it is made to make MONEY. it is all about profit.
- Hollywood corrupts art to make money. They needed to bring in a charater "politically correct" to have a female role model. Tolkien was not politically correct and that just doesn't sit well with Hollywood
- Every time there is a movie that we have deep forebodings about, we still go to it to "see what it's like". It happened with Aliens III, Alien Resurrection, Episode I, and a dozen others. After we see the movie, we find we hated it after all, yet we still gave them our money! In the end, it doesn't matter to Peter Jackson or New Line Cinemas (curse them both!)
"I'm a Tolkien purists":
- Many changes! Blasphemy!
- I just don't think that it is truly Tolkien and I do believe that it will distort the way "newbies" will view the real LoTR and Tolkien in general.
- Do you even do any research?... some people do care about what Tolkien intended even if you don't... What are you here for? // (A purist was borderline cyber bullying someone who dared to want to give the movie a chance)
- This isn't just a movie. This is supposedly a serious attempt to put the Lord of the Rings, one of the greatest literary works of all time, on screen. It's not just "entertainment;"
- We (as a generic term) are in fact probably the best authorities on how these movies should be. The "normal person" might not see problems, but that is because the "normal person" does not understand.
- From his letters he was quite adamant about what PJ 's doing now. It's to be expected that nowadays people will sell out great literature for entertainment. It's even sadder that people who know better (Tolkien fans) don't really care. After all, it's only entertainment.
- It bothers me, especially when the book can stand alone on its own merit rather then needing the "help" of money grabbers who want to make it their own.
- Maybe when you take a few more English classes in school, you will see that.
- I will not, however, accept it as "Lord of The Rings" and will not promote the movie as "Tolkien".
- I think the worst part is that LoTR will never again be the same, people. All the marketing, all the merchandise, all the misconceptions. PJ's movie has changed the dynamics of what LoTR was to society.
- I will go now, without so great an expectation of seeing the LOTR... but rather I will simply go see some potentially decent fantasy movie made by some fat, ugly Englishman with a terrible beard.
- Down with PJ! And Down with the ignorant media promoting it and dragging JRR through the mud with their stupid, uninformed comments about ME...
Boycotting the movie:
- I am getting madder and more unmotivated by the minute to see this movie.
- I am reiterating my intention to *not* give the bastard Peter Jackson even a dime of my money. That's why God invented the bootleg download. I will *not* go see this movie in the theatre. I will*not* buy or rent it on VHS or DVD. I will download a free copy of the movie off of the Internet. I've never done this before and proabably won't do so again... but I will *not* give the bastard Peter Jackson a cent of my money.
- if half the things that I have read on this board are true, I will never go to see any of these movies... I would rather read the books backward, word for word, than go see this debacle. I would rather see Harry Potter twenty-seven times in a row than catch the slightest glimpse of an orc-pod.
- We must take a stand now and *all* vow *not* to see *any* of the movies!
- But, I didn't go [to see the movie]. And I won't go today, either. Or tomorrow. I choose to keep my integrity, unlike some people who direct block-buster movies.
Other miscellaneous ones:
"
- Sam and Merry are much too bold when confronted with the Nazgul
- he makes these really quite unnessecary changes, like having Pippin knock a skeleton instead of a rock down the hole in Moria. // This is some advanced nit-picking...
- Anyone know if the Legolas "shield surfing" is still in? // Yes! And it's a meme now.
- Galadriel floats on some cheesy amusement park boat instead of large swan boat paddled by two elves.
- "Saruman captures Gandalf by fighting a 'wizard duel' involving telekinesis, lightning, and Gandalf being slammed against the wall." Please don't tell me this is going to be some sort of children movie like Harry Potter or D&D. // Harry Potter and the Wizard Duel, featuring Gandalf and Saruman. I'd watch that!
- The Ringwraiths aren't all riding black horses. They look brown.
