Hello all - More LOTR/HP movie musings

[dsslouisville]

Have never posted on this board before, but with the release of LOTR 
I feel compelled to weigh in on both movies.

Let me say, I am a huge fan of both Harry Potter and Lord of the 
Rings equally.  I first bought the LOTR series as a birthday present 
for myself at age 13 and have ever since been sucked into fantasy as 
a genre.  I have read, over the years, quite a bit of fantasy fiction 
from Terry Brooks (Shanara) Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman 
(Dragonlance) and recently Terry Goodkind (Sword of Truth whose hero, 
oldly enough reminds me of a grown up Harry Potter!).  They are, for 
the most part, rife with "heros" and "dark lords" and comic sidekicks 
and yes, I like the ones that incorporate some impossible and 
destined romance in the mix! So, as a fan of the genre as a whole and 
an avid reader, the books will always be better than the movies and 
the movies will always serve to make me read the books over again! 

I will say that I thought the LOTR may have been the most perfectly 
cast movie I have seen in recent history and I think they had the 
right idea with filming it all at one time.  I have read reviews that 
critized Columbus' "slavish" adaption of the HP material while 
obviously Jackson took a much looser approach to Tolkien but I think 
it is worth noting that Tolkien is dead and his epic complete for 
many years...it would have to be easier to determine what aspects can 
be edited or significantly changed to hurry the story along and 
provide for cinematic value while still retaining an appropriate 
sense of reverence for the work as a whole.  

Rowlings epic still hangs in the air, unfinished.  (am enjoying the 
anticipation but...damn!)Even though I believe she has them finished 
in her mind, she may want to build on minute details as she is so 
fond of doing. I think the stakes are higher for what goes and what 
stays or what is changed in anyway. 

Anyway, happy holidays to all!

Andrea (who is wishing she was not so book and movie obsessed and 
could actually get some work done!)