The New York Times is now giving page space to the current troubles in The Shire.
It’s likely that the smart money is on Jackson still getting the job. We’ll see.
Why do I care?
I love that book.
If I could, I would keep The Hobbit off the big screen because of the way the movie will rob so many young people of the opportunity to imagine it all for themselves.
As much as I love Jackson’s films, I have the luxury of comparing them to the rich world of imagery that was painted in my own imagination by Tolkien’s text. I am still deeply grateful to have grown up in a time when I got to imagine Middle Earth all by myself, with only a few illustrations to go on. (The cartoons came too late, I already had vivid pictures in my mind drawn straight from Tolkien’s text, and often far more faithful to his descriptions than the cartoons were…)
If I had kids of my own, I would read the books with them before letting them see the films. Reading is exercise for your mind, a collaborative and creative activity. Movies can be, but few artists seem to understand that, and thus movies rarely provoke us into active thought. More often than not, we’re just overwhelmed by somebody else’s imaginings.
How many times have I heard people cringe at the idea of reading film reviews and say, “Why take it so seriously? I go to the movies to turn my brain off!” Isn’t that kind of like saying, “I eat to shut down my digestive tract”??
Hear, hear, Jeffrey.
I’m reading The Lord of the Rings to my daughter right now. She’s not allowed to see the movies until we’re done.
Amen! I totally agree!
My sister, the one who turned me on to The Hobbit, LOTR, & the Narnia books when I was in 4 through 6th grade, still refuses to see Jackson’s LOTR films because she’s afraid the images she sees in her mind will be replaces by the film’s. I don’t have this problem; when I re-read Tolkien, all the original images his prose conjured up in my mind are still there, like it’s the first time, all over again – informed, of course, by my increased (adult) knowledge of ancient cultures, Christianity, etc, which only serves to deepen Tolkien’s work. But, for those who do, I wholeheartedly support them in not seeing a cinematic adaption.
Me? I hope Jackson doesn’t get to film Hobbit. He ruin it by turning it into a LOTR “prequel” when it’s not that at all, as (I believe) you have noted on this blog, Jeffrey (or maybe it was Peter Chattaway). It’s a fairy tale & should be filmed as such, with no creeping danger from Mordor, no ring-searching eye of Sauron or impending threat from Orthanc imposed on the story.
At any rate, I know there are directors out there who could get it right. But I’m afraid New Line’s more interested in a film – or films – that would breathe new life into (read: “draw attention to”) the LOTR trilogy of films rather than a Hobbit movie that could stand on its own.
Look, PJ and team wrote, directed, built and created an incredible series of films and I would be very happy to have him do it again. If he doesn’t, I only hope that they can find some incredibly talented writers to pen the screeplay – I would assume no PJ then no philipa and fran – and that is the scariest part. Who else can write this movie? Where else but NZ can it be filmed? Who but Weta can be entrusted to make the effects? This is more than just being about PJ – it is about the team. ROTK won best picture – an award that goes to producers who are responsible for bringing all the parts together. That is what id needed – an amazing producer. And PJ is that man more than anyone else I can think of.
Just listened to the album. It’s a great album, not a masterpiece perhaps like ‘Funeral’ but great nevertheless.
What are your thoughts on any faith based parts of the album. I listened to it as well.
Reminds me of The Trinity Sessions by Cowboy Junkies. It too was recorded in a church, for which the album is named, & has a very “churchy” & meditative feel. There is a feeling, when I listen to that album, that the surroundings dictated the sound & was, in effect, another member of the band. As Gara points out in the article, it’s an “intangible” sort of feeling & that permeates Trinity Sessions, too, but there’s a warmth & fuzz about the work that is so rare; it’s as if the album was recorded in a giant, old-fashioned tube amp. It’s part of what makes it so classic & timeless. I recall that it took me a long time to begin to like Cowboy Junkies second album, Caution Horses, because the feeling was so different. (But I eventually did! )
Now I’m very curious about Arcade Fire. I’ve never heard them!