Enjoy:
"
I combed through 20 pages of forum discussion in 2001 of Tolkien fans criticizing Peter Jackson and his LoTR movie before it was even released. They were basing their criticism on the teasers, promos, leaks, interviews, etc. It's striking (yet not entirely unexpected in hindsight) how similar some of those complaints were to what we've been seeing in the past few days. For the vast majority of the complaints/concerns people have expressed regarding the new RoP show, you can almost find a near perfect match in that 2001 thread. It doesn't necessarily mean those concerns aren't valid, but it helps to take a step back and gain a "historical" perspective.
In this post, I will show many of the issues fans had with PJ and his movie (before anyone watched it) and I've grouped them into several categories. I will give you both the actual quote (sometimes shortened) and a link to that specific comment in that 2001 thread. Of course, these are just comments from one thread on the internet so don't take them too seriously. The main purpose of this post is to remind people that the show is still months away and we still know very little about it and that a bit more patience, optimism, and open-mindedness would be healthy for ourselves, the fandom, and the show and its cast and staff. Also, these 2001 complaints are just so hilarious that no matter what you think about the new show, we can probably all have a good laugh together.
Just to clarify, obviously I've picked some of the most ridiculous ones in that thread, but the vast majority of the comments in that thread were very negative. In a few places I've also added some context or my own short comment in Italic.
Now enjoy (get comfortable, cause it's very long):
Insulting Peter Jackson:
- I have come to the conclusion that he is probably not a good director // Reminder that this was one month before the movie release
- I know that Peter what-his-name may have cinematic license, but DID THIS DUDE EVER READ THE BOOKS!
- Jackson is taking ludicrous and unecessary liberties with the movie! I must cry out WHY? WHY? WHY? Why not leave things as they are?????
- Tolkien created an extremely detailed and consistent universe; for the bastard peter jackson to disrespect it is unconsciounable
- From the many quotes I've seen from PJ and actors, they have a pretty warped idea of "lover of the books" and "staying true to the story". What a load of two-sided, speaking out of both sides of the mouth, drivel!
- They're spouting lies the whole time. I mean, listen to Sean Astin's quote! He obviously hasn't read the books himself, so apparently Mr. Jackson has been lying to his own cast as well.
- How could PJ do this. LOOOOOOOOSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRR
- To feel better about him/herself, the director simply looks for something to change. Watch a housewife, sorry ladies, try to decide how to decorate a room and you get my drift.
- The writer [Tolkien] needs to get mean and face up to the child-like director and marketing freaks. // If that had happened, Tolkien would be known as Tolkien the White
- PJ appears to feel his changes are insignificant and shouldn't trouble anyone. Sheesh... what an idiot!
- I feel he intends this as his legacy ....... and is milking it for every bit of publicity it's worth. I mean no-one had heard of him before this! ( how the hell did he manage to get to be the one to do it I wonder )!
- Hollywood screwed LOTR to high heaven, maybe PJ could be killed by a chaotic fan // They might have said that sarcastically though. Not sure.
- May the dreaded swan boat sail over your grave peter jackson and Glorfindel's white horse personaly pee on it // r/BrandNewSentence
- if he doesn't change them i will RIP OF HIS THROAT AND $#!+ DOWN IT AND THEN I SHALL CRUSH HIM WITH MY DRAGON BLUDRAG
Insulting the cast:
BTW, this is how Ian defended the movie and PJ (which the fan called BS): "The devotion to that man [Tolkien], I think, was equal to everyone's devotion to Peter Jackson. It was never, 'Ah good, we've got this storyline, let's see what we can do with it.'... When this film comes out, it will just say 'New Line [Cinema] presents The Lord of the Rings. It's not going to be 'A Film by Peter Jackson.' Now, wouldn't you think you'd earned the right, having brought this project to life, to have your name up there? The man you meet is the man we saw every day. He's only got one pair of shoes. He's always in shorts. He's always in the same shirt. He generates such enthusiasm just simply by being himself. He's not a star, but his knowledge is formidable. You can go to him and absolutely get your answer."
- Liv Tyler is every bit as guilty as Jackson. She volunteered to destroy the character for money. To her it was just another script. And she, rich as she is, decided she would take part in the blasphemy that is what has happened with her character. Any actor with a conscience should have turned that down when they considered the disappointment of fans.
- If he wanted Liv Tyler to be the action heroine.... cast her as Eowyn. I think that it is ironic that PJ cast her in the tame role of Arwen and casts a nobody as Eowyn.
- As for Christopher Lee...well..We are talking about a guy who was not beneath taking cheap roles in wretched Hammer Films productions of every incarnation of Dracula imaginable, so I can see where the money in his pocket was not problem...how else do you explain why he has said nothing about his character apparently being killed at Orthanc
- I think what you see in the cast list are people who... don't really have a career anymore but are willing to ignore the fact that they are prosituting themselves and Tolkien's writings so long as they get paid...(This is the ONLY thing I can use to describe Christopher Lee, who claims to re-read the books every year)
- We already know Ian McKellen's done a lousy job // Oh do you??
- What a bunch of BS. How anyone can listen to this guy any longer is unfathomable to me. // (Ian McKellen (Gandalf) defended PJ against fan criticism before the movies was even out, and this fan called it a bunch of BS)
- Jackson [has] ugly characters playing the beautiful ones... FoTR has Elrond's actor and Cate Blanchett.
- Doesn't Celborn look like an a number one WUSS!! Why couldn't they have picked someone with a little more presence.
Arwen shouldn't fight, ride a horse, or have many dialogues, or... kiss Aragorn?:
And a big shoutout to Liv Tyler (Arwen) who was harassed by fans who dubbed her XenArwen as in Xena Arwen because she did fighting in the movie, and then straight-up said in an interview that "If you don't want to see what another person does with the part, then don't go to the movies." I don't think many actors today have the courage to say that to fans.
- She's just supposed to be this little Elven-hottie that sits in the Hall of Fire & has next to no lines, and Aragorn marries her in the end. // Wow... just wow...
- in the book as others have stated already, she simply sits there looking pretty
- If you're gonna give that scene to Arwen... HELL! YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE HER LEAD THE FELLOWSHIP! HELL!!!! YOU MIGHT AS WELL LET HER CARRY THE RING TO MORDOR ALL BY HERSELF!!! SHE SURE DOESN'T NEED ANY HOBBIT WHEN, BEING THE MOST COURAGEOUS AND BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN MIDDLE EARTH, SHE CAN DO IT ALL BY HERSELF!!!!
- theArwen-warrior-spell-casting-witch-ifyouwanthimcomeandclaimhim-steroid wench REALLY REALLY BOTHERS ME!!!!!
- I think that by turning her into this warrior sorceress Mr. Jackson is twisting and cheapening her character
- And I'm not someone who always hates "political correctness." But this is different entirely.
- If the movie (I mean all three parts) was made to represent the book as closely as possible, as should have been, women would have had an incredibly small role in this film, and would have been nearly absent entirely... But political correctness (also known as BULLS**T) in Hollywood won't allow that.
- Lets make the characters more "exciting" and "politically correct", regardless of how Tolkien wanted it... Why don't we just make Lassie a cat. Down with PJ! // (He's referring to the movie/tv show about a dog called Lassie)
- the screenwriter is a woman, and as we all know middle earth is a very sexist planet, so in the interest of pleasing half of the audience of the movie a woman would need to be shown more often and as someone more important
- Arwen looks like a little girl pouting fit and have to have he[r] grammy come and console her
- not to mention they show Aragorn kissing Arwen, yep .
Gandalf looks weird/stupid:
- Gandalf grabbing Frodo and asking "IS IT SAFE?" like some crazy old man.
- Gandalf becomes a sputtering madman, "Is it here? Is it SAFE?!?".
- And Gandalf, sputtering like a senile old man?!
- Yeah right, Gandalf is a nutcase who is stupid enough to bump hid head in a house he visited many times.
- It sounds like Gandalf is a stooge; what does he do, fart when you pull his beard???
- He does seem a bit of a scaredy cat in the clips. Well if it's any consolation he will die before the end. You might be wishing for that bit to come quick though. // First time I've seen anyone hoping to see Gandalf die faster...
Elrond looks off:
- he's just as homely as he was on The Matrix!! Except he's supposed to be beautiful as Elrond!! What happened??
- I can't look at Elrond without hearing him say "How are you going to speak Mr. Anderson, when you have....no mouth?"
Galadriel is ugly:
- Galadriel isn't nearly beautifull enough
- Cate Blanchett?? Don't ask me from what gene pool PJ picked his elves from...
Lurtz (the Uruk Hai that killed Boromir) isn't in the books so shouldn't exist:
BTW this was mentioned at least 20-30 times in that thread. But it's pretty repetitive so I didn't include more.
- And this Lurtz dude, what is with adding him in? I'm not sure if he is actually purple/blue, but in a couple pics I have seen he is purple/blue... He kind of reminds me of... Barney the purple dinosaur *shudders* in a way. // New meme: Boromir killed by Barney the purple dinosaur
- I'd say it Lurtz. And, I don't think it even sounds like an orc name.
Orcs popping out of cocoons is weird and breaks lore:
This was mentioned at least 30-40 times in that thread. People were really really obsessed with how Orcs reproduce for some reason...
- JEEEEEZ!! If it couldn't get any worse!! Orcs from pods?
- I... was absolutely horrified, it was the most disgraceful thing I had ever seen in my life.
- You would think, since the orcs were made in mockery of the elves, they would reproduce as elves do. What is with the pods and cocoons!!! Does PJ think they're ants or some sort of bug???
- This is really disturbing me, because PJ is sick enough to put something like this in LOTR. Tolkien would probably have a heart attack if he could see this stuff being done to his wonderful book.
Victims of false rumors or paranoia:
- LOTR without Treebeard? How does he think to get rid of all the orcs at Helms Deep?
- My deepest fear is that Jackson... has so much desire for Frodo to be liked and so wants there to be a "happy ending" that he might just... let Frodo destroy the Ring at mount doom
- My question, is....from where does the strength come from for that moth to carry Gandalf away from Orthanc and many leagues across ME... Can you imagine on the battlefield in front of Morannon...."The moths are coming! The moths are coming!!" // This one got me good I gotta say. Premium meme material!
- A moth? Gwahir would accidentally eat him, never mind listen to a message from him. // The man actually has a point here lol
- Elves and Uruk-hai have Samurai-style armor
- Who knows what kind of climax RotK will have? Maybe Frodo can put on the ring, use it to cut Smeagol in half, turn it on Barad-dur and blow that up, then take it off and throw it in saying "Later for you!" all the while Limp Bizkit's latest plays in the background (with special guest vocalist ... I don't know, some rapper.)
- I really hope there is SOMETHING of the real story left. This thread scares the hell out of me
Hollywood is ruining LoTR for money/political correctness:
- You don't just take that and bastardize it because Hollywood, who as you've said does that to movies, wants to get its mud hooks on it and create a big money maker.
- Hollywood seeks money. Art is secondary. Everything else, except in rare cases, is secondary. Producers and directors are hired to make "shock-value" and attract audiences.
- If Hollywood could get away with it, he [Gandalf] would have a machine gun in his hand and saying,"I'll be back!" // Ok, I actually need this to happen when Gandalf falls off the bridge in Moria
- the movie is not made for the fans. it is made to make MONEY. it is all about profit.
- Hollywood corrupts art to make money. They needed to bring in a charater "politically correct" to have a female role model. Tolkien was not politically correct and that just doesn't sit well with Hollywood
- Every time there is a movie that we have deep forebodings about, we still go to it to "see what it's like". It happened with Aliens III, Alien Resurrection, Episode I, and a dozen others. After we see the movie, we find we hated it after all, yet we still gave them our money! In the end, it doesn't matter to Peter Jackson or New Line Cinemas (curse them both!)
"I'm a Tolkien purists":
- Many changes! Blasphemy!
- I just don't think that it is truly Tolkien and I do believe that it will distort the way "newbies" will view the real LoTR and Tolkien in general.
- Do you even do any research?... some people do care about what Tolkien intended even if you don't... What are you here for? // (A purist was borderline cyber bullying someone who dared to want to give the movie a chance)
- This isn't just a movie. This is supposedly a serious attempt to put the Lord of the Rings, one of the greatest literary works of all time, on screen. It's not just "entertainment;"
- We (as a generic term) are in fact probably the best authorities on how these movies should be. The "normal person" might not see problems, but that is because the "normal person" does not understand.
- From his letters he was quite adamant about what PJ 's doing now. It's to be expected that nowadays people will sell out great literature for entertainment. It's even sadder that people who know better (Tolkien fans) don't really care. After all, it's only entertainment.
- It bothers me, especially when the book can stand alone on its own merit rather then needing the "help" of money grabbers who want to make it their own.
- Maybe when you take a few more English classes in school, you will see that.
- I will not, however, accept it as "Lord of The Rings" and will not promote the movie as "Tolkien".
- I think the worst part is that LoTR will never again be the same, people. All the marketing, all the merchandise, all the misconceptions. PJ's movie has changed the dynamics of what LoTR was to society.
- I will go now, without so great an expectation of seeing the LOTR... but rather I will simply go see some potentially decent fantasy movie made by some fat, ugly Englishman with a terrible beard.
- Down with PJ! And Down with the ignorant media promoting it and dragging JRR through the mud with their stupid, uninformed comments about ME...
Boycotting the movie:
- I am getting madder and more unmotivated by the minute to see this movie.
- I am reiterating my intention to *not* give the bastard Peter Jackson even a dime of my money. That's why God invented the bootleg download. I will *not* go see this movie in the theatre. I will*not* buy or rent it on VHS or DVD. I will download a free copy of the movie off of the Internet. I've never done this before and proabably won't do so again... but I will *not* give the bastard Peter Jackson a cent of my money.
- if half the things that I have read on this board are true, I will never go to see any of these movies... I would rather read the books backward, word for word, than go see this debacle. I would rather see Harry Potter twenty-seven times in a row than catch the slightest glimpse of an orc-pod.
- We must take a stand now and *all* vow *not* to see *any* of the movies!
- But, I didn't go [to see the movie]. And I won't go today, either. Or tomorrow. I choose to keep my integrity, unlike some people who direct block-buster movies.
Other miscellaneous ones:
"
- Sam and Merry are much too bold when confronted with the Nazgul
- he makes these really quite unnessecary changes, like having Pippin knock a skeleton instead of a rock down the hole in Moria. // This is some advanced nit-picking...
- Anyone know if the Legolas "shield surfing" is still in? // Yes! And it's a meme now.
- Galadriel floats on some cheesy amusement park boat instead of large swan boat paddled by two elves.
- "Saruman captures Gandalf by fighting a 'wizard duel' involving telekinesis, lightning, and Gandalf being slammed against the wall." Please don't tell me this is going to be some sort of children movie like Harry Potter or D&D. // Harry Potter and the Wizard Duel, featuring Gandalf and Saruman. I'd watch that!
- The Ringwraiths aren't all riding black horses. They look brown.
I combed through 20 pages of forum discussion in 2001 of Tolkien fans criticizing Peter Jackson and his LoTR movie before it was even released.
Shadow of War was honestly fine. Took a bit of the lore and made up a story that fits in the gaps. That's all that we'll ever get.
Is this a joke?
20 pages of a 55 page thread of a niche fan-forum filled by comments from mostly the same couple of posters is now suddenly representative of a general audiences reception?
You need to stop combing these forums and learn a thing or two about the meaning of representative samples.
Not to mention that there are also many positive threads and comments about the movies to be found on that forum. Some examples that directly contradict your deceptive cherry picking: